Ryan's Daughter (1970)

My goodness! So many comments...so many different takes on what was surely David Lean's most arduous labor of cinematic love! I won't add my "two cents" except to say that I thought Robert Mitchum gave one of his all-time best performances (and that includes his remarkable tour-de-force in "Night of the Hunter"); Sarah Miles, whom I usually found rather grating and tiresome, was quite convincing under Lean's tutelage; the cinematography by the esteemed Freddie Young was more than gorgeous; and, once again, Maurice Jarre's music was jarring, something I'd rather have done without. (Sorry!)

When I saw this during its first-run engagement in Beverly Hills, California, I was in the company of my parents and an elderly lady who was on the staff at my place of employment. She was quite a grande dame in her way; had lived quite a colorful life with her paramour in the English colony in Florence, Italy many years before; had vacationed on the Isle of Capri where she had befriended, among other famous people, the beloved British entertainer, Gracie Fields; and, when this film was released, was living alone in a Hollywood apartment within walking distance of our office. I tremendously enjoyed providing her with a bit of getting out-and-about and she was very appreciative of our occasional moviegoing "dates." At intermission in the hushed lobby, surrounded by mostly well-dressed patrons (Those were the days!), in her very properly accented King's English, she loudly proclaimed her admiration for the breasts of Miss Miles (the erotic tryst in the forest having preceded intermission.) I thought my mother, still suffering from an overly prudish Boston (Massachusetts) Irish-American Catholic upbringing, would have liked to disappear under the theater lobby's plush carpeting. My father and I exchanged amused smiles, however, as our worldly companion was off on another subject, probably a story of her fondly remembered sojourn in pre-WWII Italy.

Fmovies: The art of David Lean in making film masterpieces from the 1940s to this last epic in 1970 is now a forgotten talent. Lean was the best at producing cinema that really was for the cinema. You can feel the cameras rolling, the scenes moving at a pace moviegoers can absorb and thrill to. Ryan's Daughter belongs with the best of Lean, and has long been underrated. The acting is wonderful - John Mills is outstanding, Leo McKern and Trevor Howard impeccable, Sarah Miles and Robert Mitchum excellent with just the right amount of awkwardness the parts require. Christopher Jones gave just the right amount of weight to the shell-shocked, traumatised World War I survivor of the trenches. The scenery lent itself to panoramic filming and the storm was a fantastic achievement on film for the period.

Unfortunately, Lean's epics don't come over half so well on the small screen. I wish we could see all these films again in the cinema. I saw the revival of Gone With The Wind in 1968 in a big London cinema and it was marvelous. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see Lawrence of Arabia, Dr Zhivago, and Ryan's Daughter again on the big screen?

Despite all the nay-saying, this is one of my favourite films. Every now and again, everything clicks for you in terms of how a film is put together. I never tire of watching this movie. And despite what anyone else thinks about the music, I thought it was some of Maurice Jarre's finest work. Apparently it was some of his own favorite composition work. I hope someday to get over to the West coast of Ireland and see some of the scenery in person. I thought that the acting in the film was some of the most courageous work that some of the actors had ever taken on. The film was just long enough for me. As for the esteemed David Lean, no one---and I mean no one--was ever as good at making mankind seem so small and insignificant when compared to the forces and spaces in nature. He was able to take Freddy Young's cinematography and bring out the best in it. I liked it when I was younger, and I like it even more now. I respect it very much and pity those who are unable to savour it. I admit that very few people will be able digest it in it's entirety. Thank god I'm not one of them. Thank-you Mr. Lean wherever you are.

Ryan's Daughter fmovies. In 1918 Ireland a school teacher's wife and an army captain have an illicit affair that has far reaching consequences.

The film that cast Robert Mitchum so against type as to be untrue (a cuckold husband!) and whose critical response drove a great director to near two decades of silence has to be viewed; if only as cinema history.

This is a small film blown up to try and be an epic, which it is not and that is the first of its faults. Nevertheless I think it is an important and enjoyable product that I have seen twice, once for the film and once to re-live the unbelievable cinematography and action scenes. The lifeboat scene is one of the greatest pieces of cinema ever, it should feature in film schools.

