*First Time Watching* THE REMAINS OF THE DAY (1993)

[@rabbitandcrow]

Wow. What kind of legend are you for reacting to this masterpiece? Thank you!

[@meganlutz7150]

When Steven’s father dies he says he is tired. He also says he is tired when Ms. Kenton tells him she is leaving to get married. He loves her deeply but cannot express it. If you like this kind of thing I would highly recommend you watch Howard’s End. Also has Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins. They work so well together.

[@seekforjannah2432]

Hanibel lecter living quite life

[@ginfrench3350]

YES...he loves her deeply but cannot express his feelings. That is the tragic underlying theme of this entire movie.😢

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thanks, Oliver! Thanks, Huxley! 💐 James Ivory directed this. I think you'd love all of the Merchant Ivory Productions... I've loved all the ones I've seen. They made 44. I particularly recommend A ROOM WITH A VIEW (1985), MAURICE (1987) and HOWARDS END (1992). 💎💎💎

[@axr7149]

James Ivory also wrote the screenplay for CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (2017). He won the Adapted Screenplay Oscar for it, becoming the oldest ever Oscar winner in the process (he won at age 89). Unbelievably, it was Ivory's first ever win.

[@auntvesuvi3872]

@@axr7149 CALL ME BY YOUR NAME (2017) is one of my all-time favorites. Indeed, Mr. Ivory did an exemplary job of adapting André Aciman's book, which I also enjoyed. Luca Guadagnino's directing was lavish and intimate. 🌾 Oliver is pretty open-minded, surely he'll react to it someday.

[@Charlesbaker3017]

Brilliant film. Hopkins superb. Nobody really reacts to this.. congratulations 👏

[@waterbeauty85]

A friend of mine who had only seen Anthony Hopkins before in "Silence of the Lambs" was so impressed by his performance that she watched this because his name was attached to it, and she was stunned by how convincingly he projected a completely different personality.

[@Charlesbaker3017]

It's called being a. Actor. Most people play the same part every f performance. Not. Great actor. Like Hopkins..

[@chefskiss6179]

Without hyperbole, I don't think I have ever come across a more perfect title for the film that its named after/for. The Remains... such a massive turning point in world history; the ruling aristocrats sitting around in black-tie, making world-consequential decisions so politely and gentlemanly-like. Talk about the landscape changing. With the wars, and the next generation of the estate heirs dying, those mansions were going for next-to-nothing. I remember seeing George Harrison in one of those massive kitchens, mind you he had Beatles money behind him, but still, a massive estate easily purchased and there he is, in a nice cardy, cup of tea, a guitar, in a huge pretty barren kitchen with all this glorious light coming in. Sorry to chatter on, I'm just so happy you checked out this beautiful film, Oliver. Also, A BIG SHOUT OUT to Jonathan for the recommendation. So many reaction channels out there, and no disrespect to them, but it kinda kills me that they will next-to-never get around to gems like this. It was always a big treat to look forward to the next film from the phenomenal powerhouse that was the Merchant-Ivory team. And the acting(!), it seams like a crime to call it 'acting', to even refer to them as performances feels condescending, lol. And if I may suggest one for you and yer family to watch together(?), Gosford Park (great cast, check it out), or perhaps try 84 Charring Cross, another understated Hopkins outing, not as historically gutting, lol.

[@spinin1251]

Everyone in this movie is so perfectly cast and the performances so natural. They all did it as if though it was second nature.

[@todddepue681]

Those secret doors were specifically for the servants use to help them move around the house discreetly, avoiding the faux pas of encountering the family or their guests in the passageways. In some houses, if a servant found themselves in a corridor with a guest, they were instructed to stop and face the wall while the higher class person passed by. Yeah.

[@anrun]

The bird is a metaphor. Stevens spent his life serving others but never really truly lived himself. Mrs. Benn was his last chance to change that, but he is trapped for good at the end.

