I love this movie -- but not this edited version. I'm still giving it 4 stars because it's better than no version.
22 minutes have been trimmed from a 90-minute film. The edits make no sense except to shorten the film for no discernible reasons. My wife and I kept waiting for several memorable scenes that were among the removed parts.
Anthony Hopkins is wonderful. I laughed a lot. It is full of the resigned, self-deprecating humor that I associate with Welsh and Irish writers. After seeing this film on Masterpiece Theater in 1993, I bought the book it is based on, Gwyn Thomas' "A Few Selected Exits." It's even funnier than the film, if you like this kind of humor.
Some of the scenes that are missing include the headmaster's comments about Thomas' leather school bag (the headmaster's attitude was that nice things corrupt the spirit and encourage hedonism), Thomas' commentary on the bus about the English invading and subjugating Wales, his health problems at university caused by malnutrition and smoking, and so on. I cannot understand why the film was trimmed.