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
Cultural impact of Noël Coward Song", used in their 1983 movie, "The Meaning of Life" and in their album "Monty Python Sings", sung in the persona of a Noel Coward-style lounge singer. Coward's dialogue style was lampooned in the recurring sketch "Fiona and Charles" in the radio show "Round the Horne". Coward's play "Private Lives" is parodied in the off-Broadway musical revue "Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know" in a short scene entitled "Private Wives". The 2007 video game BioShock features three of Coward's recordings: "Twentieth Century Blues", "World Weary" and "The Party's Over Now". The opening to the song "The Lady Is a Tramp"