Directed by:
Karel ReiszScreenplay:
Harold PinterCinematography:
Freddie FrancisComposer:
Carl DavisCast:
Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Hilton McRae, Charlotte Mitchell, Jean Faulds, Peter Vaughan, Colin Jeavons, Liz Smith, Patience Collier, John Barrett, Leo McKern (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Set in 1867, Sarah Woodrough (Meryl Streep), a beautiful young woman, is condemned by society and driven into a deep melancholy because of her tragic affair with a French lieutenant. Fowles adds depth and texture to the story by including direct historical asides and scientific lessons by Charles Smithson (Jeremy Irons), a wealthy amateur paleontologist and follower of Charles Darwin. In addition, there is a film within the film in which modern-day (1981) characters Anna (Streep) and Mike (Irons) provide comments on the characters they're portraying, and a little history, but primarily provide a parallel story as they enter an adulterous affair of their own. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
![Meryl Streep](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/165/049/165049824_5b5d42.jpg)
Meryl Streep
USA
Best movies:
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Out of Africa (1985)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
![Jeremy Irons](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/240/163240043_8440f5.jpg)
Jeremy Irons
UK
Best movies:
The Lion King (1994)
The Mission (1986)
The Hollow Crown (2012) (series)
Hilton McRae
UK
Best movies:
Chernobyl (2019) (series)
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Endeavour (2012) (series)
![Charlotte Mitchell](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/527/161527140_5f08fb.jpg)
Charlotte Mitchell
UK
Best movies:
Laughter in Paradise (1951)
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
Village of the Damned (1960)
Jean Faulds
UK
Best movies:
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
Restless Natives (1985)
Shepherd on the Rock (1993)
![Peter Vaughan](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/272/272527_c65377.jpg)
Peter Vaughan
UK
Best movies:
Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters (1999) (TV movie)
The Remains of the Day (1993)
The Legend of 1900 (1998)
![Colin Jeavons](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/443/160443104_a90553.jpg)
Colin Jeavons
UK
Best movies:
Jane Eyre (1983) (series)
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
![Liz Smith](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/312/160312699_ddeee3.jpg)
Liz Smith
UK
Best movies:
The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
Between the Sheets (2003) (series)
![Patience Collier](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/344/161344037_bb0265.jpg)
Patience Collier
UK
Best movies:
Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
Perfect Friday (1970)
John Barrett
UK
Best movies:
O Lucky Man! (1973)
It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet (1975)
Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)
![Leo McKern](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/099/163099557_698bc3.jpg)
Leo McKern
Australia
Best movies:
The Omen (1976)
King Lear (1983) (TV movie)
Ryan's Daughter (1970)
Ben Forster
UK
Best movies:
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
The Great Ghost Rescue (2011)
Catherine Willmer
Best movies:
O Lucky Man! (1973)
An Inspector Calls (1954)
The Hiding Place (1975)
![Richard Griffiths](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/281/281145_2c7c1d.jpg)
Richard Griffiths
UK
Best movies:
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Gandhi (1982)
The Hollow Crown (2012) (series)
Graham Fletcher-Cook
UK
Best movies:
Eddie the Eagle (2016)
Cry Freedom (1987)
Rocketman (2019)
![Richard Hope](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/289/164289190_2d97a8.jpg)
Richard Hope
UK
Best movies:
Endeavour (2012) (series)
My Brother Tom (2001)
Agatha Christie: Poirot (1989) (series)
![Michael Elwyn](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/443/161443620_44ccc2.jpg)
Michael Elwyn
UK
Best movies:
The Audience (2013) (theatrical recording)
Florence Nightingale (1985) (TV movie)
House of the Dragon (2022) (series)
Toni Palmer
UK
Best movies:
Foyle's War (2002) (series)
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
Personal Services (1987)
Cecily Hobbs
Best movies:
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
Doreen Mantle
South Africa
Best movies:
Jonathan Creek (1997) (series)
Yentl (1983)
Mountains of the Moon (1990)