Enchanted April (1991 film)

Last updated

Enchanted April
Enchantedapril.jpg
Directed by Mike Newell
Written by Peter Barnes
Based on The Enchanted April
by Elizabeth von Arnim
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRex Maidment
Edited by Dick Allen
Music by Richard Rodney Bennett
Production
company
Distributed byCurzon Films [1]
Miramax [2]
Release date
  • 6 November 1991 (1991-11-06)(United Kingdom)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$13,200,170

Enchanted April is a 1991 British film directed by Mike Newell. [3] The screenplay by Peter Barnes was adapted from Elizabeth von Arnim's 1922 novel The Enchanted April . [4] It stars Miranda Richardson, Josie Lawrence, Polly Walker, and Joan Plowright, with Alfred Molina, Michael Kitchen, and Jim Broadbent in supporting roles. [5]

Contents

Plot

Elizabeth von Arnim's novel tells of four dissimilar women in 1920s England who leave their rainy, grey environments to go on holiday in Italy. Mrs. Arbuthnot and Mrs. Wilkins, who belong to the same ladies' club, but have never spoken, become acquainted after reading a newspaper advertisement for a small medieval castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be let furnished for the month of April. They find some common ground as both are struggling to make the best of unhappy marriages. Having decided to seek other ladies to help share expenses, they reluctantly take on the elegant but peevish elderly Mrs. Fisher, and the stunning, aloof, and very wealthy Lady Caroline Dester. The four women come together at the castle and, after many unexpected twists and turns, find rejuvenation in the tranquil beauty of their surroundings, rediscovering hope and love.

Cast

Production

The film was shot on location at Castello Brown in Portofino, Italy, the castle where the author of the book had stayed in the 1920s. [6] The score by Richard Rodney Bennett, featuring flute and oboe themes, evokes the film's mood and accentuates the story's yearning and nostalgia. [7]

Reception

The film premiered as the opening night gala of the London Film Festival on 6 November 1991. [8] It gained a positive reaction from critics and holds an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 33 reviews. The consensus summarizes: "Mike Newell's adaptation of Elizabeth von Arnim's novel moves at a more generous pace than the 1935 version, allowing excellent performances from Miranda Richardson and Joan Plowright to flourish." [9]

Awards and nominations

AwardCategoryNominee(s)Result
Academy Awards [10] Best Supporting Actress Joan Plowright Nominated
Best Screenplay – Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Peter Barnes Nominated
Best Costume Design Sheena Napier Nominated
Cleveland International Film Festival Best Film Mike Newell Won
Golden Globe Awards [11] Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Nominated
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Miranda Richardson Won
Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Joan PlowrightWon
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards [12] Best Supporting Actress Miranda RichardsonRunner-up
National Society of Film Critics Awards [13] Best Supporting Actress 2nd Place
New York Film Critics Circle Awards [14] Best Supporting Actress Won
Shanghai International Film Festival Best Feature Film Mike NewellNominated
USC Scripter Awards [15] Peter Barnes (screenwriter);
Elizabeth von Arnim (author)
Nominated
Writers Guild of America Awards [16] Best Screenplay – Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Peter BarnesNominated

See also

An earlier adaptation of the book was released by RKO Radio Pictures in 1935, with the same name Enchanted April .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miranda Richardson</span> English actress (born 1958)

Miranda Jane Richardson is an English actress who has worked in TV, Films, and Theatre.

<i>The Crying Game</i> 1992 film by Neil Jordan

The Crying Game is a 1992 thriller film written and directed by Neil Jordan, produced by Stephen Woolley, and starring Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Jaye Davidson, Adrian Dunbar, Ralph Brown, and Forest Whitaker. The film explores themes of race, sex, nationality, and sexuality against the backdrop of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

<i>Tom Jones</i> (1963 film) 1963 British adventure comedy film directed by Tony Richardson

Tom Jones is a 1963 British comedy film, an adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic 1749 novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, starring Albert Finney as the title hero. It was one of the most critically acclaimed and popular comedies of its time, and won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film was produced and directed by Tony Richardson and the screenplay was adapted by playwright John Osborne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Broadbent</span> British actor

James Broadbent is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 1972, he came to prominence as a character actor for his many roles in film and television. He's received various accolades including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Plowright</span> British actress (born 1929)

Joan Ann Plowright, Baroness Olivier,, professionally known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English retired actress whose career spanned over six decades. She has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award and has been nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy and two BAFTA Awards. She was the second of only four actresses to have won two Golden Globes in the same year. She won the Laurence Olivier Award for Actress of the Year in a New Play in 1978 for Filumena.

