If you're looking for the definitive example of dry wit, look no further than this 1952 version of The Importance of Being Earnest. Of course, it helps to have Oscar Wilde's beloved play as source material, but this exquisite adaptation has a charmed life of its own, with a perfectly matched director and a once-in-a-lifetime cast. Mix these ingredients with Wilde's inimitable repartee, and you've got a comedic soufflé that's cooked to perfection. Opening with a proscenium nod to its theatrical origins, the film turns Wilde's comedy of clever deception and mixed identities... into a cinematic treat, and while the 10-member cast is uniformly superb, special credit must be given to Dame Edith Evans, reprising her stage role as the imperiously stuffy Lady Bracknell. To hear her Wilde-ly hilarious inflections and elongated syllables is to witness British comedy in its purest form. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com [show more]
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Anthony Asquith directs the first screen adaptation of Oscar Wilde's classic comedy. Algernon Moncrieff (Michael Denison) has discovered that he has a secret in common with his friend Jack Worthing (Michael Redgrave) - they both use alter-egos when in a tight spot. However, when Algernon decides to pose as Jack's alter-ego - a brother from London - for a weekend in the country, he finds that Jack's cousin Cicely (Dorothy Tutin) has developed an infatuation with the mysterious brother; and now she can meet him. Meanwhile, Algernon's cousin Gwendolyne (Joan Greenwood) is also staying for the weekend and knows Jack as his alter-ego. Confused?
Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnest revolves around the clever scheming of two friends, Algernon Moncrieff (Rupert Everett) and Jack Worthing (Colin Firth), both of whom lead double lives in order to increase their opportunities for pleasure. Jack, who lives in the country, comes to London as often as he can to look after his wicked invented brother Earnest, while Algernon creates an invalid friend called Bunbury, whose constant illnesses allow him to escape family pressures in London. The pairs' deception leads to complications in their romantic lives when they are discovered by Cecily (Reese Witherspoon),Jack's ward whom Algernon is pursuing, and Gwendolyn (Frances O'Connor), Algernon's cousin whom Jack adores. Looming over everything and everyone is Gwendolyn's mother, Lady Bracknell (Judi Dench), a tyrannical figure with plots of her own to hatch. The pursuit of love, sex, money and social position lead all the characters into a series of hilarious entanglements.
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