it is a wonderful movie. The material is so powerful, and while seeing it live is the ideal (isn't it always?) the film is terrific.
David walked into the valley
With a stone clutched in his hand
He was only a boy
But he knew someone must take a stand
There will always be a valley
Always mountains one must scale
There will always be perilous waters
Which someone must sail
-Into the Fire
Scarlet Pimpernel
It's a very fine adaptation. Thompson is superb and gets great support from, among others, Audra and Eileen Atkins. But seeing Wit on stage is something else entirely, and to those of us who saw Kathleen Chalfant in the original New York production, it will most likely remain one of the best memories we have of theatergoing.
It's definitely worth watching. It was the play that introduced me to John Donne and the Holy Sonnets (really deep stuff). Mike Nichols is one of my favorte directors, Emma Thompson is brilliant as Vivian Bearing, and this was one of the first things I ever saw Audra in. There are some incredibly unforgettably poignant moments. I'd seen the movie a few times before we watched it in my medical ethics class. Everyone was deeply moved by it, and there were a lot of really great discussions that week. Can't recommend it highly enough.