<i>Drowning by Numbers</i> 1988 British film

Drowning by Numbers is a 1988 British-Dutch film directed by Peter Greenaway. It won the award for Best Artistic Contribution at the Cannes Film Festival of 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth von Arnim</span> Australian-born English writer, 1866–1941

Elizabeth von Arnim, born Mary Annette Beauchamp, was an English novelist. Born in Australia, she married a German aristocrat, and her earliest works are set in Germany. Her first marriage made her Countess von Arnim-Schlagenthin and her second Elizabeth Russell, Countess Russell. After her first husband's death, she had a three-year affair with the writer H. G. Wells, then later married Frank Russell, elder brother of the Nobel prize-winner and philosopher Bertrand Russell. She was a cousin of the New Zealand-born writer Katherine Mansfield. Though known in early life as May, her first book introduced her to readers as Elizabeth, which she eventually became to friends and finally to family. Her writings are ascribed to Elizabeth von Arnim. She used the pseudonym Alice Cholmondeley for only one novel, Christine, published in 1917.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Molina</span> British actor

Alfred Molina is a British actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Play for his performance in the production of Oklahoma! in 1980. He made his film debut as Satipo in Raiders of the Lost Ark and his Broadway debut as Yvan in a production of Art from 1998 to 1999. His other Broadway roles include Tevye in the musical Fiddler on the Roof from 2004 to 2005 and Mark Rothko in the play Red from 2009 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Newell (director)</span> British producer and director (born 1942)

Michael Cormac Newell is an English film and television director and producer. He won the BAFTA for Best Direction for Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), which also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film, and directed the films Donnie Brasco (1997) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).

<i>Spider</i> (2002 film) 2002 film

Spider is a 2002 psychological thriller film produced and directed by David Cronenberg and based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Patrick McGrath, who also wrote the screenplay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portofino</span> Town and resort in Italy

Portofino is a comune located in the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is clustered around its small harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore. Since the late 19th century, Portofino has attracted tourism of the European aristocracy and it is now a resort for the world's jet set.

<i>The Entertainer</i> (film) 1960 British film

The Entertainer is a 1960 British kitchen sink drama film directed by Tony Richardson, produced by Harry Saltzman and adapted by John Osborne and Nigel Kneale from Osborne’s stage play of the same name. The film stars Laurence Olivier as Archie Rice, a failing third-rate music-hall stage performer who tries to keep his career going even as the music-hall tradition fades into history and his personal life falls apart. Olivier was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

The 18th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, honoring the best in film for 1992, were given on 12 December 1992.

<i>Widows Peak</i> 1994 Irish film

Widows' Peak is a 1994 British-Irish mystery film directed by John Irvin and starring Mia Farrow, Joan Plowright, Natasha Richardson, Adrian Dunbar and Jim Broadbent. The film is based on an original screenplay by Hugh Leonard and Tim Hayes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castello Brown</span> Historic site in Genoa, Italy

Castello Brown is a historic house museum located high above the harbour of Portofino, northern Italy. Its site has been used for military defence since Roman times. As a Genoese coastal fort, it was called the Castello di San Giorgio.

The 58th New York Film Critics Circle Awards honored the best filmmaking of 1992. The winners were announced on 17 December 1992 and the awards were given on 17 January 1993.

Arbuthnot or Arbuthnott is a Scottish surname, deriving from the village in Scotland from where members of the Arbuthnot family originated.

<i>The Enchanted April</i> Novel by Elizabeth von Arnim

The Enchanted April is a 1922 novel by British writer Elizabeth von Arnim. The work was inspired by a month-long holiday to the Italian Riviera, probably the most widely read and perhaps the lightest and most ebullient of her novels.

Enchanted April is a 1935 American comedy drama film directed by Harry Beaumont and starring Ann Harding, Frank Morgan and Katharine Alexander. It was made by RKO Pictures. The original 1922 novel The Enchanted April has also been adapted for the stage multiple times, and adapted for the 1991 film by screenwriter Peter Barnes.

Enchanted April is a 2003 stage play by Matthew Barber, adapted from Elizabeth von Arnim's 1922 novel The Enchanted April. The play opened on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre on April 29, 2003, in a production directed by Michael Wilson.

References

  1. "Enchanted April (1991)". BBFC . Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  2. "The Stats" (PDF). British Film Institute . Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  3. "BBC - Enchanted April - BBC Films". www.bbc.co.uk.
  4. Corliss, Richard (3 August 1992). "A Month in The Country" via content.time.com.
  5. "Enchanted April (1992)". BFI. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017.
  6. Maslin, Janet (31 July 1992). "Review/Film; In Italy, A Lourdes For the Soul" via NYTimes.com.
  7. "Chandos Records Classical Music CDs and MP3 Downloads OnLine". Chandos Records. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  8. Robinson, Brian (22 August 2016). "Every BFI London Film Festival opening night film". BFI . Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  9. "Enchanted April (1992)". www.rottentomatoes.com.
  10. "The 65th Academy Awards (1993) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  11. "Enchanted April – Golden Globes". HFPA . Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  12. "The Annual 18th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards". Los Angeles Film Critics Association . Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  13. "Past Awards". National Society of Film Critics . Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  14. "1992 New York Film Critics Circle Awards". Mubi . Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  15. "Past Scripter Awards". USC Scripter Award . Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  16. "Awards Winners". wga.org. Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2010.