A Handful of Dust ( Evelyn Waugh's A Handful of Dust )

A Handful of Dust (DVD) (*)

Out of Stock

Original Title: Evelyn Waugh's A Handful of Dust
Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards
Oscar Academy Awards
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
130 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1988 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Charles Sturridge

Written By:
Tim Sullivan
Derek Granger

Actors:
James Wilby ..... Tony Last
Kristin Scott Thomas ..... Brenda Last
Rupert Graves ..... John Beaver
Anjelica Huston ..... Mrs. Rattery
Judi Dench ..... Mrs. Beaver
Alec Guinness ..... Mr. Todd
Richard Beale ..... Ben
Jackson Kyle ..... John Andrew
Norman Lumsden ..... Ambrose
Jeanne Watts ..... Nanny
Kate Percival ..... Miss Ripon
Richard Leech ..... Doctor
Roger Milner ..... Vicar
Tristram Jellinek ..... Richard Last
Pip Torrens ..... Jock

Synopsis:

In the 1930s at the estate Hetton Abbey, a relic of Victorian Gothic architecture, a very upstanding Brit Tony Last (James Wilby) maintains the traditional image of his class and heritage by his marriage to wife Brenda Last (Kristin Scott Thomas) and their son John. When one of his lower-class friends John Beaver (Rupert Graves) invites himself for the weekend, Tony and Brenda put on a good face and accept him as he is well-connected, albeit without real wealth. Beaver is a mammas boy and his mom Mrs. Beaver (Judi Dench), who makes money in real estate rentals, sees Brenda Last as a positive revenue stream. Beaver and Brenda begin an affair with clueless Tony paying for an apartment in the city that Mrs. Beaver rents to the adulterous wife. When son John is accidentally killed, Brenda asks for a divorce, and chivalrous Tony, attempting to prevent Brenda from the shame of the legal actions, makes plans with private detectives to be caught with another woman so Brenda can have proper legal grounds to proceed. When Brendas lawyer comes forward to ask for 40 times the initial settlement, Tony realizes he will have to sell Hetton Abbey, something he is not willing to do. Tony calls off the divorce, leaving Brenda with nothing and heads to Brazil on a scientific expedition, but falls ill and is saved by an old jungle recluse named Mr. Todd (Alec Guinness) who agrees to nurse Tony back to health on the condition that the displaced English gentleman read the entire canon of Dickens to him.

Based on a novel by Evelyn Waugh, HANDFUL OF DUST is set amongst Britain's aristocracy of the 1930s. At sumptuous Hetton Abbey, tradition-bound country squire James Wilby and his wife Kristin Scott Thomas open their doors to well-connected but impoverished Rupert Graves. Graves returns Wilby's hospitality by having an affair with Scott Thomas, while Wilby gamboles about his estate without a clue of what is going on. Wilby's cloistered world comes tumbling down when Scott Thomas coolly demands a divorce, shortly after the accidental death of their young son. Wilby discovers that his divorce settlement will cost him Hetton Abbey; he faces this circumstance by not facing it at all, preferring to escape to South America, stiff upper lip intact, in the company of a dotty explorer.

We see the detritus of an abandoned camp in South America and a main character's hallucination. Then, the story beings. Tony and Brenda Last, lord and lady, live on his enormous estate with their young son. Tony's not much for parties, and Brenda joins London society, on the arm of a penniless man, John Beaver, a hanger-on at Tony's club. John is encouraged by his entrepreneurial mother, who sees a quid in Tony and Brenda. Brenda and John become lovers, Brenda spends more and more time in London, and Tony's without a clue. Then, bringing things to a head are tragedy, law suits, greed, and what should be a few-months' expedition to Brazil. We are each of us merely a handful of dust.

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 30 August, 2011.