Brief Encounter (1974 film) Brief Encounter (1974 film) Brief Encounter is a 1974 British-Italian television film starring Richard Burton and Sophia Loren, adapted from the play "Still Life" by Noël Coward. The plot of the film is about two strangers, both married to others, who meet in a railway station and find themselves in a brief but intense affair. The material was previously the basis for the David Lean film "Brief Encounter" (1945). Burton was cast at the last moment, after Robert Shaw dropped out. The film had its premiere on U.S. television on 12 November 1974 as part of the "Hallmark Hall of
Still Life (2006 film) the former, and an 81% (out of 10 reviews) rating from the latter as of February 2008. At the end of 2008, "Village Voice" and "LA Weekly"'s annual film poll of film critics placed the film as the 4th best film of the year, and "Film Comment", official journal of the Film Society of Lincoln Center's annual end of year critic' poll of 100 film critics placed "Still Life" as the 6th best film of the year, with a total of 521 points. The film was voted the third best film of the past decade in a survey by the