# Brideshead Revisited (1981)

> An agnostic artist becomes entangled with an aristocratic family and their devout Catholicism between the two world wars.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/4700

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 11
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, romance
- Created by: Derek Granger
- Network: ITV1
- Cast: Jeremy Irons, Diana Quick, Roger Milner, Simon Chandler, Richard Hope, Gary Waldhorn, Kenneth Cranham, Jenny Runacre
- TMDB rating: 8.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083390/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: slow
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: elegiac, melancholic, sensuous, wistful, reflective

## What critics say

Acclaimed as a lush, faithful and emotionally resonant adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel, admired for its production values and performances.

## Synopsis

Brideshead Revisited (1981) is a British miniseries drama created by Derek Granger for ITV1, adapted from Evelyn Waugh's novel. Jeremy Irons plays Charles Ryder, an agnostic painter who is seduced by the wealthy aristocratic Flyte family, and Diana Quick plays Lady Julia Flyte, whose strong Catholicism sets up constant friction with his worldly outlook. Across eleven hour-long episodes, Charles recounts his entanglement with the family between the two world wars, moving between Oxford, the family's stately country house, and Continental travels in Paris, Venice and beyond. The engine of the story is the pull between desire and faith: Charles longs to belong among the Flytes while the family's religious convictions quietly steer their fates. Lavish period costume, sun-washed estates and lingering interiors give the series an elegiac, wistful register, with a melancholic sense of a vanished aristocratic world. Viewers who enjoy Downton Abbey, The Forsyte Saga and The Remains of the Day will find the same blend of class, restraint and yearning here, delivered as a single prestige British miniseries with deliberate, reflective pacing.

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