If you were ever curious how a bad director can destroy the work of two talented actors and a slight, but funny, script, you need look no further than Educating Rita. [28 Oct 1983]
Educating Rita
✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
United Kingdom · 1983
Rated PG · 1h 50m
Director Lewis Gilbert
Starring Michael Caine, Julie Walters, Michael Williams, Maureen Lipman
Genre Drama, Comedy
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
Rita, a witty 26-year-old hairdresser, wants to 'discover' herself so she joins an Open University where she meets the disillusioned professor of literature, Dr. Frank Bryant. His marriage has failed, his new girlfriend is having an affair with his best friend and he can't get through the day without downing a bottle or two of whisky. What Frank needs is a challenge... and along comes Rita.
We hate to say it, but we can't find anywhere to view this film.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The film doesn't transcend its genre, but it's an honorable achievement within it.
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
The plot is ''Pygmalion'' warmed over, but Michael Caine and Julie Walters give sparkling performances, and director Lewis Gilbert keeps the action humming along.
The New York Times by Janet Maslin
The essentially two-character play has been opened up to the point that it includes a variety of settings and subordinate figures, but it never approaches anything lifelike.
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Jay Scott
The achievement of Educating Rita is a function of the distinguished performances, the agreeably archetypal situation and the scissor-sharp lines. [23 Sep 1983]
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
Educating Rita, which might have been a charming human comedy, disintegrated into a forced march through a formula relationship.
Users who liked this film also liked
Mr. Bean's Holiday
Disaster has a passport.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, France, Germany • 2007
- Director Steve Bendelack
- Cast Rowan Atkinson, Steve Pemberton, Maxim Baldry, Emma de Caunes, Willem Dafoe, Karel Roden
- Genre Comedy, Family
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand
Pride & Prejudice
Elizabeth Bennet will marry for love, no matter what the consequences.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United Kingdom, United States • 2005
- Director Joe Wright
- Cast Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Rosamund Pike, Simon Woods, Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Peacock Premium, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
Kagemusha
(影武者)
A petty thief must impersonate a powerful warlord in order to lead his troops to battle.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, United States • 1980
- Director Akira Kurosawa
- Cast Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Jinpachi Nezu, Takashi Shimura, Kenichi Hagiwara
- Genre Action, Drama, History, War
- Available on fuboTV, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand
Escape to Victory
Three POWs devise a plan to escape during a soccer match between Nazis and allied captives.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States, Italy • 1981
- Director John Huston
- Cast Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow, Pelé, Carole Laure, Bobby Moore
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
The Witch
Evil takes many forms.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Canada, United States • 2016
- Director Robert Eggers
- Cast Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, Lucas Dawson
- Genre Mystery, Horror
- Available on Cinemax Amazon Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Cinemax Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Kanopy
Dunkirk
Hope is a weapon, survival is a victory.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Netherlands, France • 2017
- Director Christopher Nolan
- Cast Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Aneurin Barnard, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, James D'Arcy
- Genre War, Action, Drama
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
The Death of Stalin
In the Kremlin, no one can hear you scheme.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, France, Belgium • 2017
- Director Armando Iannucci
- Cast Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Paddy Considine, Rupert Friend, Jason Isaacs, Olga Kurylenko
- Genre Comedy, History
- Available on Hulu, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC Plus Apple TV Channel , IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Player
Eternals
In the beginning...
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United States • 2021
- Director Chloé Zhao
- Cast Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Barry Keoghan, Lauren Ridloff
- Genre Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
- Available on Disney Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
The White Tiger
Chronicles one man’s epic and darkly humorous rise from a poor and ambitious driver to a successful entrepreneur in modern India.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- India, United States • 2021
- Director Ramin Bahrani
- Cast Adarsh Gourav, Rajkummar Rao, Priyanka Chopra, Mahesh Manjrekar, Vijay Maurya, Mahesh Pillai
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads