This film is currently unavailable
Brief Encounter
Noël Coward’s tale of a love affair, thrillingly played out with tight British reserve.
Director: David Lean
Overview
Noël Coward's classic tale of a passionate affair is all the more thrilling for being played out with British reserve of the tightest order. Laura (Johnson) encounters the handsome Dr Alec (Howard) in a train station tearoom after her weekly shopping trip.
In a scene now infamous, he removes some grit from her eye but ignites a spark that burns deeper with every passing week that they meet. Both married, however, they know their romantic liaisons cannot continue. Boosted by fine supporting character actors, the film also contains comical moments one recognises as having influenced a young Victoria Wood, while the unrelenting use of Rachmaninov’s lyrical second piano concerto perfectly embodies all the fervent desire the fated pair have to contain. Restoration supported by The David Lean Foundation
Related
My Favourite Cake My Favourite Cake
Romance 2024 97 mins Director: Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha
Life begins at 70 for Mahin, who decides to shake her life up in this charming, quietly subversive tale from Iran.
About Dry Grasses About Dry Grasses
Romance 2023 198 mins Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Turkish Palme d’Or-winner Nuri Bilge Ceylan returns with an icy portrait of a teacher whose life unravels following an accusation of inappropriate behaviour.
If Beale Street Could Talk If Beale Street Could Talk
Crime 2018 119 mins Director: Barry Jenkins
Barry Jenkins follows his Oscar®-winning Moonlight with an audacious, distinctive and assured adaptation of James Baldwin’s account of love, injustice and racism in America.
Unicorns Unicorns
Drama 2023 120 mins
Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd have created a moving romance between an Essex mechanic and a South Asian drag queen.
The Nature of Love The Nature of Love
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Monia Chokri
Sharp and sexy comedy that offers a fresh take on desire and fidelity in the 21st century.
Love Lies Bleeding Love Lies Bleeding
Romance 2023 104 mins Director: Rose Glass
Rose Glass’s gripping and gory follow-up to Saint Maud finds a lesbian couple drawn into a web of violence in 1980s small-town New Mexico.
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
Crime 1926 91 mins Silent Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Ivor Novello plays a strange lodger who may be behind a number of Jack the Ripper-style killings in Alfred Hitchcock’s silent thriller.
Dead Ringers Dead Ringers
Horror 1988 116 mins Director: David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg's multi award-winning psychological thriller exploring the bizarre lives of identical twins Elliot and Beverly, both played by Jeremy Irons.
Godzilla Godzilla
Horror 1954 92 mins Director: Ishiro Honda
The original Godzilla - arguably the definitive monster movie - both a bold metaphor for the atomic age and a thrilling powerhouse of pioneering special effects.
Fitzcarraldo Fitzcarraldo
Drama 1981 157 mins Director: Werner Herzog
One of Werner Herzog's most acclaimed and audacious films, Fitzcarraldo tells the incredible story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an opera-loving fortune hunter who dreams of bringing opera to the heart of the Peruvian jungle.
Of Time and the City Of Time and the City
Documentary 2008 74 mins Director: Terence Davies
Brilliantly mixing archive film and music, Liverpool-born director Terence Davies reflects with wit and wisdom on a times of change, for good or ill
The Red Shoes The Red Shoes
Drama 1948 135 mins Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Moira Shearer’s ballerina is torn between love and her career in Powell and Pressburger’s hugely influential melodrama.
The Third Man The Third Man
Thriller 1949 105 mins Director: Carol Reed
Carol Reed's timeless classic, one of the greatest British films, lavishly marries a perfect script, an unforgettable theme tune and the star power of Orson Welles.
The Missionary The Missionary
Comedy 1983 86 mins Director: Richard Loncraine
In his first substantial feature-film role away from the involvement of his Monty Python cohorts, Michael Palin stars as a 19th-century missionary tasked with setting up a mission for fallen prostitutes.
Twinky Twinky
Comedy 1970 94 mins Director: Richard Donner
Richard Donner directs this unlikely romance between a 38-year-old writer of erotic novels (Charles Bronson) and a 16-year-old schoolgirl (Susan George). After marrying and absconding to Scotland, the pair finds it hard to adjust to life together.
Doctor Zhivago Doctor Zhivago
Drama 1965 200 mins Director: David Lean
An epic romance set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago is one of cinema’s great love stories.
Great Expectations Great Expectations
Drama 1947 118 mins Director: David Lean
The first of David Lean’s two Dickens adaptations is one of the finest British literary interpretations and one of the most acclaimed of all British films.
Oliver Twist Oliver Twist
Period drama 1948 116 mins Director: David Lean
Arguably the essential Dickens adaptation, David Lean’s evocative portrayal of Victorian London in sooty black and white features Alec Guinness as a memorably sinister Fagin.
Small Things Like These Small Things Like These
Drama 2024 99 mins
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.
Only the River Flows Only the River Flows
Crime 2023 102 mins Director: Shujun Wei
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.
The Critic The Critic
Period drama 2023 101 mins Director: Anand Tucker
Ian McKellen is in delicious form as London's most vicious critic, who strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actor (Gemma Arterton).
Special People Special People
Comedy 2008 74 mins Director: Justin Edgar
Justin Edgar's pioneering feature comedy about a neurotic filmmaker enlisted to make a film with a class of wheelchair-users.
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
What if unrequited love spanned the centuries? Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.