Tags: Ben Whishaw | Emma Thompson | Felicity Jones | Greta Scacchi | Hayley Atwell | James Bradshaw | Jonathan Cake | Joseph Beattie | Julian Jarrold | Matthew Goode | Michael Gambon | Patrick Malahide

Adapted from one of the truly great works of fiction of the 20th century, Brideshead Revisited is a gorgeously romantic epic portraying a story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence...

The curse of British weather
Brideshead Revisited was shot almost entirely on location in Yorkshire, Oxford, London, Venice and Marrakech, over 11 weeks in the summer of 2007 – one of the wettest British summers on record. The six-week shoot saw some of the worst weather, with parts of the region flooded and cut off. At times, cast and crew were stranded where the train from London to York abandoned them to fight their way north to the set via other transport.

Fortunately Castle Howard stands on higher ground and shooting continued unabated, between thunderstorms. Kevin Loader recalls, "At one point the whole of South Yorkshire was flooded. In York, where we were staying, the city centre was flooded and people were canoeing to the pub! But we were incredibly lucky, because the times when we've needed to shoot outside, the sun shone. My hope is that when people watch the film they won't know that we filmed in the worst summer that Yorkshire has seen in some time."

Filming moved from Yorkshire to Oxford to shoot the early meetings and blossoming friendship between Charles Ryder and Sebastian Flyte. The weather wasn't far behind, but thankfully the floods which were to devastate parts of Oxfordshire later held back until the production had moved on. Several locations were flooded two weeks later, including the stretch of the River Thames/Cherwell where the punting scene was shot, where Charles sees Sebastian for the first time, with the equally flamboyant Anthony Blanche.

During the relatively short shoot in Oxford, the filmmakers needed to quickly establish key points in the Oxford story. Kevin explains, "We had to really establish that sense of wonder of Charles's first experiences of the architecture and the hustle and bustle of Oxford and then the difference between Sebastian's world and the one that Charles has come from which is reflected a little in the difference between their two Colleges. Sebastian's College, Christchurch, is one of the grandest and richest Colleges in Oxford with the largest quadrangle, whereas Charles's at Lincoln is much more intimate and domestic. We've tried to play on those to show the social differences and different places the two characters come from."

Ben Whishaw notes the importance of the first meeting between the two characters which takes place at Lincoln College, in Charles's room. "They meet when Sebastian vomits through Charles window one evening and it is a kind of love at first sight moment," says Ben. "Sebastian is somebody who is quite aware of the glamour and mystery he trails behind him and he just starts reeling Charles in." Ben adds, "He's also very aware of the class difference between them and knows that Charles is fascinated by him because of that. I think you also see that the seeds of Sebastian's downfall are already there, with his heavy drinking."

Evelyn Waugh had been an undergraduate at Oxford University at Hertford College and drew on some of his own experiences for Charles Ryder's initiation into student life and fascination with the aristocratic Lord Sebastian Flyte. Similarly to Ryder, Evelyn Waugh had come from a middle class background and was extremely curious about (and attracted to) the upper classes.

Oxford University traces its roots back to the 11th Century and is made up of 39 Colleges, five of which were used for the Oxford shoot of Brideshead. Christchurch is the College attributed to Sebastian in the novel and the one which was used for the exterior shots of Sebastian's rooms in the film. It is one of the largest in Oxford. Lincoln College doubles for the interiors of both Charles's College rooms and Sebastian's rooms. Merton College, which is one of the oldest in Oxford, with its beautiful, medieval buildings, was used as the exterior for Charles's rooms. Magdalen (pronounced "maudlin") was used for various exterior shots for the Oxford shoot and Exeter College was also used for various exterior shoots.

Lincoln College had not been used for filming before and the producers were delighted to film there. It offered a variety of rooms big enough to manoeuvre a camera and beautiful quadrangles with immaculately mowed lawns. Kevin Loader comments, "It was a multipurpose venue for us and the College were extremely welcoming although there was a lot of anxiety from the Lincoln College gardener when we were careening all over their lawn with a lot of people playing drunken students!"

