Schrei in die Vergangenheit

The Browning Version(1994) Director Mike Figgis(Leaving Las Vegas)does a wonderful job in this remake of the 1951 classic about an unpopular teacher( Albert Finney) who realizes his life has been a failure after being forced into early retirement because of a heart condition and his relationship with his 20 year younger unfaithful wife(played by the beautiful Greta Scacchi).Its always a pleasure to see Finney, certainly one of the finest actors alive,and maybe even the best, give a gut wrenching performance as the out of touch teacher forced to face an uncertain future. The excellent supporting cast includes Julian Sands and Matthew Modine. A very intelligent, well made movie recommended for all serious film buffs

Albert Finney gives a classic portrayal of a teacher of the times. This movie shows so clearly the invisible gap which existed between teacher and pupil. It was extremely difficult if not impossible to come close to teachers in those days. The innocence of Taplow played brilliantly by Ben Silverstone and his genuine regard and respect for the aging Crocker=Harris, provides the viewer with an intimate encounter in which this teacher who is in a failed marriage, has not accomplished his ambitions to be head of the school, suddenly realises in the form of "Taplow", that he is genuinely loved for what he is, a good teacher who showed his love for the boys by, discipline and teaching. Little wonder that Crocker-Harris weeps when the truth dawns on him. Watch this movie and weep too. Absolutely first class.

This was an unexpected jewel of a movie. If you like movies such as "Remains of the Day," you will enjoy this one. Against the backdrop of a traditional boys school in the English countryside, a teacher who is being forced out examines his life. This movie is well-done across the board--the rich if spare script (perfect), the cinematography, a well-integrated score, all perfectly paced. This movie and the characters in it have layers. The acting by Albert Finney and Greta Sacchi is masterful (Michael Gabon is good, too). All that, and it has an honest ending. This movie had my rapt attention from the opening scene, and I am certain to watch it again.

A movie about coming to terms with a life that didn't turn out, at you thought it would, about the importance of little things, when the structure itself is crumbling. I don't know exactly what it was about this movie but it just hit me, where i live. I cried my eyes out, and it colored my emotions for weeks after-wards. It deals with most of the issues that an adult is faced with; marriage, work relations, personal identity, etc., from the viewpoint of an aging teacher, who does what he does, except it isn't really working, as he thought would. Social acceptance and respect is missing, his marriage is on the rocks. In a way he is like a mundane Horatio on the bridge, who keeps fighting, knowing all too well, that the fight is lost, hoping perhaps beyond hope, that one small victory is possible.

This is one of those movies that are easy to overlook because of their lack of special effects, bone-rattling audio, and sexual situations. Nevertheless, The Browning Version tells a poignant story of an aging teacher who is being shunted aside in favor of a younger replacement. Albert Finney is wonderful as Crocker-Harris, "the Hitler of the lower sixth," whose health is failing and whose enthusiasm for teaching is gone. Greta Scacchi is equally good as his unfaithful wife. Her nuanced performance is one way in which this version is superior to the much-admired Michael Redgrave issue of 1951. In the latter, Jean Kent plays an unrelenting bitch who cares not a whit for her husband's plight. One cannot, under any circumstances, imagine how the two characters ever got together. In the new rendition, however, one can see how the lovely Miss Scacchi might have fallen for the athletically built Finney. As a result, one can better appreciate the disillusionment and bitterness that inform her character as she contemplates what he has become.