Jude

Original Poster

Directed by
Michael Winterbottom

Produced by
Andrew Eaton

Written by
Hossein Amini (screenplay)
Based on the novel Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

Starring
Christopher Eccleston
Kate Winslet
Liam Cunningham

Music by
Adrian Johnston

Cinematography
Eduardo Serra

Editing by
Trevor Waite

Distributed by
Universal Pictures
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Release date(s)
October 4, 1996 (UK)

Running time
123 min.

Country
United Kingdom

Language
English/Latin

Allmovie profile

IMDb profile

Jude is a 1996 English film, based on the novel Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy and directed by Michael Winterbottom, who also directed The Claim, another Hardy-based movie, in 2000. It tells the story of a stonemason pursuing the cousin he loves even though both are married. The screenplay is written by Hossein Amini. The original music score is composed by Adrian Johnston.

The film gained notoriety for a scene in which Kate Winslet’s character is shown giving birth in graphic detail, a scene in which she appeared full-frontal nude.

Contents

• 1 Plot summary
• 2 Main cast
• 3 Marketing
• 4 Trivia
• 5 External links

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Plot summary

In the Victorian period, Jude Fawley (Eccleston) is a young man with dreams of receiving a scholarly university education. Circumstances conspire against him, however, forcing him into a job as a stonemason and an unsatisfactory marriage to a country girl, Arabella (Griffiths). He remains true to his dream, however, and months later, after his wife’s sudden departure, heads for the city, where he thinks education lies for any man who is willing to work hard. There he encounters his beautiful cousin, Sue Bridehead (Winslet), who shares his intelligence and disdain for convention, and the two develop a romantic relationship. These unlikely lovers must struggle to keep their relationship from a disapproving world, however, or else face the tragic consequences of public scandal.

Main cast

Actor
Role

Christopher Eccleston
Jude Fawley

Kate Winslet
Sue Bridehead

Liam Cunningham
Phillotson

Rachel Griffiths
Arabella

June Whitfield
Aunt Drusilla

Marketing

Taglines used to advertise the film include:

• “His world could never change… until she became his world.”
• “A time without pity. A society with mercy. A love without equal.”
• “It is a difficult question to answer… Whether to follow your dreams… Or to let life lead you where it will.”

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. (September 2007)
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Eccleston shares a brief scene in the film with David Tennant. Nine years later, Tennant succeeded Eccleston in the lead role in Doctor Who. Jude remains the only time that the two have appeared together on-screen.
• The majority of the film was shot in Edinburgh in late 1994.

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Jude

• Jude at the Internet Movie Database
• Jude at Allmovie
• Jude at Rotten Tomatoes

This article related to the cinema of the United Kingdom is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jude_%28film%29”
Categories: 1996 films | British films | English-language films | Independent films | Romantic drama films | Romantic period films | Films based on fiction books | Films based on romance books | Films based on Thomas Hardy’s books | Films directed by Michael Winterbottom | Tragedy films | Victorian era films | British film stubsHidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since September 2007 | Articles with trivia sections from September 2007