Brideshead

Brideshead’s back -
​but as we’ve never seen it before

Photo credit: BritBox, used with permission

For those of us of a certain age, Brideshead Revisited will always have a special place in our hearts. The beloved TV adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s novel was a phenomenal success when first shown in 1981. And now, in honor of the 40th anniversary of its original broadcast, on October 12 we too can revisit Brideshead, Charles, Sebastian and Aloysius (the teddy bear) as the iconic series has been beautifully restored, remastered and re-worked in glorious 4K high definition by BritBox.

Considered to be one of the greatest literary adaptations of all time and even called “the biggest British invasion since the Beatles'' by The New York Times, the story follows the life and romances of Charles Ryder (played by Jeremy Irons).  Charles is befriended at Oxford by Sebastian Flyte (Anthony Andrews), who’s from a family of aristocratic English Catholics living in a palatial mansion called Brideshead (filmed at beautiful Castle Howard in Yorkshire). Set in the 1920s to the early 1940s, the series also stars the legendary Laurence Olivier in one of his later television roles. His emotional final scene in the Chinese Drawing Room is among my all-time favourite TV moments!
 
Even after 40 years, this incomparable 11-part miniseries remains as “one of history’s finest period dramas” (Harper's Bazaar) and “television’s greatest literary adaptation, bar none” (The Telegraph). 
 

The colors and clarity of the 4K remastering are absolutely spectacular. It’s almost as if we, the viewers, are returning to Brideshead after many years away, and seeing it all in a new light, just as Charles Ryder does in the final episode. 

​Tune into BritBox, relive the memories, and revisit Brideshead yourself. 

Check out the stunning quality of the restoration in this video from BritBox