Nothing Like a Dame

"You're invited."

2018 1h 20m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

🔥

98%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.4

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 62🍅98%Rotten Tomatoes●85Metacritic★7.4IMDB · 3,435

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.

“You're invited.”

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Cast

Maggie Smith
Self
Judi Dench
Self
Eileen Atkins
Self
Joan Plowright
Self
Robert Altman
Self (archive footage)
Frank Finlay
Self (archive footage)
John Gielgud
Self (archive footage)
Julian Glover
Self (archive footage)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Roger Michell
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

80 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 8 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Roger Michell, shot by Eben Bolter. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Maggie Smith and Judi Dench and Eileen Atkins carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "You're invited.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt7363336 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 62 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roger Michell directs. Eben Bolter behind the camera. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

180 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 8 years ago.
3Directed by Roger Michell, shot by Eben Bolter. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Maggie Smith and Judi Dench and Eileen Atkins carry the top of the cast.
5Marketing tagline: "You're invited.".
6IMDB entry: tt7363336 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 62 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Eben Bolter
Runtime: 80 min · 1h 20m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Nothing Like a Dame (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes: 98% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 85/100
IMDB rating: 7.4/10 · 3,435 votes
MPAA: Unrated
US box office: $889,343

Awards

1 nomination total

Also by

Roger Michell

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-12-26
★ 7/10
With something like 30 BAFTA, 15 Oscar and twenty odd Golden Globe nominations between them, this congregation of British Dames was always going to be a good opportunity to mix together these four lively characters with a plethora of archive and the odd sup of champagne. What we get is a mess. There's loads of cross-talking, plenty of witty asides, dead air time, hearing aid malfunctions, aching limbs and reminiscences by the pound. It's the very meandering, unstructured, nature of this chat that quite engagingly illustrates just how extensively varied the careers of these women has been since they started treading the boards in the 1960s. There's also quite a degree of camaraderie between these actors that teases out some anecdotes from both the professional and the more personal aspects of their lives on stage and screen, and it's quite a testament to the researchers - and the standards and variety of British television across the years - that they have managed to track down such a vast array of supporting broadcasts. Thankfully this doesn't dwell so much on their more commercial big screen appearances, but rather emphasises the roles they've played from Cleopatra to "Sally Bowles" via an whole gamut of substantial Shakespearian (et al) portrayals that have ensured they earn their place at this entertaining table in the home of the late Lord Olivier. Sure, it could do with a bit more judicious use of the editor's razor blade, but left as it is - it's a natural and friendly opportunity for us to eavesdrop.

Production companies