SHADOWLANDS (1985) The place where real life hasn't begun

This BBC-TV production version chronicles the profound and painful love affair of British author C.S. Lewis and American poet Joy Gresham – but with more walking and talking, and greater depth, than the '93 film (see below). Claire Bloom is the cancer-stricken Joy, better cast and a better actress than Debra Winger in the later version, and the basso-throated Joss Ackland is "Jack," portraying him as more outgoing and outspoken than does Anthony Hopkins. Ackland and Bloom and the superb supporting cast make this 73 of the most rewarding minutes you’ll ever spend in front of a TV screen. (Trivia note: The title is taken from the final chapter of the final book in Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" and refers to what the author called "The place where real life –i.e., love, pain, and suffering – hasn't begun.")