Ryans Daughter -1970
Director
David Lean

Writer
Robert Bolt

Cast
Robert Mitchum
Trevor Howard
John Mills

Review by Wayne Malin

Have never forgotten it

I was lucky enough to see a vault print of this in a revival theatre back in 1996. The picture was crystal clear and it was projected on a huge screen. The only thing missing was the stereo soundtrack. Also it was the original uncut version which hasn’t being shown in the USA since the film’s premiere! It’s basically a love story set in Ireland. Sarah Miles is married to old but kindly Robert Mitchum. Their sex life is nonexistent. Then a young handsome officer played by Christopher Jones appears to deal with the IRA. The two of them fall in love which leads to numerous problems.

I’ve never liked David Leans films. They LOOK great but the stories are almost impossible to follow. Like in “Dr. Zhicago” and “Lawrence of Arabia” he throws you into the middle of these conflicts and never explains what’s going on! This is an exception. I had no problem following the story and the scenery is absolutely breath-taking…but that’s sort of a problem. This is basically a simple love story blown up into a HUGE production. The stunning photography overpowers the story more than once. The acting is good–Miles was excellent and Mitchum downplayed his role nicely. I even thought Jones (who I always thought was a TERRIBLE actor) was good–but I later on learned his voice was overdubbed. Still I found this a fascinating film–well worth catching…but I’m not sure how it would hold up on TV.

Also the version I saw had an incredibly beautiful and LONG sex scene between Miles and Jones. It’s easily one of the most beautiful, erotic sexual sequence I’ve ever seen…but I think it’s cut out or shortened on the American prints. Hopefully this will be on DVD one day with the sequence in intact.

I give this an 8.