Product: Ryan's Daughter (Two-Disc Special Edition) (2006)
Rating: 5.0
Ryan's Daughter Shows the Utter Stupidity of Movie Critics...
...including the Amazon.com critic. I daresay that Ryan's Daughter is David Lean's greatest movie - yes, even better than Dr. Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia. Unlike the critics who lambasted the "miscasting" of the actors, I say that Sarah Miles (the younger adulteress) and John Mills (the village idiot) - both of whom earned Oscar nominations, with Mills winning his outright - were perfect for their roles, as were performances by Trevor Howard (the in-your-face yet wise priest), Leon McKern (the blustery yet traitorous father/publican), and Christopher Jones (the war-torn and lonely British Major). Even American Robert Mitchum played a believable duped, middle-aged husband - Irish accent and all. But no, the critics were quick to dump on Mitchum for taking a part outside his typical tough-guy role. It was like the critics expected him to beat the tar out of the British Major in the end (I guess then they would have been satisfied.) But Mitchum did something that the critics failed to see before - the man acted his role perfectly.Overall, the plot is tight for a three-hour-plus long movie and each scene adds to the overall plot. The amazing thing about this script is that you can't help to root (and feel sorry) for the adulteress, her soldier lover, her husband, the priest, the Irish rebels, the British soldiers, even the village idiot. The only people you hate outright are the narrow-minded, hateful, lazy villagers. You even feel sorry for the publican who finds himself in an impossible position as he betrays first the rebels and then his own daughter.Outstanding acting aside, the cinematography of Ryan's Daughter is incredible. You cannot help but be amazed at the beauty and grandeur of the coastline of Western Ireland. The storm scene where Irish rebels and the villages pluck German weapons and explosives off the sea-ravished rocks is unparalleled in movie history. (And this is before digital creation). I wonder how long Lean waited for such a storm to appear and then direct the actors/stuntmen in accordance with the dictates of the storm?Like all Lean directed movies, he uses sweeping vistas to show the immensity of space. He illustrates the pull of adultery with natural scenic symbolism as the lust-struck couple seeks privacy for their coupling. How many directors even bother nowadays with photographic symbolism? Not many considering the audiences of today who go to movies to react rather than to think.Ryan's Daughter is a perfect tale of betrayal, lust, love, and beauty - elements all found in other Lean movies, but perfected to artform in this epic.David Lean created his masterpiece in Ryan's Daughter...too bad only a few really see his genius here. The critics are fools.