Brideshead Revisited: 30th Anniversary Edition

Now you can revisit one of the most beloved British productions of all time in this epic, fully loaded special edition of Evelyn Waugh's riveting story of yearning, romance and loss. This stellar production earned 17 international awards, and launched the careers of Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews. Also stars Oscar®-winner Sir John Gielgud, Diana Quick, Claire Bloom and Sir Laurence Olivier in an Emmy®-winning role. "The best series ever seen on American television" -The Washington Post. Plentiful extras.

Et in Arcadia Ego - In the fifth year of the Second World War (1944), a thoughtful middle-aged British Army officer, Captain Charles Ryder, finds himself posted at short notice to Brideshead Castle. Ryder has been there before, and time slips back to when he was an undergraduate at Oxford, twenty years before. There he meets Sebastian Flyte (a young man with a teddy bear) when Sebastian, rolling drunk, vomits through Charles's window and sends him flowers to apologize. Charles visits Brideshead for the first time.

Home and Abroad - While Sebastian recovers from a broken foot, he and Charles enjoy a long summer vacation on their own (apart from the servants) at Brideshead, drinking a lot of good wine. Then other members of the family arrive at the house and have a lot to say about religion - the Flytes are devout Roman Catholics.

The Bleak Light of Day - Charles gets closer to Sebastian's family, with the result that he and Sebastian begin to grow apart. Then one night they get drunk, go for a drive with some girls, and Sebastian is charged with drunk driving. Julia's boyfriend Rex Mottram persuades the court that there are mitigating circumstances. Meanwhile, Sebastian's bear, Aloysius, seems to have been written out.

Sebastian Against the World - Sebastian has clearly become an alcoholic, and his drinking, his depression and his bad behaviour are becoming more and more of a problem. He is sent down (expelled) from Oxford, and after an unhappy Easter at Brideshead he goes abroad with a tutor, leaving Charles dismayed. Charles's father agrees to his leaving the University to become a painter, so long as he also goes overseas.

A Blow Upon a Bruise - Charles comes home from Paris to spend the New Year of 1925 at Brideshead, but Sebastian behaves disgracefully. The Marchmains are trying to stop Sebastian from drinking by keeping him penniless, and Charles incurs their anger by giving him money.

Julia - Julia's admirer Rex Mottram is determined to marry her - a prospect which truly appals Lady Marchmain, who is fatally ill. Very reluctantly, she agrees to a secret engagement. Then Brideshead makes his own dramatic announcement, and Julia reveals how far she has already gone in her relationship with Rex. Meanwhile, Rex is looking for Sebastian and believes Charles is hiding him.

The Unseen Hook - With Lady Marchmain now at death's door, Charles searches French Morocco for Sebastian. He finds him and is shocked by what he finds - Sebastian has hit rock bottom.

Brideshead Deserted - Bridey is planning to demolish Marchmain House, the family's London residence, and he commissions Charles to paint some last pictures of its interior before the old place comes down. Meanwhile, Charles's marriage to Celia is collapsing.

Orphans of the Storm - Charles and Julia meet again on a transatlantic liner and begin an affair. Rex Mottram and Charles's wife Celia gang up against them.

A Twitch Upon the Thread - Bridey rebukes Julia for her affair with Charles, and Cordelia brings news of Sebastian living a dismal life as an odd-job man in a remote monastery in North Africa.

Brideshead Revisited - Lord Marchmain, fatally ill, comes home to England and prepares to die at Brideshead. Charles and Julia plan to marry and they hope Brideshead will be theirs - but Julia's faith and her sense of mortal sin are troubling her. In flashback, Charles loses Julia, as her father's death and apparent reconciliation to the Church take Julia to a religious crisis which compels her to give Charles up. In the present, Charles is still at Brideshead, and hears news of the family.

Written by Evelyn Waugh, John Mortimer, Derek Granger, Charles Sturridge
Directed by Charles Sturridge, Michael Lindsay-Hogg
Produced by Derek Granger, Martin Thompson
Original Music by Geoffrey Burgon
Cinematography by Ray Goode
Film Editing by Anthony Ham
Costume Design by Jane Robinson