Ryan's Daughter
MGM (1970) Dir. David Lean
206 min. / Color / 2.20:1 / DTS-HD MA 5.1 Remix and DTS-HD MA 5.0 representing the original 1970 6-track theatrical presentation / SDH
Warner Archive 4K UHD + BD $34.99
Available from our partner Movie Zyng
David Lean, Maker of Epics, followed three masterpieces, Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and Dr. Zhivago (1965) with a retelling of Madame Bovary set in Ireland, 1917. Tom Ryan is the town’s publican and young Rose his only daughter; she’s yearns for romance and love and thinks she’s found it with the widowed, middle-aged school teacher but after the wedding she’s bored and nothing her husband can do can, ahem, liven up her days or nights. Enter a young, wounded British soldier (the enemy of the Irish Nationalists; they make no secret of rooting for the Germans in the war on the continent) and he’s scarcely found his way to Ryan’s pub before Ryan’s daughter is all over him. This isn’t going to end well for anyone; the townspeople are Irish Nationalists, the husband sees what’s going on, and soon the whole town knows – plus Tom Ryan has a secret of his own.
Now, that may not sound like much of a plot for a 3 and a half hour epic, but Lean takes advantage of some of the most beautiful cinematography in film history courtesy of frequent Lean collaborator F.A. Young, who won an Oscar for this (as well as for Lawrence of Arabia and Dr. Zhivago). Ryan’s Daughter was filmed in 70mm Panavision, and the full breadth and scope of the Irish countryside glimmers with life and passion courtesy of the new restoration in 4K UHD from Warner Archive. We have never hidden our disdain for movies that look good but just lie there… I yawned my way through both Spielberg’s The Color Purple and Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, yet wasn’t bored for a single frame of Ryan’s Daughter.
On its release, it was popular with audiences although nothing like Lean’s previous hits, and many critics savaged it as all show, no story and criticized a couple of its key cast members, so let’s get to them: Sarah Miles (Oscar nominated for Best Actress) is Rose, who confesses to the priest (Trevor Howard, terrific) that there’s something more in life than what she’s got, but has no idea what until she meets Christopher Jones as Major Doryan. Miles gives an unforgettable performance; Jones seems unable to carry the role he’s been given in the film, and in fact his dialog was dubbed. Screen tough guy Robert Mitchum is cast against type as the mild-mannered teacher; not exactly successful casting, although we were relieved to hear that he could handle an Irish accent well enough to get by. The role was reportedly one of Mitchum’s favorites. Barry Foster, remembered for Hitchcock’s Frenzy, is an Irish gunrunner; John Mills (Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actor) is almost unrecognizable behind Quasimodo-like makeup as the village idiot who sees a lot but can’t say anything. And the equal of the cast is, as mentioned, the Irish countryside (although, to be honest, bad weather caused some of the location filming to be moved to South Africa). We also really appreciated Maurice Jarre’s score.
Which brings us to the latest 4K UHD release from Warner Archive, and a title worthy of their earlier output, including The Searchers, one of the great 4K UHD releases to date. The film is spread across two UHD discs, with two Blu-ray disc versions included to watch on non-UHD sets. There are several featurettes on the film; they all seemed familiar from the previous Blu-ray release, and a big surprise: a miniature copy of the film’s original souvenir program.
As we head toward the holiday gift-giving season, Ryan’s Daughter is sure to remain one of the best releases of the year.
