Lovely, headstrong Rosy (Sarah Miles) cannot forsake her passionate romance with the handsome British officer (Christopher Jones). Yet there is a greater love ? the devotion of her reserved schoolteacher husband Charles (Robert Mitchum), who stands by Rosy when her illicit affair leads to a charge of treason. Two honored alumni of Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago director David Lean and screenwriter Robert Bolt frame this brooding tale within the expansive beaches, craggy cliffs and heathered hills of Ireland's Dingle Peninsula. Freddie Young's lush cinematography and John Mills' memorable portrayal of a town simpleton won Academy Awards.* The remarkable movie containing them casts a haunting spell. DVD Features: Audio Commentary:Commentary by: Lady Sandra Lean, Sarah Miles, Trine Mitchum (Robert Mitchum?s Daughter), Assistant Director Michael Stevenson, Second Unit Director Roy Stevens, Art Director Roy Walker, Assistant Editor Tony Lawson, Location Manager Eddie Fowlie, Stuntman Vic Armstrong, Biographer Stephen M. Silverman, Directors John Boorman, Hugh Hudson and Richard Schickel Theatrical Trailer Documentaries:Vintage Documentaries: Ryan?s Daughter: A Story of Love; Film Night: We?re the Last of the Traveling Circuses Documentary:The Making of Ryan?s Daughter (A 4-Part 35th-Anniversary Documentary): Storm Rising, Storm Chaser, Storm Catcher, The Eye of the Storm
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132 of 137 found the following review helpful:
A Haunting Masterpiece by LeanJan 18, 2003
By C. Serviss
"Canjo"
I first saw this film when it came out, it haunted me for days. The score9 by Maurice Jarre) and the photography(Freddie Young won a most desevred Oscar for) is breathtaking and Sarah Miles is so beautiful she takes your breath away. Set in Ireland during World War I and the British occupation of Ireland. Rosy Ryan( Sarah Miles) sets her cap for the local school master played by the great Robert Mitchum. They marry and her life is not what she expects until a British Officer enters it while she is tending bar. The chap is played by Christopher Jones who was the Colin Farrell of his day. The scene in the pub when they meet is one of the most tender loving scenes ever filmed. The affair that follows brings heartache to all. The villagers in this small Irish town gives lynch mobs a bad name. The pleasure they exact from teasing the village idiot(played by John Mills and may I add with beauty and heart) and later taking their revenge on an innocent person they believed to be the traitor. I don't want to give away the ending ot the story but I just purchased it and watched it for the first time in thirty years and was reminded what a storyteller David Lean was. Candace Serviss
59 of 61 found the following review helpful:
Oh! the sensuality of it allApr 03, 2004
By Whiteseagull 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.
47 of 49 found the following review helpful:
David Lean's Beautiful "Daughter"Feb 11, 2006
By Tom S.
"filmfan3"
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.
19 of 19 found the following review helpful:
When oh when!Jul 14, 2004
By peter tutton 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?
18 of 18 found the following review helpful:
Put "Ryan's Daughter" on DVDOct 02, 2004
By Barbara Rajnovich Ryan's Daughter is one of the all time great movies. Just for the scenery alone, it should be put on DVD. Come to think of it, I don't know why Turner Classic Movies has shown it. Sarah Miles, a long overlooked actress, is delightful as Rosy. I would buy a VHS copy but at $70 I'll wait until it is on DVD. Barbara Callow Rajnovich
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