Search - Ryan's Daughter (Two-Disc Special Edition) on DVD

Peter Q. (Petequig)
Reviewed on 12/27/2009...

Terrific story. Great acting. Beautiful scenery from the land of "Terrible Beauty".

2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Oh! the sensuality of it all

Whiteseagull | California | 04/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ryan's Daughter is a wonderful, sensual love story set on the rugged, west sea coast of Ireland. It is about community, religion, tradition, youth, discovery, want, war and infidelity. And Sarah Miles is very sexy in her roll as the disillusioned Rose. Rose is a young woman who is trying to come to terms with adulthood and sexuality in the small world of an Irish village. There arn't many good young men around so she has her sights set on an older, single, male schoolteacher, played by Robert Mitchum. Well, after a fanciful marriage and still a virgin, Rose discovers that the teacher isn't such a hot lover, which leaves Rose a bit disappointed. "There must be more." She tells her priest, played by Trevor Howard.
"Be careful what you ask for Rose." he tells her, "Because as sure as hell you'll get it."
And then the movie starts. When this film first came out, I was so spellbound by it that I went to the cinema to see it repeatedly, unlike any other movie. I became totally absorbed in the sheer epic of such a simple love story: the photography, the sensitivity, the location and the characters. Why couldn't other film-makers tell a story with such grace, style and sensuality? Well, I found out that other film-makers didn't have the big budgets that Director David Lean had. So I wonder, could David Lean have made a film on a small budget? Thank God he didn't. We have been left such a rich legacy of fine films from this master craftsman. Critique Pauline Kael panned Ryan's Daughter so badly when it first came out and David Lean took it so hard and personally, that he didn't make another film for fourteen years. Perhaps Ms Kael wasn't sensitive but Mr. Lean's sensitivity shows through more in this film than with most others he's made. Thank you for your artistry Mr. Lean. Recently, while on a trip to Western Ireland I made a pilgrimage to the end of the Dingle Peninsula where they filmed Ryan's Daughter. Unbelievably, the schoolhouse is still standing where they built it for the movie in 1969, in a farmer's field, on the hillside overlooking the sea. And it's still in good shape, as if the film crew had left it standing yesterday."

David Lean's Beautiful "Daughter"

Tom S. | New York City | 02/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're like me, you already own everything else by David Lean (KWAI, LAWRENCE, ZHIVAGO, PASSAGE, and all those Criterion gems), and you'll want to add this "lost" epic to your collection. I have 4 all-time fave directors, and the other 3 are Hitchcock, Kubrick, and Kurosawa. If you share my taste in films, grab this one.

Warner Home Video has done yet another amazing job here. Oh, my God, how beautiful is this movie?!! The anamorphic transfer and Dolby Surround make it look and sound like it was filmed last week. The stark tragedy (cribbed from MADAME BOVARY) is set in gorgeous coastal Ireland during the 1916-21 Rebellion, with a truly impressive cast. Mitchum, Howard, Mills (who won an Oscar), McKern, and lovely Sarah Miles--all of them never better than they are here. Christopher Jones, though not in their league, is used to good effect. Freddie Young's Oscar-winning cinematography and Maurice Jarre's wistful score round out the package. The result is a work of great power and intelligence.

The critics in 1970 trashed RYAN'S DAUGHTER for its old-fashioned technique and romanticism, and they dismissed it as "Lean's Folly." Well, they were wrong. You've heard the expression, "His biggest flop is better than everyone else's best effort." This film proves it. Nobody makes movies like this man. Nobody. This is a voluptuous example of the lost art of cinematic storytelling.
"

When oh when!

peter tutton | UK | 07/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Each month I scan the "new" issues to see if the studio has issued this first rate movie onto DVD but to no avail! when one sees the amount of rubbishy films now being re-issued, it really makes me angry, I guess the reason being the fact that Ryans Daughter was panned in the States, but hay Yanks, how about we Brits? the film was well received over here and is still regulary screened on TV. Freddy Jone's photography should be reason enough but add Sarah Miles, Bob Mitchum, John Mills, where is the problem?"