Product: Ryan's Daughter (Two-Disc Special Edition) (2006)
Rating: 5.0
One of the finest films ever made
"Ryan's Daughter" is one of the finest films in cinema history. It is the third and best of the great trilogy of films made by David Lean (director) Robert Bolt (screenwriter) and Maurice Jarre (music). The first two were "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Doctor Zhivago". The film is visually and emotionally as powerful as the wild scenery and weather of Ireland's west coast which feature so prominently. The story of a young woman's struggle to find something special in life, and her ostracism from her close knit community, set amidst the historical turmoil of the Irish rebellion of 1916, is utterly compelling. The performances of this glittering cast are breathtaking. John Mills (Michael - the village idiot) received a richly-deserved Academy Award for his role - in which he at no stage utters a word. Trevor Howard as the village priest contributes his finest ever performance. Leo McKern as Ryan plays a role with flamboyance and emotional complexity. Robert Mitchum as the cuckolded husband is brave, understated and exactly right. Sarah Miles, in the lead role, plays a character who is transformed by the experiences she undergoes. The film received poor critical reviews at the time of its release (from the same reviewers who had praised "Lawrence" and "Zhivago"), although it did reasonably well at the box office. It is as if the reviewers didn't want David Lean to become too big a figure in the film world. Robert Bolt (his other credits include "A Man for All Seasons" and "The Mission") demonstrates his talent as a screenwriter of powerful drama with this masterpiece. "Ryan's Daughter" is a wonderful story, beautifully told. It is all that a great film should be.