[@spinin1251]

Howard's End is another period film by the same director and with Anthony Hopkins and is great as well. As is Martin Scorsese's Age of Innocence, Stephen Frears' Dangerous Liaisons, and Ridley Scott's The Duelists. And perhaps the greatest of them all, Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon. All are very different and great films, though Howard's End and Age of Innocence are probably closest in themes and tone to Remains of the Day. Remains of the Day is a great film. One of my favorites. When I first saw it, when I was a teenager, I was blown away by how good a period drama such as this could be. I was expecting something dull and boring, as up to that point I mostly watched comedies and action movies and other pop culture things. I picked up on so many of the things, like being trapped in this type of existence that Stevens is, the heartbreak, the difficulty of making certain life choices, of knowing where to stand in terms of right, wrong, opinion, and loyalty. Your interpretations are all pretty good and definitely on the right track if you didn't hit them right on the head. I think the dual or deep focus didn't have any particular meaning. I think it was used mainly to place equal importance to things that were in the frame, such as the settings, backgrounds, and the house itself, which are very much a part of the story, an entity themselves. Whenever other characters shared the frame with Stevens, especially Ms. Kenton, they had equal importance in the scene. Her facial reactions and expressions were just as important as his in their entire interplay throughout the movie.

[@stirlingmoss4621]

Oliver...the secret doors were for the use of the servants to come and go discretely

[@Shilohpreston]

Many years ago this film was on tv in my country in friday section "Okruchy życia" (Crumbs of Life). Polish title of this movie is "Okruchy dnia" ("Crumbs of the Day").

[@zszs7466]

yes, Of course he had romantic interest to Emma Thompsons character!!

[@jlerrickson]

Such an underrated, forgotten film. Thank you for your reaction.

[@mahler71]

It got loads of Oscar nomiations and was universally acclaimed

[@gp8209]

Was not expecting to see a RotD reaction anywhere - this was a great movie, interesting look at that period and what was going on in the so-called upper crust of society (see: Edward VIII)

[@Ailsworth]

It's rewatchable a hundred times. Like a Pink Floyd album, there is so much going on in the background, you might never catch it all

[@selfingwithclare3410]

A beautiful, heart-breaking film with deeply moving acting from Emma and Anthony. I'm so glad you appreciated it. More reactors should react to it!

[@mahler71]

I was at Exeter Uni when this came out and a couple of guys were extras in the film.Young guys with slicked back hair(in the film). I rermember one of the guys,.an Italian was talking about Christopher Reeve, whom he met on set, We were both agreeing he was rather arrogant and up himself, of course unaware of what would happen to him a few years later.

[@ericlewisauthor]

This movie was basically practice for the guy who did Downton Abbey.

[@chefskiss6179]

To be fair, 'his' first outing was Gosford Park (2001). It was because that had relatively good success, and that they (Julian Fellowes) had so much extra research material collected that never made it into the movie, they then developed Downton Abbey. Good thing too. However, it could be said that it all may have started with the BBC 1971 tv series, Upstairs/Downstairs, which covered the same period in history. Remains, the book, came out years later in 1989.

[@kaykutcher2103]

If you like Upstairs check out You Rang My Lord a loving parody which became its own unique comedic take on the downstairs staff formula.

[@melaniesmith2917]

This film is one of my favs. The acting of Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins is immaculate . Restrained , with emotion just simmering under the surface. I love the book scene in Stevens' room. How trapped he is inside of himself. Your analogy of Mr Stevens needing to be like the broken wine bottle, he needs to smash and break out of his head and his sense of propeity and decorum and slavish devtion to his perceived superiors. Im glad your recating to movies like these. Youre young ,but you have good understanding of film. I wonder if your a film student?

[@marcwaters2600]

i loved christopher reeves speech

[@anrun]

He delivered it fine, but the content of it was a bit silly. The "experts" aren't that expert.

