Shadowlands
Directed by	Richard Attenborough
Produced by	Richard Attenborough, Brian Eastman
Written by	William Nicholson, based on his own play
Starring	Anthony Hopkins Debra Winger Joseph Mazello
Music by	George Fenton
Distributed by	Spelling Films International
Released	December 25, 1993 (US)
Running time	131 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Shadowlands is a play, TV drama and film written by William Nicholson. The story is a fictionalized version of the relationship between the writer C. S. Lewis and his fan Joy Gresham. The title comes from Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, in which the world as we know it and other worlds like it are referred to as the 'shadowlands', because they are only a shadow of what is to come. Image File history File links Shadowlands. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... There have been several well-known people named William Nicholson, including: William Nicholson (artist) William Nicholson (chemist) William Nicholson (dramatist) William Nicholson (Mayor of Melbourne) Sir William Nicholson (soldier), British General, and Chief of the Imperial General Staff William Nicholson (naval officer) served in the United States Navy. ... Sir Anthony Hopkins Sir Anthony Hopkins (IPA: ) KBE (born December 31, 1937) is an Oscar-winning Welsh-born actor. ... Debra Winger (born May 16, 1955) is an American actress. ... George Fenton (born October 19, 1950) is a British composer best known for his work writing film scores and music for television. ... December 25 is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 6 days remaining. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... C.S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898–22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an Irish author and scholar, of mixed Irish, English, and Welsh ancestry. ... Joy Gresham Joy Davidman (born Helen Joy Davidman on April 18, 1915, died July 13, 1960) was a Jewish writer, a radical communist and an atheist until her conversion to Christianity in the late 1940s. ... The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. ...

The work was first seen as a television play in 1985 starring Joss Ackland and Claire Bloom. It was then performed as a play on the West End in 1990, starring Nigel Hawthorne as Lewis, who successfully took the role to Broadway, and Jane Lapotaire as Joy. It then became a 1993 film directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. This article is about the year. ... Joss Ackland (born February 29, 1928) is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films in his career. ... Claire Bloom (born Patricia Claire Blume on February 15, 1931) is a British actress. ... // West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre in London, or sometimes more specifically for shows staged in the large theatres of Londons Theatreland . Along with New Yorks Broadway Theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of theatre in the... This article is about the year. ... Sir Nigel Hawthorne, KBE (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was a renowned English actor. ... Broadway theatre is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Sir Anthony Hopkins Sir Anthony Hopkins (IPA: ) KBE (born December 31, 1937) is an Oscar-winning Welsh-born actor. ... Debra Winger (born May 16, 1955) is an American actress. ...

Synopsis

The story follows Lewis as he meets an American fan, Joy Gresham, whom he befriends and eventually marries. The story also deals with his struggle with issues of personal pain and grief: Lewis preaches that one should endure suffering with patience, but finds that the simple answers he had preached no longer apply when Joy becomes afflicted with cancer and eventually dies. Joy Gresham Joy Davidman (born Helen Joy Davidman on April 18, 1915, died July 13, 1960) was a Jewish writer, a radical communist and an atheist until her conversion to Christianity in the late 1940s. ... When normal cells are damaged beyond repair, they are eliminated by apoptosis. ...

Relationship to history

The film contains many factual inaccuracies:

• According to biographies Lewis personality was not so linear, he knew passion even before meeting his wife: he had a love affair with a 40 years old woman when he was in his twenties.
• Joy Gresham had two sons, David and Douglas, but only Douglas appears in the film.
• C. S. Lewis could not drive, yet his drive to Hertfordshire is an important moment in the film.
• The film covers events between 1952 and 1960 and shows Lewis teaching at Magdalen College, Oxford. However, this is a simplification of reality: in 1954, Lewis accepted a Professorship in Medieval and Renaissance English at Magdalene College, Cambridge and thus discontinued his teaching at Oxford. He did so, however, on the condition that he would be able to return to his home in Oxford for vacations and long weekends during the school term.
• Joy Gresham broke her leg when answering a telephone call from Kathleen Farrer in her home in Oxford. In the film she breaks her leg answering a call from C. S. Lewis in her house in London.
• Joy Gresham was treated in hospital in Oxford, not in London.

1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... College name Magdalen College Named after Mary Magdalene Established 1458 Sister College Magdalene College President Professor David Clary FRS JCR President Iain Anstess Undergraduates 395 Graduates 230 Homepage Boatclub Magdalen College (pronounced ) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Full name The College of Saint Mary Magdalene Motto Garde ta Foy Keep your Faith Named after Mary Magdalene Previous names - Established 1428 Sister College(s) Magdalen College Master Duncan Robinson Location Magdalene Street Undergraduates 335 Postgraduates 169 Homepage Boatclub Magdalene College (pronounced ) was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine... Map of the Cambridgeshire area (1904) The city of Cambridge is an old English university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire. ... C.S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898–22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an Irish author and scholar, of mixed Irish, English, and Welsh ancestry. ...

Quotations

"Why love if losing hurts so much? I have no answers any more. Only the life I have lived. Twice in that life I've been given the choice; as a boy and as a man. The boy chose safety, man chooses suffering. The pain now is part of the happiness then. That's the deal."

"See yourself in the mirror, you're separate from yourself. See the world in the mirror, you're separate from the world. I don't want that separation anymore." (Joy in the play)

External links

• Shadowlands at The Internet Movie Database

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about actors, films, television shows, television stars, video games and production crew personnel. ...

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