The problem with adultery is that directors always try and limit blame because they fear alienating the audience. Here we have no reason for it other than lust and selfishness, one person's happiness (if only brief) is only achieved by taking someone else's.

I have long held the view that Mitchum was underrated as an actor and has a wonderful speaking voice. I am glad he has this on his C.V, not that he will be need it anymore. Miles is equally good, although it is not as hard as hard a part to play. John Mills - as the village idiot - won an Oscar for his over-the-top performance that he reports upon faithfully on his autobiography. "They sat me down and gave me the worst haircut they could think of..."

It has been said so many before, but there is no real need for a film with modest intentions to be so long. I actually don't mind because I have a lot of patience with quality material and know there will be some great scenes in any David Lean film. I am just sorry that the main man had such a fragile ego; especially when the industry had rewarded him with so much silverware.

David Lean's production of "Ryan's Daughter"is an outstanding piece of cinematic artistry. It's a romantic drama set in a small village on the Irish coastline. The mood of the villagers is as changeable as the waves that crash upon the shore. David Lean uses the sea for dramatic effect as he alternates between the village people and the sea itself. John Mills as Michael the inquisitive village idiot is superb as we watch him play with a box of explosives. Sarah Miles plays Rosy torn between the love for her Irish schoolteacher husband (Robert Mitchum) and an unbridled passion for a newly arrived British officer (Christopher Jones). Village gossip virtually destroys Rosy's life. Trevor Howard as the local much-respected priest gives a compelling performance as one who tries to keep the peace in a troubled village. The shell-shocked officer with dreadful memories of his time in the trenches in France has a distinct presence on screen. His part requires little dialogue, the emotions being portrayed through eye and body language. Some of the loveliest scenes I thought were those of the high cliffs and broad beaches where Rosy often walked alone with the incoming tide.Unfortunately footprints in the sand can reveal the most intimate secrets! The wild storm in which the locals attempt to salvage boxes of ammunition from a shipwreck in raging seas is one of the most realistic and exciting sequences I have seen. We are reminded constantly in the film that the sea is the dominant player. Photography, sound effects and music blend into a perfect whole. In one word...a winner!

It's one of the most underrated, but one of the most beautiful epic that ever put on screen. It's directed by David Lean, who made 'The Bridge on the River Kwai', 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'Doctor Zhivago' before and this film ranks up with his previous works. I can only write about this film in superlatives. Foremost the photography - another excellent work by Freddie Young - honoured with an Academy Award, and the acting by John Mills, who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his outstanding performance as the dumb fisherman. But I would have awarded Sarah Miles (she's "just" nominated for the Best Actress Oscar). Robert Mitchum has never been better, he fills the widow village teacher's character with life. Also great performances by the supporting cast - the aged Trevor Howard as the priest, and Ryan, the two-faced village pub owner, who risks his daughter's life when the villagers abusing her. It's one of the most disgusting character I've ever seen. Robert Bolt's original screenplay is also one of the most complex story I've ever seen. It' as good as the screenplay of 'Doctor Zhivago' which was honoured with an Academy Award and also written by Robert Bolt. This is a film about an outstanding love at an unbearable period of history between an English officer and an Irish woman. It's about sensitivity, courage, hope, admiring and collaborating. The story is so complex, that it's almost impossible to summarize in few words, so I would like to draw the attention to some WONDERFUL scenes: the love scene between the two young lovers, full of symbols and sensitively photographed. It's the most poetic love scene ever. The other beautiful scene is when Robert Mitchum finds his wife's and her lover's footsteps in the beach sand, follows them, imagines what could have happened between the two lovers and becomes sure, that his wife has got another man in her life. And finally of course the storm scene, when the villagers try to save the weapons from the stormy sea. This enormously powerful scene with those poetic scenes above are my favourites in the movie, but the whole movie is full of wonderful scenes and the 3 hours long film remains a religious experience until the last minute.

Last but not least I have to mention the score which can be explained perfectly in 4 words: made by Maurice Jarre. Could be jungle, desert, Russian winter or wild Irish landscapes David Lean always knew how to use these locations to tell his stories. It's pity, that he didn't make any movies until 1984, because of the bad critics. Waste of talent and genius.