[@spinin1251]

@@anrun Yes, but it was on point as a more brash American counter to the gentlemanly approach everyone else was taking. The fact that he was right was significant in terms of the political themes of the movie, but it was irrelevant in terms of the impression he was trying to make. His behavior was that of an open American, in some ways looking down at his fellow gentlemen, the same way some of them would later look down on Stevens when asking him political questions. There they considered themselves experts simply because they had more knowledge. Whether or not they were actually making wise choices is a different story. So I think Reeve's speech was good and fitting in that manner, even if the content of what he said wasn't that amazing or enlightening.

[@anrun]

@@spinin1251 Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure I fully agree, but the movie isn't fresh in my mind. I haven't seen it in some time. I do recall (and it is in the reaction) that Reeve's character doesn't remember what he said in that speech when it is brought up in a present day scene. I found that interesting.

[@spinin1251]

​@@anrun what I was saying was that I partially agree with you that the content of his speech was not that impressive. What I'm also saying is that the very fact that he made the speech was the important part. He became upset and irritated at the methods and way of thinking of those around him in regards to the war. So he made that known. Essentially, "you have no idea what you're doing." To which Darlington's response was basically, "dear sir, I'm pretty sure we are quite capable of handling these matters." Reeve's character ended up being right. But more importantly, it was the fact that he was able to be vocal about it. In comparison to Stevens who repressed his thoughts, feelings, and opinions throughout the film, and who could never come close to making such a statement regarding anything in his life. And also in some ways in contrast to the ways the british gentlemen themselves ignored certain things and were not willing to or unsure of what to do about them. And it was more of an in the heat of the moment thing for Reeve's character. Hence why he might not have remembered what he said, but he definitely remembered that he said something. As did Stevens, though he pretended not to.

[@HuntingViolets]

She's not only Nanny McPhee but she wrote that movie and was working on adapting it to a stage musical not that long ago, although I haven't kept up with that.

[@TJinMO]

I too, wish for a secret door!!

[@leannerose6181]

If you'd like more excellent Christopher Reeve movies, check out Somewhere in Time,and Street Smart

[@carment4224]

And Deathtrap

[@hegstad9]

My dear RolyPolyOllie ~ if I may so address you ~ I have followed your channel for some time. I was intrigued by your reaction, interest and understanding of this movie. Very good to see a young man have such a mature understanding for a classical film of this stature. Made by such an esteemed director like James Ivory. Do check his filmography. He has really directed a great number of wonderful movies. Now, to the point. I'm sure you always are interested in finding new titles to react to, and since you obviously have such an admiration for Sir Anthony Hopkins ~ may I suggest you travel back to the year of 1980 ~ there you'll find director David Lynch's "The Elephant Man" ! The plot of "The Elephant Man" : A Victorian surgeon (Hopkins) rescues a heavily disfigured man (John Hurt) who's been mistreated, while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.

[@laurakali6522]

84 Charing Cross Road and Shadowlands are two other underrated great ones.

[@janb200]

I love 84 Charing Cross Road

[@laurakali6522]

@@janb200 a gem of a movie.

[@andrewgrossman4982]

Please, Ollie, react to A Room With A View. It is made my the same people, but it is a better, lighter, film, imo. You might just fall in love with young Helena Bonham Carter…

[@rabbitandcrow]

One of the great film love stories - with a young Daniel Day Lewis.

[@Charlesbaker3017]

​@@rabbitandcrowCecil could be his best performance.. just brilliant 👏..

[@meganlutz7150]

Yes please do ! Room with a View is fantastic

[@todddepue681]

Howard's End also so good. Another Forster novel brought to life by Hopkins, Thompson and Bonham-Carter

[@leannerose6181]

There's a lot of schlong in that movie😅

[@david4883]

I know you don’t do opening skits when you’re in the living room but come on, Ollie! It’s Remains of the Day! Give us a top hat or a monocle or something!

[@greenbeech3055]

Your other background is better, there's a little too much empty space.

[@najmu_in]

Pin