Handful of Dust DVD

A Handful of Dust
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. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast James Wilby as Tony Last Kristin Scott Thomas as Brenda Last Rupert Graves as John Beaver Anjelica Huston as Mrs. Rattery Alec Guinness as Mr. Todd Judi Dench as Mrs. Beaver Pip Torrens as Jock Grant-Menzies Cathryn Harrison as Milly

Crew David Wimbury - Associate Producer Jane Robinson - Costume Designer Michael Jeffery - Costume Designer Charles Sturridge - Director Peter Coulson - Editor Kent Walwin - Executive Producer Jeffrey Taylor - Executive Producer George Fenton - Composer (Music Score) George Fenton - Musical Direction/Supervision Sally Sutton - Makeup Chris Townsend - Production Designer Eileen Diss - Production Designer Peter Hannan - Cinematographer Kent Walwin - Producer Derek Granger - Producer David Wimbury - Producer Jeffrey Taylor - Producer Stephenie McMillan - Set Designer Tim Sullivan - Screenwriter Charles Sturridge - Screenwriter Derek Granger - Screenwriter Evelyn Waugh - Book Author

A Handful of Dust
Adapted from Evelyn Waugh's novel, this very British film about how adhering to very British values can lead one on a straight and unrelenting path to hell serves up the same kind of manors and manners as Brideshead Revisited (also directed by Sturridge), but it gives equal exposure to the rot and ruin lurking beneath. A Handful of Dust is a surpassingly nasty film, in which people do rotten things while maintaining a lacquered veneer of grace and civility. The hideousness of these actions, and their impact on the film's one decent character (James Wilby), constitute a trenchant, ironic indictment of essentially useless people. The film's physical look mirrors the malaise of its characters: prim and picturesque as a still from a Merchant/Ivory excursion, the staid exterior sets a deceptively ordered stage for a story about the failures of tradition. The film features great performances by Wilby, Kristin Scott Thomas as his chilly wife, Rupert Graves as her wastrel lover, Anjelica Huston as a visiting American who puts things in perspective, and Alec Guinness as a loony jungle explorer. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
 

Jane Robinson: Academy, Best Costume Design (nominated) Judi Dench: British Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actress (winner)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: Sound Processing: DS: Dolby Surround (4.0) Additional Features: none specified DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1: Vistavision MPAA Rating: PG DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 114 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Dreaming of a Holiday [8:59] 2. A Weekend Guest [6:14] 3. Visiting London [7:54] 4. Taking a Flat [6:12] 5. A Game of Charades [10:21] 6. The Fox Hunt [9:22] 7. Telling Brenda [8:52] 8. Going On [7:22] 9. Two Breakfasts [6:56] 10. Meeting a Traveler [7:38] 11. The Lost City [9:28] 12. Medicine for Everything [6:10] 13. Hard Times [8:53] 14. The Missing Watch [2:52] 15. Funeral [2:38] 16. End Credits [3:14]