GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Libramedi Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

classicsoncall How difficult it must be to live inside the skin of a man like butler James Stephens (Anthony Hopkins), unable or unwilling to express his emotions or even his thoughts on subjects of major import. After a while, one becomes infuriated with his maddeningly proper and reserved behavior, which allows him to carry on with his duties while his own father lies dying in an upstairs bedroom. This he justifies by stating "My father would wish me to carry on with my work." Maybe so, but show some heart, man. For whatever reason, this was virtually impossible for Stevens in all matters of politics, business, and most of all, love. When it becomes apparent that his feelings for Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson) will remain unexpressed, even in the face of an impending marriage while she herself harbors feelings of her own for Stevens, the story becomes one of tense frustration. On top of that is Stevens' equivocation on matters of the Nazis coming to power and his Master Darlington's (James Fox) efforts at appeasement that ultimately lead to disgrace. As dry and soulless as all this sounds, the movie itself is a masterful character study of people imprisoned by their own status in life and how ineffectual they are in achieving self fulfillment. Hopkins and Thompson are remarkable in their portrayals, and the film's ending with Miss Kenton lamenting a life that never came to pass is heartbreaking in it's intensity. Christopher Reeve also acquits himself well as the American Congressman who fails to convince his European hosts that Hitler's designs will prove frightful for all. I'm not much for fictional period pieces, but "The Remains of the Day" is a finely scripted story that's wonderfully filmed. Fans of love and romance however should prepare for disappointment.

Smoreni Zmaj "If you have a normal 21st century attention span, you won't get it."8/10

Chris Jordan Following re-watching Silence of the Lambs a week or two back, just finished Remains of the Day for at least the 15th time. How can one man deliver two performances so brilliant and so different less than 2 years apart? Other films come and go from my top 5, but RotD has been in my top 2 since the first time I saw it more than 20 years ago (1 and 2 switch about).Anthony Hopkins' performance is, in my opinion, the best piece of acting I've ever seen. Not just words - I've truly never seen better. Repression and dignity personified, tragic, complex and totally convincing. The story spans more than 30 years, but with no obvious prosthetics they age in front of your eyes with a change in facial expression and a different posture, gait or outfit. In fact there is not a bum note in the whole thing - performance, story, authenticity, emotions, realism.The rest of the cast are almost as perfect; from the ******** posh idiots (the scene where they 'prove' that politics is beyond the wit of the common man is awful but brilliant) and the famous faces; Emma Thompson (I'm more than a little in love with her here), Hugh Grant (funny, sharp-minded and charming), Edward Fox (the benchmark for posh but well meaning and so easily led due to basic morality), Peter Vaughn (dying old man, again!), Lena Headey (so different from Game of Thrones), Christopher Reeve (always great to see him doing more than Superman and sad to remember who he was before the accident). Such a recognisable crowd, but within seconds you forget the famous faces and just believe the story.And as a bonus it features 2 pubs I used to drink in as a youngster and parts are filmed in a village I grew up near and had friends living just up the road. I remember when I was at school people were excited about it and there were rumours locals would be cast - all ******** of course. Makes it even more interesting, to me at least.The whole thing is amazing. I'll be back to it again and again.

john_meyer As I turned the lights up in our TV room, my wife and I looked at each other and both said, "What was THAT??" In this case "that" was "The Remains of the Day," a story about a butler who has the range of emotions of Chance the Gardener in "Being There," and the personality of drying paint.Playing this role was a tough assignment, but give credit to Anthony Hopkins for pulling it off. Without his performance, this movie would be a complete stinker. With it, the movie is watchable, but still unsatisfying. The main problem is that the movie doesn't go anywhere. You know, the old "writing 101" business about beginning, middle, and end, and the concept that there ought to be a climax or resolution or something that pulls things together as you get to the final scenes.Instead, at the end you just scratch your head and wonder why you just spent 2+ hours watching this thing.If someone recommends this movie to you because your wife likes "Downton Abbey" (which is how we came to rent it), do yourself a favor and instead rent the very similar, and infinitely better film, "The Grand Budapest Hotel." It too has a "majordomo" at its center (a concierge at a hotel instead of a butler in a private residence), but the characters in that film are infinitely more interesting and compelling. That film is also told in flashbacks, but to much better effect. But the key difference is that the resolutions at the end are satisfying in all respects.What makes it so much better? One word: writing. It is simply much, much better-written.So, "The Remains of the Day" is way over-rated (nominated for a "best picture" Oscar which it most definitely did not deserve) and, except for Hopkins' performance, deserves no other accolades.