Educating Rita (film) a 25th Anniversary edition, to mark 25 years since the film's release. This edition has long been unavailable/discontinued, but in May 2018, ITV Studios has once again released the film onto Blu ray in the UK. In November 2002, the then-82-year-old director Lewis Gilbert went public with plans to remake his film "with a black cast that could include Halle Berry and Denzel Washington", with principal photography to commence in 2003. The project, however, never got off the ground. Educating Rita (film) Educating Rita is a British 1983 drama/comedy film directed by Lewis Gilbert with a screenplay by Willy Russell
Willy Russell West End run, the play has been translated and produced in almost every part the globe garnering awards both for its author and for many of the actors who have played the roles of Rita and Frank. Returning to the Liverpool Everyman in 1986, Russell created "Shirley Valentine" which went on to an acclaimed West End run, earning Olivier awards for both its author and star, Pauline Collins, before transferring to New York for a highly successful Broadway run and a Tony Best Actress award for Collins. Like the earlier "Educating Rita", "Shirley Valentine" became an international hit. Both "Shirley