A compelling period drama has landed on the BBC iPlayer and is completely free to stream, after others have enjoyed a brilliant WWII drama and a Dickens adaptation.

After first debuting in cinemas in 1993, the film from iconic producing and directing duo Ismail Merchant and James Ivory, has been praised by audiences on IMDb.

One person noted in their 10/10 review: “The greatest movie to not win an Oscar?”

The user continued: “Tha [sic] way the story is told is terrific, it moves backwards and forwards somewhat, but it isn’t hard to keep up with, some films leave you baffled, there isn’t a single sense of that here. It’s a war film of sorts, but told from a very unique view point.

“The cinematography is unbelievable, the visuals are striking, there’s an atmosphere and an intimacy about the way it’s shot, it’s remarkable.”

A second commented on the platform: “This is, in my opinion, the finest film in the Merchant Ivory canon. And to hail it as such is to grossly undersell it.

“It is not only that but also the best story of unrequited love in cinema history, and a masterpiece of understated emotion.

“It also boasts some of the finest performances ever put on film, most notably from the peerless Anthony Hopkins.”

A third person proclaimed: “One of the greatest movies I’ve ever seen.”

While a fourth audience member said: “Seamless – Effortless – Masterpiece.”

The review elaborated: “This is the Quintessential period piece! The flow of it is so seamless, that like classical music or a beautiful piece of art – you never tire of it.

“It marks the end of the expansion of prosperity, change and invention of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, that for the first time in history, brought into existence a large, educated middle class.”

The Remains of the Day was adapted from the 1989 Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name by acclaimed author Kazuo Ishiguro.

The story follows butler James Stevens (played by Anthony Hopkins) of Darlington Hall in postwar Britain as he goes to visit former maidservant Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson).

The narrative flits back and forth between the 1930s when Darlington Hall and the Earl of Darlington (James Fox) were at the height of their powers, to the 1950s when the grand estate has been left decimated by its owner’s former Nazi sympathies.

The Remains of the Day also explores the rigid British class system’s effect on people, particularly through the unspoken love between Stevens and Miss Kenton.

Along with Hopkins, Thompson and Fox, the film featured an all-star cast, including Superman star Christopher Reeve, Hugh Grant, Ben Chaplin, and Game of Thrones’ Lena Headey in supporting roles.

Further cast included Tim Pigott-Smith, Michael Lonsdale, Rupert Vansittart, and Pip Torrens, among others.

The movie went on to be nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Film and nods to Hopkins and Thompson; however, it lost out to Schindler’s List, which came out the same year.

The Remains of the Day is streaming on the BBC iPlayer now