Over the years, a legend has taken root that RYAN'S DAUGHTER is a neglected masterpiece unappreciated and unacknowledged. This impression may have been reinforced by the savage reviews that greeted the film's opening. But, alas, this is no masterpiece. (For the record: I saw the film four or five times in a theater, including once in its roadshow presentation which was about 30 minutes longer than other engagements. I have also seen it several times in a letterbox video version. I am a big David Lean fan but one who is ready to admit that even a master can make a less-than-perfect film.) To be sure, there are things to like. The photography is astonishingly beautiful nothing short of stunning. Cinematographer Freddie Young captures Ireland in all its bleakness and majesty. (There is one shot in particular (it follows Robert Mitchum's character saying: "Go along, Kathleen, off with the others." -- about 1 hr 40 mins into the film) that is so perfectly framed and focused as to be worthy of comparison to a landscape painting.) The acting, with one exception, is solid. Robert Mitchum, as a cuckolded schoolmaster, effectively plays against type. Sarah Miles and the others are strong, and John Mills is very moving. There is evidence (anecdotal and in the way the film is edited) that Lean was frustrated by Christopher Jones. But even so, these aspects of the film photography, acting, sets, etc. work.
The content, however, leaves one gasping at the emptiness of the entire project. Soaring music, 70 mm photography and a long running time cannot turn a story into an epic. Even though the film was made on a huge scale with big sets and budget, the story is quite ordinary and not very original at that. (Lean said he and Robert Bolt adapted Madame Bovary.) One definition of "epic" is a work (novel, film) that gives us an insight into a historical period or a movement. In A PASSAGE TO India, the main character's inability to understand India parallels Great Britain's own failures as an occupying force. A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS uses a historical incident to dramatize the importance of standing on principle.
But RYAN'S DAUGHTER teaches us nothing about Ireland's struggle for independence. That would be fine if Lean were presenting this as an ordinary love story but he's not. He and Bolt have framed their film as an epic, and they have a paucity of elements to justify that choice. Instead, they substitute other ingredients to cover up the weaknesses and emptiness of the script.
Maurice Jarre's overdone music loud and a lot of it attempts to add a larger dimension to the film. (I actually like the soundtrack a great deal: there are many beautiful, haunting melodies, but it doesn't serve the film well.) The celebrated storm that leads to the film's climax is spectacular, but is part of an irrelevant subplot involving Irish rebels and a cache of arms that only serves to pad the film's running time.
When it opened, critics savaged the film for expending so much time and money on what is essentially a simple story. Lean was singled out for particular criticism and the mean-spirited nature of these attacks may have contributed to the impression that this was a film that had been treated unfairly and must be a masterpiece just waiting to be rediscovered.
But such is not the case. RYAN'S DAUGHTER is beautiful, worthy of being seen and certainly worthy of being transferred to DVD. But to call it a neglected masterpiece disguises its flaws and detracts from films that have truly earned that distinction.
The content, however, leaves one gasping at the emptiness of the entire project. Soaring music, 70 mm photography and a long running time cannot turn a story into an epic. Even though the film was made on a huge scale with big sets and budget, the story is quite ordinary and not very original at that. (Lean said he and Robert Bolt adapted Madame Bovary.) One definition of "epic" is a work (novel, film) that gives us an insight into a historical period or a movement. In A PASSAGE TO India, the main character's inability to understand India parallels Great Britain's own failures as an occupying force. A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS uses a historical incident to dramatize the importance of standing on principle.
But RYAN'S DAUGHTER teaches us nothing about Ireland's struggle for independence. That would be fine if Lean were presenting this as an ordinary love story but he's not. He and Bolt have framed their film as an epic, and they have a paucity of elements to justify that choice. Instead, they substitute other ingredients to cover up the weaknesses and emptiness of the script.
Maurice Jarre's overdone music loud and a lot of it attempts to add a larger dimension to the film. (I actually like the soundtrack a great deal: there are many beautiful, haunting melodies, but it doesn't serve the film well.) The celebrated storm that leads to the film's climax is spectacular, but is part of an irrelevant subplot involving Irish rebels and a cache of arms that only serves to pad the film's running time.
When it opened, critics savaged the film for expending so much time and money on what is essentially a simple story. Lean was singled out for particular criticism and the mean-spirited nature of these attacks may have contributed to the impression that this was a film that had been treated unfairly and must be a masterpiece just waiting to be rediscovered.
But such is not the case. RYAN'S DAUGHTER is beautiful, worthy of being seen and certainly worthy of being transferred to DVD. But to call it a neglected masterpiece disguises its flaws and detracts from films that have truly earned that distinction.