Radcliffe Square (seen in The Golden Compass) was also used as an exterior location, Charles meets cousin Jasper here and is also seen cycling here with Sebastian. The large exterior shots took in a number of extras in 1920s student attire, many on bicycles. Many of the extras were actual Oxford students who were given parts as long as they agreed to have their hair cut into the ‘short back and sides' fashion of the day.

Shooting in Venice
The Venice scenes were a crucial part of the screenplay for the producers and director Julian Jarrold, as Venice serves as the emotional pivot in the story, when Charles's affections shift from Sebastian to a lifelong passion for Julia. Director Julian Jarrold comments, "Venice provides a lovely contrast to the formal world of Lady Marchmain and Brideshead and it's another vista that opens up to Charles, after Oxford and Brideshead as well as his dull suburban upbringing.

Venice also acts as an exotic backdrop which very much serves to develop the characters and move them on in the story, in particular, allowing Charles and Julia's relationship to blossom." This crucial development in the plot changes the paths of the key trio forever. Kevin Loader comments, "Charles's relationship with the Marchmain family changes after Venice and his relationship with Sebastian and Julia is never the same. It's an important moment in the story - the pivot around which everything hinges."

Of course, Venice is also one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world. Its classic landmarks such as St Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge and its iconic ubiquitous gondolas are instantly recognisable but the filmmakers were keen to explore other sides of this unique city to bring 1920s Venice to life.

Kevin Loader comments, "When you come to Venice, you immediately feel like tourist which is okay as our characters are, in some way, tourists. But we wanted to see Venice slightly more by being guided in by Lord Marchmain and his resident's knowledge of rather than resorting to the more obvious things. We also took a decision quite early on not to have anyone in a gondola or have any of the cast in St Mark's Square!" Kevin adds, "Still, we filmed in some rather stunning places which we chose to fit the story we were telling and which worked for Julian's visualization of that narrative. There was plenty of choice."

The production shot in several locations across the city, including Punta Sabbioni, Cavallino, which doubled as the Lido for the beach scenes. The cloisters and chapel of the San Francesco Della Vigna monastery were used for the chapel scenes in the aftermath of the kiss, where Charles tries to explain his spontaneous act to a devastated Sebastian.

The largest scene shot in Venice was the religious festival scene, filmed overnight in Campo Castelforte. The magical scene required numerous extras to recreate a classic Venetian street festival combining elements of the Carnivale with street theatre and religious imagery. Kevin Loader comments: "The scene has a few familiar elements but we haven't gone for the Carnivale-style masked ball which happens each February."

Venice as a filming location brings with it many complications, foremost among them that all transportation is by boat, whether for people or equipment. In addition, during the summer months, the city swarms with huge numbers of tourists from around the world.

"It is an incredibly difficult place to shoot," admits Julian Jarrold. "You have so many tourists, coordinating the boats is always difficult, the gondolas all have the right of way so you have to wait for them to clear before you're able to shoot. There are so many bridges in the back of shots each of which is always packed with tourists. For a period film, it's very challenging! But when it all comes together, it's absolutely fantastic. Venice is so beautiful and atmospheric." Kevin Loader echoes this: "Venice has problems and delights. There is boat traffic and tourists everywhere but in many ways, it's a period-friendly location – you can point your camera almost anywhere."

Some members of the cast were visiting the fabled city for the first time. "I think because everyone always says that they love Venice, I needed to be blown away by it and I was, completely," says Ben Whishaw. "It was more fabulous than I could have imagined. I would sit by one of the canals with a book. It was heaven. It's an incredibly romantic place, but also one that has a slight melancholy atmosphere of a place that was once great and powerful. There's an air of faded glory about it, which is very appealing. I felt totally privileged to have the opportunity to work there and to see it from that perspective".

