Post by politicidal on Mar 20, 2020 16:03:30 GMT
I read about how harsh critics were when it was released, despite it being a huge financial success. And that it so affected David Lean he didn't make another movie for 14 years. Having seen it, Ryan's Daughter is something of a strange beast. If any other filmmaker made it, it'd be an impressive achievement just on a technical level. It does look beautiful. But knowing Lean made Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago back to back to back, it comes off as shallow. Especially with the love story which doesn't even begin until nearly an hour into the movie. It doesn't help that this is certainly less action heavy than any of those previous movies;the only real spectacle is the lush cinematography and that storm scene near the very end.
Some of the acting is decent like Trevor Howard and Leo McKern. Barry Foster is built up as an intriguing antagonist and he does have a menacing air about him, but he's not in the movie much. I thought Sarah Miles was actually fine but both Robert Mitchum and especially Christopher Jones were miscast. John Mills' village idiot role was dated in the 1970s and is certainly ridiculous today;he won an Oscar for this?!?
Its laborious running time (206 minutes?!? Shoot me now!) does give it the appearance of a vanity project and perhaps that is what bugged critics at the time. For right now, it's a 6/10 since I find its overindulgence more amusing than annoying. But I can't say I'd revisit it again.
