Iris

Starring: Jim Broadbent, Judi Dench Director: Richard Eyre Original UK Premiere: 2002 Dvd Release: 4th November, 2002 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: PAL, Widescreen, Region 2 Encoding

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Iris is a movie that tells the story of British novelist Iris Murdoch & her relationship with John Bayley. The contrasts the start of their relationship, when Murdoch was an outgoing, dominant individual as compared to her timid & scholarly partner Bayley & their later life, when Murdoch was suffering from Alzheimers disease & tended to by a frustrated Bayley. The film, which was directed by Richard Eyre, is based on Bayleys memoir, An Elegy for Iris. Winslet was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress & Dench was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for playing Iris at the two different stages in her life. Jim Broadbent, who played the older Bayley, received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role.

A literary academic whose novels met with widespread commercial acclaim, the work of Iris Murdoch has a depth & elusiveness difficult to capture on screen. So for Iris, his first film as a director, Richard Eyre avoids the problematic novels & instead alternates the two phases of Murdochs life as related by her widower John Bayley in his books Iris: A Memoir & Elegy for Iris. We see the headstrong & captivating Oxford undergraduate with academia at her feet, drawn to the gauche Bayley on account of his sincerity & understanding of what she needs to achieve for herself. Kate Winslet has the right combination of vibrancy & thoughtfulness for the young Iris, with Hugh Bonneville sympathetic as Bayley.

The other phase reveals Murdoch near the end of her life, struggling to complete what would be her final novel & fulfil her public engagements as she succumbs to the effects of Alzheimers disease. Judy Dench has given numerous fine screen performances, but none as gripping nor so heart-rending as the ageing writer who withdraws into her own world, to the consternation, anger, then acceptance of her husband, movingly played by Jim Broadbent. Cameos from such actors as Eleanor Bron & Timothy West add to the overall quality, as does Eyres lucid script, atmospheric location filming in & around Oxford, & an attractively low-key score from James Horner. Murdochs novels may in future receive the kind of filmic presentation that does them justice. For now, this poignant insight into episodes from the life of a great modern writer is a must-see.,

Jim Broadbent is an English television & film actor. Born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, the son of a furniture maker, he was educated at a Quaker school in Reading & briefly attended art college before transferring to the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art. He graduated in 1972 & went on to work for the Royal National Theatre & the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as acting in Ken Campbells epic Illuminatus. He also founded the comedy group, the National Theatre of Brent with Patrick Barlow. He made his film debut in 1978 with a tiny role in Jerzy Skolimowski s The Shout & made his television debut the following year. He went on to work with Stephen Frears & Terry Gilliam & Brazil before establishing himself in Mike Leigh s Life is Sweet. He proved his ability as a character actor in films including The Crying Game, Enchanted April, Bullets Over Broadway, The Borrowers & Little Voice before taking a leading role in another Mike Leigh film, Topsy-Turvy. Bridget Jones Diary, Moulin Rouge, for which he won a BAFTA & Iris, for which won an Oscar for his portrayal of John Bayley. Posters Of Brazil

Editors Choice: Iris, Borrowers, The Kings Beard, Life Is Sweet, Gone To The Dogs, Brazil, The Street, View DVDology

Dame Judi Dench is a renowned British stage, film & television actress. She was born in York as Judith Olivia Dench. In 1971, she married British actor Michael Williams, who died of cancer in 2001. They starred together in a British sitcom, A Fine Romance. In 1988 she was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire. She has also occasionally directed plays. Her many television appearances include the series As Time Goes By & the aforementioned A Fine Romance. In her native United Kingdom, Dame Judi has developed her reputation as arguably the greatest British actress of the post- 1945 period primarily through her work in theatre, which has been her main forte throughout her career. Dame Judi received her professional training at the Central School of Speech & Drama in London & made her professional debut as Ophelia in Liverpool in 1957. She subsequently spent seasons in repetory in Oxford & Nottingham. In 1961 she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company & made numerous appearances with the company in Stratford & London over the next two decades, winning several best actress awards. Posters Of Judi Dench

Editors Choice: Mrs Henderson Presents, Home On The Range, Ladies In Lavender, The Chronicles Of Riddick, As Time Goes By, Iris, Tea With Mussolini, Her Majesty Mrs Brown, View DVDology

Sir Richard Eyre,, is a British film & theatre director. Richard Eyre is a noted British stage director & was director of the National Theatre between 1987 & 1997. His diaries during this time have been published as National Service & won the 2003 Theatre Book Prize. His most noted theatre productions are of Guys & Dolls, Hamlet with Daniel Day Lewis & King Lear with Ian Holm. For film he directed the Falklands war story Tumbledown, Iris, a biopic of writer & philosopher Iris Murdoch. He has been the recipient of numerous directing awards including three Olivier Awards.

Editors Choice: Iris, View DVDology

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