The Look of Brideshead
The production team, including Hair and Makeup, Costume, Production Design and Cinematography worked closely with the director to achieve the look and feel of Brideshead Revisited. Set across the 20s, 30s and 40s, the film covers several periods but has been approached with a nod to modern sensibilities, as well as accentuating the distinct changes in tone as Charles Ryder's relationship with the Marchmain family progresses and changes. Director of Photography, Jess Hall explains: "I felt that it was a story that could be told in quite a modern way, that it could be a modern period film, which was an interesting challenge."

On the distinctive look for each part of the film, Jess explains, "Each section of Brideshead Revisited sort of has its own look which is something Julian and I talked about quite early on. For Castle Howard/Brideshead, we tried to generate a romantic warmth as well as the harsh sunlight when Charles sees the house for the first time. This is then contrasted with the later period at Brideshead which is quite cool, colour- wise. The lighting is quite different, much softer and colder." He adds, "Oxford then has two slightly different looks but mostly, we went for warmer tones as Charles is still falling in love with the world around him at that stage. For the later scenes in Venice we wanted a warmth for the carnival and we used a lot of firelight and lanterns to bathe the scenes in a warm glow."

Costume Designer Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh, who had worked with Julian on Becoming Jane was familiar with the television series but keen to approach Brideshead with a fresh eye: "I was very important for us to create something individual and new, so I started from scratch, researching the period and fabrics." Working with the director and actors, Eimer looked to reflect the characters and their development throughout the film through the style and design of their wardrobes.

"Costume is really important to a film," she comments. "It's really important to me that the actors are comfortable in their costumes and that they are helping to develop their characters in some way." Ben Whishaw confirms the effectiveness of this process. "I'm always amazed how a piece of clothing changes the way you feel. It does an awful lot for you and your work as an actor. My suits were great because all of that really isn't me at all." On dressing Ben, Eimer notes, "Ben is very relaxed, which worked well for Sebastian because you want him to have a total ease with what he's wearing. You want him to look gorgeous and individual and fascinating, so that everyone turns to look at him."

For Hayley playing Julia, Eimer needed to mark the moments where Julia is in the spotlight. "There are times when you want somebody to walk into a room and you want a ‘wow' factor. For Hayley, there are times when you want her to open a door and look great but you also need to make sure the character is believable - it's a balancing act."

Hair and Makeup Artist Roseann Samuel was delighted by the prospect of working across the period in which the film is set. "It's a fabulous period and very glamorous. I love finger-waving the women's hair and doing ‘short back and sides' for the guys," she says. As Julia, Hayley Atwell has two distinct looks in the film for the 20s and 30s. Roseann comments, "For the 20s, we gave Hayley a classic little Louise Brookes bob and then cut and curled for the 30s period look."

Roseann worked closely with the Costume department and comments, "Eimer made some fantastic costumes and we worked very closely together, particularly before the production started so that everything worked. For Emma Thompson in particular, Eimer had to bear in mind her hair colour before she designed her costumes. We looked at going with a more natural colour for Emma's hair, but eventually decided on silver, which is very striking, for this woman who has gone very grey, very young. It's not meant to age her – just to have a head-turning effect."

For Ben and Matthew, Roseann worked on looks that would start to emulate each other as Charles becomes fascinated by Sebastian. "Charles's hair starts off a bit neater and then he becomes Sebastianified," says Roseann. "His hair becomes looser and freer as he starts emulating Sebastian - they both have floppy fronts and the short back and sides which was the basic look of for the period. When we get to the 30s, Charles's hair is taken back and he's much more debonair and stylish. He seems much more man than boy, which is what we were trying to create."

Sebastian has one of the more radical changes in hairstyle in his final scenes of the film, when he is seen in Morocco with a shaven head. Roseann comments, "He's been living in a monastery, and there are lots of shaved heads and it just feels as if he is part of it. We made him look a bit more skeletal and hollow, as if the drink has taken its toll. He's a different person to the boy he was."

