Stars: Julie Walters, Michael Caine, Malcolm Douglas, Maureen Lipman

Director: Lewis Gilbert

Summary: Hilarious and often moving drama, revolving around a girl's search for the education she never had. Screenplay by Willy Russell.

Dr. Frank Bryant (Michael Caine) is an alcoholic professor of literature headed for dire straits. Rita (Julie Walters) is a frustrated young housewife filled with wanderlust. When the two meet as student and teacher, no lecture hall can contain their attraction for one another. As Rita engages her teacher in a fuzzy romance, she matures and discovers a new side of herself, but in the end she must choose either her marriage or the magnetic Dr. Bryant.
EDUCATING RITA reunites director Lewis Gilbert with star Michael Caine--they previously worked together in the 1966 drama ALFIE--and once again their collaboration is staggering. Bryant's shortcomings as a drunk and a womanizer are detestable, yet still Gilbert allows viewers to empathize with his character. In EDUCATING RITA, Gilbert once again demonstrates that he is not only a master of commanding the camera but a master at deconstructing the human heart as well.

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Michael Caine and the knockout Julie Walters deliver a pair of wonderful performances in this endearingly bittersweet tale of a boozily burnt-out professor's tutoring of (and subsequent tutoring by) a free-spirited hairdresser determined to improve her lot in life. The basic plot won't exactly surprise anyone who's ever seen a movie before but the ace cast (particularly Caine, who's rarely this subtle) continually finds new directions to spin off from the rather rote path. Although the end result is perhaps just a little too convinced of its own adorability to attain classic status, this remains a rarity in the genre--a feel-good film that earns its emotions honestly. A nice change of pace for director Lewis Gilbert, who is perhaps better known for his contributions to the James Bond series. --Andrew Wright

Aspect Ratio:	4:3 Full Frame
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Interactive Menus, Scene Access
Year:	1983
Release Date:	October 20, 2003
Runtime:	106 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	37115 05703
Label:	Classic Collection
Keywords:	Willy, Comedy, General, Educating, Rita, Russell, Drama
Genre:	Drama