The Ruling Class (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]

The DVD:I bought The Criterion Collection’s © 2001 release of “The Ruling Class” from Amazon US in 2012. It plays on my Sony Blu-ray player and Sony HDTV in Australia. Presumably this NTSC Region 0 DVD will also play on Region 2 equipment in UK and Europe.The DVD case states that this is a “New 16 x 9 widescreen digital transfer, supervised by director Peter Medek and restored to the original full-length version.”I’ve timed this DVD and can confirm that it has a run time of 154 minutes (including both the introduction and final credits).Although the DVD is described as being a “digital transfer” this does not necessarily mean that the film has actually been “restored”. Rather, it appears to me that it has been “remastered” – that is, newly copied from an old print, the original negative or perhaps an intermediate positive. There are occasional small white (and sometimes black) flecks on the screen but no scratches.Those who have actually purchased The Criterion Collection’s DVD consider it to be the definitive release.Amazon UK is also offering other releases in PAL format. But, by all reports, these have poor picture and sound quality. One is in 4x3 format and another has been cut by about half-an-hour.The Film:“The Ruling Class” was first a theatre production and then a film. With the transition the producers incorporated many external scenes – perhaps intending to enhance the theatre experience by moving beyond the proscenium. But this wasn’t always really necessary – for example, the duel between Lord Gurney and the psychiatrist starts in the hall and then moves to the rooftop for no apparent reason other than that it could be filmed.Some reviewers – and perhaps cinema audiences – were surprised by the sudden musical inserts. These are funny enough in the film but would have been hilarious on the stage. The Earl of Gurney and the Master in Lunacy bursting into the Eton Boating Song is just as believable in the film as it would have been on the stage. Other inserts, however, although very funny, are more difficult to accept in a film than in a theatre production.There are a few shots – added by way of exposition perhaps – which are gratuitous: the two Old Etonians in a rowing-boat on the river; the House of Lords filled with mannequins covered in cobwebs; and Jack the Ripper in a nineteenth-century street.

I have never consciously viewed anything with Peter O'Toole yet my partner who is 20 years my senior had. We watched it together this Sunday and we were Blown Away!The movie had us laughing and then gasping but this was due to Peter O'Toole's fine performance where he is playing in a sense, several different characters and remaining just that one person.I did not want to put down the cash for this DVD and this is where I hesitated but we were both very happy with this work of the entire ensemble but still both agreeing that the award winning acting was all Peter O'Toole. There were times where my partner asked, "Can you rewind that" so we could re-watch Peter O'Toole's performance in the garden sitting on the bench after everyone departs, in the attic, the speech in the end, etc. We turned a 2/12 hour movie into 3 1/2 hours and I plan to watch it again.Not wanting to be a Spoiler the ending or last 30 minutes did shock the both of us and as dark as it is we understood why it had to be and were both very happy it did not have a so called, "Hollywood Ending."Don't hesitate as I did and I can almost promise you will enjoy as much as we did.

One of my faves. Quirky, to say the least. But clearly a labor of love for all involved.

This is a penetrating satire about the English class system. We see a whole family demonstrating many different aspects: jealousy in some areas, unity in others, overt courtesy but underlying malice always present.It's beautifully shot, in a stately home then (and now) owned by a US university. One can imagine English owners of such homes being reluctant to rent them out for such a narrative.It's generally very well acted. My particular favorite was Coral Browne as Lady Clare, but (almost) all of the others do a first-rate job as well. Two rather sad exceptions to this are Arthur Lowe as the butler and Alastair Sim as the bishop. They were both actors whom I admired greatly: I'm inclined to put my disappointment in their performances down to the script. The butler was permanently drunk and the bishop desperately short of self-confidence.My biggest complaint, though - and one which tempted me to go down to 3* - is the running time. The satire is really not sustainable for 2½ hours. There is a brilliant scene near the end with Peter O'Toole making his maiden speech in the House of Lords, in which his fellow peers are, from time to time, presented as cobweb-laced old fogies. I would hate to have lost that.There is a well-known adage in the entertainment world: "Always leave them wanting more" and more savage editing would have left me in this state. As it stands, though, I was too often thinking "Pick up the pace." "This scene is redundant." "That scene would have worked better if it had been trimmed significantly."Overall though, my first 50 years were spent in middle-class England. I often had encounters with the upper classes and this film captures the insights I obtained very well.

Peter O'Toole plays the 14th Earl of Gurney. The 13th Earl of Gurney has just hung himself. He wasn't trying to commit suicide, he was, erm, okay, moving on ("But why was he wearing a ballet skirt?" I said "moving on!")... O'Toole's character, Jack, stands to inherit the position. Unfortunately for his conniving relatives, he's not of sound mind and body - he thinks he's Jesus Christ. In order for them to maintain their parasitical existence, there must be a legitimate heir somehow. They try two ways - hire a woman to marry him and get pregnant, and cure him.This movie won't be to everyone's taste because after the cure (?), the film moves from being a zany comedy to being pretty black - "a comedy with tragic relief" as Peter O'Toole puts it.

I can't stress how amazing this film is. I'm startled everytime I watch it. Funny, weird and scary. O'Toole is mesmerizing.

Ein Film von atemberaubender Kraft!

Hilarious, well played, witty ! A real delight !

This is an interesting and entertaining piece. It's so absurd that it's charming. It's really quiet an amazing production.

Todo bien

This is a review of the optimum release - the one with the mainly red cover and a picture of Peter O'Toole jumping from the cross. It is the full 154 minute version.All the performances are at least very good and O'Toole's is extraordinary in both the light and dark manifestations of his character. Whether or not satire dates quickly, as averred by another reviewer, surely depends on what you are satirising. While this film may satirise the British ruling class of the mid 20th century in doing so it satirises all oppressive regimes and philosophies. The attitudes of the exploiters are always pretty much the same - they are always right and morally justified in what they do while the rest of us have no value beyond any usefulness we may have in furthering their ends. Hence, a deeper viewing of the film can be seen as an attack on such contemporary phenomena as religious fundamentalism, Christian or Muslim, and the financial "services" system.However, the film does more than just satirise tyrants, it also questions our notions of sanity. When O'Toole is mentally ill he is full of love and kindness. His belief in his own divinity may be a delusion but it is a delusion that fills him with love and beauty. When he is "cured" he becomes emotionally cold to his wife and a ruthless murderer i.e. more mad when not deluded than when he was.I don't know who won the oscar for best actor in the year that this was made but it must have been a divinely inspired performance to outdo O'Toole's effort in this film.