The Cast
Matthew Goode was born in Exeter, England, the youngest of five siblings (he has a brother, two half brothers and a half sister from his mother's other marriage); he grew up in Devon with a geologist father and a nurse mother who was also an amateur theater director. Goode studied drama at the University of Birmingham and classical theater at London's Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. Goode may be best known for his role as Mandy Moore's romantic interest in the 2004 film Chasing Liberty. Beforehand, Goode had played the brother of Inspector Lynley in the BBC production The Inspector Lynley Mysteries 2 - A Suitable Vengeance and had parts in the TV-movie Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and the Shakespearean stage play The Tempest.

A veteran of the stage and former member of the esteemed Bancroft Players Youth Theatre, British actor Ben Whishaw made his belated entry into Hollywood in 2007 as the star of the feature film, Perfume - The Story Of A Murderer. Considered one of the U.K.'s most promising new rising stars, Whishaw was also handpicked by director Todd Haynes as one of nine actors to play the legendary Bob Dylan in a biopic told from several points of view. But it was Whishaw's stage work and his chilling performance in the highly acclaimed Perfume that put the actor in great demand on both sides of the pond.

Born on Oct. 20, 1980 in Hitchen, Hertfordshire, England, Ben Whishaw trained at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art – alma mater of such stage luminaries as Patrick Stewart and Peter O'Toole. Prior to attending RADA, however, Whishaw landed important supporting roles in two 1999 U.K. films. The first was The Trench – a modestly produced, but powerful character piece set on the horrific battlefields of World War I. Incidentally, the film also starred a young actor named Daniel Craig, who would go on to international fame as the sixth James Bond - Casino Royale in 2006. Whishaw's second 1999 film, the French drama Mauvaise passe, was another well-received character study about a gigolo/escort visiting London. Directed by Michel Blanc, Mauvaise Passe paired Whishaw with French actor Daniel Auteuil and became a solid hit with the art house crowds.

On the movie front, the winter of 2007 saw Whishaw's career take off as never before. That year, Wishaw was cast in his first lead role in the thriller, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. Based on the award-winning mystery by German author Patrick Süskind, Perfume was the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, an orphaned misfit turned serial killer. Set in 18th Century France, the monstrous Grenouille was a respected maker of perfumes by day; a killer of women by night.

Born with an uncanny and rare sense of smell, Grenouille's obsession to capture the aromas, scents, and olfactory "essences" of his victims, formed the backbone of this most unusual murder mystery. With physicality an important component to his role, Whishaw's performance benefited greatly from his stage training. It also gave the young actor confidence to hold his own with his esteemed co-stars, Dustin Hoffman and Alan Rickman. Released in Europe in September 2006, the film was a tremendous success and was well on its way to earning $100 million even before its U.S. release in early January 2007.

Born in 1982, young British actress Hayley Atwell is poised on the brink of fame for securing the female lead role in Woody Allen's resonantly English, crime-themed drama Cassandra's Dream (2007). 2008 will be a year to look out for this rising star as she has signed on to 2 prestigious assignment. First of which is the lead in Julian Jarrold's period drama ‘Brideshead Revisited' (2008), adapted from the seminal novel by Evelyn Waugh and co-starring Emma Thompson and Michael Gambon.

She will also played Lady Bess Foster in Saul Dibb's The Duchess, which co-stars Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes. Atwell was a sixth-former at the London Oratory School, West London, and then trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 2005. She served on the jury for the 2007 British Independent Film Awards. Straddling between her cinematic endeavours and other dramatic pursuits, Atwell will also be playing the title character in Major Barbara at the National Theatre.

