Product Details

• Actors: Albert Finney, Greta Scacchi, Matthew Modine, Julian Sands, Michael Gambon
• Directors: Mike Figgis
• Writers: Ronald Harwood, Terence Rattigan
• Producers: Garth Thomas, Mimi Polk Gitlin, Olivia Stewart, Ridley Scott
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: May 7, 1996
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303585353
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #253,491 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"The Emperor's Club." "Dead Poet's Society." "Stand and Deliver." Film fans fondly recall them as tales of a teacher who inspires his students. "The Browning Version" is the memorable story of a student who inspires his brilliant yet beleaguered and unappreciated teacher.

Albert Finney, Matthew Modine and Greta Scacchi star in this richly layered work of truth, tears and triumph. In a widely acclaimed performance, Finney plays a brilliant but stern classics instructor at a posh prep school who is forced out of his job and into the realization that he is despised in the classroom...and at home. Suddenly, the proud academic is adrift...until one student's profound act of kindness gives him the inspiration to build his life anew.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Superb Film, January 14, 2004

By 

James E. Carroll (Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Browning Version (DVD)

Albert Finney's portrayal of retiring classics teacher, Andrew Crocker Harris, in "The Browning Version" is a marvelous and understated performance that you will not forget. While I rarely review movies on this site and I cannot fathom why I missed this film when it was released in 1994, I recommend that everyone see it. The title refers to a translation of Aeschylus' Agamemnon; a play that many students will recall from high school. A play that resounds within this story too.

Crocker Harris is mocked and ridiculed by the students as a classics teacher of Latin and Greek. His popularity pales when compared to a physical education teacher who is also departing the school. His position at the prestigious English boarding school is being eliminated for one that emphasizes the study of modern languages. His wife is unfaithful with Matthew Modine's character, an American chemistry teacher. The students often cite Crocker Harris' refrain about grading " You have obtained exactly what you deserve- no less and certainly no more." A line that unfortunately also describes Crocker Harris' teaching career and life.

In line with films like Dead Poets Society and The Emperor's Club, The Browning Version will keep your interest and not disappoint.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly superb movie!, December 18, 2003

By 

Robert (St. Neots, Cambs, ENGLAND United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Browning Version (DVD)

Of course, Finney needs no intro- especially with his recent BAFTA. As remakes go, this one is exceptionally good (compared to the 1951 original with Michael Redgrave). Acclaimed director Mike Figgis took an old fashioned setting & brilliantly updated it so that the story occurs in the present. The scenes were beautifully shot too. The key scene where the boy, Taplow gave Andrew Crocker-Harris (Finney) the gift of the book was actually a great improvement compared to the original. Thought provoking, truly 1st class acting & totally enjoyable. Well done Mike Figgis- another excellent example of skillful direction. Praise to Albert Finney too- few films these days carry such a dignified performance.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant central performance, February 20, 2002

By 

www.DavidLRattigan.com (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Browning Version [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Albert Finney is the most compelling reason for watching this adaption of Terence Rattigan's stage play. His performance is moving as a classics teacher in a British public school, despised by his pupils and rejected by his unfaithful wife. He plays the role of Andrew Crocker-Harris with real pathos. In particular, the scene in which the young Taplow gives him a book (the Browning version of the title) as a parting gift after he is forced into early retirement, is an incredible moment, the force of which makes Harris' wife's subsequent cruelty all the more hard-hitting. For all his self-confessed flaws, Harris emerges (thanks to Finney, who rarely disappoints) as a genuinely sympathetic character whom the viewer can come to identify with, much as young Taplow came to identify with this tragic character.

I am not familiar with Rattigan's original stage play, so I am not in a place to make comparisons. The 'Figgis version' certainly did it for me. The beautiful location filming, the score, and the excellent supporting cast are all worthy of recommendation. Overall, the film is executed without fanfare or overstatement, relying on an affecting story told persuasively by a superb ensemble of actors.