Brief Encounter

Brief Encounter
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David Lean
Written by	Noël Coward Anthony Havelock-Allan David Lean Ronald Neame
Based on	Still Life 1936 play by Noël Coward
Produced by	Noël Coward Anthony Havelock-Allan Ronald Neame
Starring	Celia Johnson Trevor Howard Stanley Holloway Joyce Carey Cyril Raymond Everley Gregg Margaret Barton
Cinematography	Robert Krasker
Edited by	Jack Harris
Music by	Sergei Rachmaninoff
Distributed by	Eagle-Lion Distributors
Release dates	13 November 1945 (1945-11-13) (Premiere, London) 26 November 1945 (1945-11-26) (UK)
Running time	87 minutes[1]
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$1 million[2] or $1.4 million[3]

Brief Encounter is a 1945 British romantic tragedy film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play Still Life.

Starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, and Joyce Carey, the film follows a passionate extramarital relationship in England shortly before World War II. The protagonist is Laura, a married woman with children, whose conventional life becomes increasingly complicated after a chance meeting at a railway station with a married stranger with whom she subsequently falls in love.

The film premiered in London on 13 November 1945. It went to general release on 25 November, to widespread critical acclaim. It received three nominations at the 19th Academy Awards, Best Director, Best Actress (for Johnson), and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Many critics, historians, and scholars cite the film as one of the greatest of all time. In 1999, the British Film Institute ranked it as the second-greatest British film of all time. In 2017, a Time Out poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers, and critics ranked it the 12th-best British film ever.^[4]