Jude (1996)

Director:

Michael Winterbottom

Writers:

Hossein Amini (screenplay)
Thomas Hardy (novel)

Release Date:

18 October 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

His World Could Never Change... Until She Became His World.

Plot:

A stonemason steadfastly pursues a cousin he loves. However their love is troubled as he is married...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Cousin | Stonemason | Nudity | Adultery

Awards:

4 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Christopher Eccleston	...	Jude Fawley
Kate Winslet	...	Sue Bridehead
Liam Cunningham	...	Phillotson
Rachel Griffiths	...	Arabella
June Whitfield	...	Aunt Drusilla
Ross Colvin Turnbull	...	Little Jude
James Daley	...	Jude as a Boy
Berwick Kaler	...	Farmer Troutham
Sean McKenzie	...	1st Stone Mason
Richard Albrecht	...	2nd Stone Mason
Caitlin Bossley	...	Anny
Emma Turner	...	Sarah
Lorraine Hilton	...	Shopkeeper
James Nesbitt	...	Uncle Joe
Mark Lambert	...	Tinker Taylor

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality and intense depictions of death and birth.

Runtime:

123 min | Germany:118 min (TV version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Latin

Colour:

Colour | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:R21 | Japan:R-15 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:AA (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Beamish Open Air Museum, Beamish, County Durham, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Christopher Eccleston (Jude Fawley) and David Tennant (Drunk Undergraduate) both later portrayed the Doctor in "Doctor Who" (2005). The former played the Ninth Doctor in 2005 while the latter since played the Tenth Doctor since 2005.

Quotes:

Sue: You're still Joseph, the dreamer of dreams. And the tragic Don Quixote. Sometimes you are a St. Stephen, who sees Heaven open up, even as they're stoning him.

Movie Connections:

References Jules et Jim (1962)

A naturalistic tragedy of immense proportions

I started watching this movie after having read the viewers' comments, so I was prepared for the depression inducing effect everyone kept talking about. Seems like you are never prepared enough for this movie. Sadness and tragedy are in the air right from beginning, you can feel them all the time, even when things start getting better for the two protagonists you know it can't last...because they are doomed, losers, not meant to be happy together. And yet the love they share is the purest and most devoting love I have ever seen on screen; it stunned me how true Jude was to Sue, and how brave Sue was, accepting Jude jr. as one of her own, no questions asked. Many people might find the scene of Sue giving birth and being watched by Jude jr. disturbing, yet it is essential to understand his later deeds, at least partly. The climax of the tragedy is so emotional and so immensely cruel it rips your heart out. I felt the theatre was falling into pieces and so were we, watching this emotional tornado, weeping like possessed. The experience of this movie will make you ponder life, love and death, it will make you understand how important it is to teach your children well and never make them feel undesired. It will make you realize how important it is to always think twice before commiting yourself, even in the modern world flooded with divorces. It will show you what it means to really love, completely and uncompromisingly. I highly recommend this masterpiece, a tale of two beautiful, unfortunate heros ahead their time, doomed by cruelest fate imaginable. 10/10