Emma Thompson was born in London on April 15, 1959, into a family of actors - her father was Eric Thompson, who has passed away, and her mother, Phyllida Law, has co-starred with Thompson in several films (her sister, Sophie Thompson, is an actor as well). Thompson's wit was earlier cultivated by a cheerful, clever, creative family atmosphere, and she was a popular and successful student. She attended Cambridge University, studying English Literature, and was part of the university's Footlights Group, the famous group where, previously, many of the Monty Python members had first met.

Thompson graduated in 1980 and embarked on her career in entertainment, beginning with stints on BBC radio and touring with comedy shows. She soon got her first major break in television, on the comedy skit program Alfresco (1983), writing and performing along with her fellow Footlights Group alums Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. She also worked on other TV comedy review programs in the mid-1980s, occasionally with some of her fellow Footlights alums, and often with actor Robbie Coltrane.

Thompson found herself collaborating again with Fry in 1985, this time in his stage adaptation of the play Me and My Girl in London's West End, in which she had a leading role, playing Sally Smith. The show was a success and she received favorable reviews, and the strength of her performance led to her casting as the lead in the BBC television miniseries Fortunes of War (1987), in which Thompson and her co-star, Kenneth Branagh, play an English ex-patriate couple living in Eastern Europe as the Second World War erupts.

Thompson won a BAFTA award for her work on the program. She married Branagh in 1989, continued to work with him professionally, and formed a production company with him. In the late 80s and early 90s, she starred in a string of well-received and successful television and film productions, most notably her lead role in the Merchant-Ivory production of Howard's End (1992), which confirmed her ability to carry a movie on both sides of the Atlantic and appropriately showered her with trans-Atlantic honors - both an Oscar and a BAFTA award.

Since then, Thompson has continued to move effortlessly between the art film world and mainstream Hollywood, though even her Hollywood roles tend to be in more up-market productions. She continues to work on television as well, but is generally very selective about which roles she takes. She writes for the screen as well, such as the screenplay for Ang Lee's Sense & Sensibility (1995), in which she also starred as Elinor Dashwood, and the teleplay adaptation of Margaret Edson's acclaimed play Wit (2001) (TV), in which she also starred.

Thompson is known for her sophisticated, skillful, though her critics say somewhat mannered, performances, and of course for her arch wit, which she is unafraid to point at herself - she is a fearless self-satirist. Thompson and Branagh divorced in 1994, and Thompson is now married to fellow actor Greg Wise. Thompson and Wise have one child, Gaia, born in 1999.

One of Britain's most revered stage performers, Michael Gambon was described by the late Sir Ralph Richardson as The Great Gambon. The fierce-looking Irish actor joined Britain's National Theatre in 1963 after being personally selected by Sir Laurence Olivier. He quickly worked his way up to leading parts and became particularly well known for his work in a number of Alan Ayckbourn plays. Gambon's career received a major boost in 1980, when he took the title role in John Dexter's production of The Life of Galileo; he subsequently became a regular player with both the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The actor received particular acclaim for his work in A View from the Bridge, for which he won all of the major drama awards in 1987, and Volpone, for which he won the 1995 Evening Standard Award. Gambon made his Broadway debut in 1997 in New York's Royal Theatre production of David Hare's Skylight.

While he was busy racking up an impressive number of plays, Gambon also found time to nurture a film career. Although he made his screen debut in a 1965 adaptation of Othello, the actor appeared only sporadically in films until the late '80s, when he began earning recognition for his work in such films as Peter Greenaway's Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover (1989), which cast him as the sadistic titular thief. He went on to do starring work in a number of diverse films, including A Man of No Importance (1994), The Browning Version (1994), Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), and Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (1999).

Extremely busy during the millennial turnover, Gambon once again caught the attention of audiences in Robert Altman's much-praised comedy Gosford Park before taking over the late Richard Harris's role as Albus Dumbledore in 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, subsequently portraying the character for the remainder of the films. Gambon, who became a familiar face to PBS devotees via his title role in Dennis Potter's quirky TV serial The Singing Detective (1986-1987), was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1992.