I first saw it, back in the Nineties, in Spanish language on a TV screening with so many commercial breaks that this three-hour-and-a- quarter long movie went on for five hours. But the long night was worth, because I totally loved the film. It is a big shame that this beautiful film was so viciously massacred by the critics on its day when it is full of poetry and it contains some the most beautiful images ever committed to film. I can watch it almost without realising its great length and never find it boring for a minute, because there are so many beautiful details to look at in the carefully composed shots, the unique wild beauty of Ireland and the fantastic art direction.
Now, the PC brigade will probably blacklist me for saying this: John Mills won the Oscar, we all know, but I find his character tiring and irritating to the point that at the scene where he plays with the explosives I still wish he will blow himself up.
The always laconic and tough Robert Mitchum delivers a very solid performance as the gentle schoolmaster. The critics dismissed him as a total miscast,just like they had done with Burt Lancaster in "The Leopard" simply because they couldn't take in the idea of a cowboy playing a European aristocrat. Mitchum's character is sensitive and self-composed, a man of dignity and fine manners. He takes his pupils out to show them the natural environment in which they live and explain to them how things work. After discovering Rosie's infidelity, he still wants to be with her because he loves her and wants to give her a second chance. Even as if Catholics they could never divorce, there was always the choice for him to leave her. But he doesn't do that. That was another reason why the critics dismissed his character as ridiculous, saying that any normal husband would have gone away and leave the slut to rot.
Trevor Howard is my second favourite actor in the film. One always expects a Catholic priest to be a sort of Torquemada, but this man is much more open-minded and tolerant than any of the numbers in his flock. He sees Rosie's infidelity not as a sin but as a moment of weakness that she can get over with if she pulls herself together. Rather than vilifying and excommunicating her for adultery, he tries to help her. He condemns the villagers' savage intolerance instead and blesses the two spouses as they go away to start a new life elsewhere. The usually rough and unsympathetic Howard gives here one of his best performances ever, and looks totally credible in the role. Miles's character loves her husband but then she discovers there is something missing in their marriage. The only time they make love he is too gentle and almost shy and finishes quickly, to her disappointment. Also, she finds his hobbies very dull and she feels he is keener on them rather on spending time with her. So she is frustrated, no matter how nice and gentle he is to her. Then a much younger and handsomer man comes along and her lust is suddenly unleashed. Many people may think that for being a Catholic she ought to be morally stronger and more virtuous, but precisely because of the moral repression she has always suffered in that tight-close redneck community, she has reached the point when her sexual urges get out of control.
Much mockery rose on its day upon Christopher Miles's wooden acting and the fact that he had to be dubbed. But in my opinion he is not as bad in the role as everyone back then said he is. The character behaves like an automaton and looks sick because he is just coming out of a mental breakdown from shell-shock after the horrors he went through in the trenches. It is something that happened to many soldiers who survived World War One.They returned home as broken men for life, suffering from constant nightmares and phobias. So the way Jones acts is just adequate to the circumstances of the character. And the actor cannot be blamed for the dullness he displays. To his credit, I think he did a decently good job within his limited acting skills.
Fortunately this magnificent film has been is now enjoying a new breath of life. Those of us who love it are lucky enough to enjoy it on DVD even if the small screen can't fully capture the sheer grandiosity of Freddie Young's spectacular cinematography. But at least we have it, and that is the most important thing.
Now, the PC brigade will probably blacklist me for saying this: John Mills won the Oscar, we all know, but I find his character tiring and irritating to the point that at the scene where he plays with the explosives I still wish he will blow himself up.
The always laconic and tough Robert Mitchum delivers a very solid performance as the gentle schoolmaster. The critics dismissed him as a total miscast,just like they had done with Burt Lancaster in "The Leopard" simply because they couldn't take in the idea of a cowboy playing a European aristocrat. Mitchum's character is sensitive and self-composed, a man of dignity and fine manners. He takes his pupils out to show them the natural environment in which they live and explain to them how things work. After discovering Rosie's infidelity, he still wants to be with her because he loves her and wants to give her a second chance. Even as if Catholics they could never divorce, there was always the choice for him to leave her. But he doesn't do that. That was another reason why the critics dismissed his character as ridiculous, saying that any normal husband would have gone away and leave the slut to rot.
Trevor Howard is my second favourite actor in the film. One always expects a Catholic priest to be a sort of Torquemada, but this man is much more open-minded and tolerant than any of the numbers in his flock. He sees Rosie's infidelity not as a sin but as a moment of weakness that she can get over with if she pulls herself together. Rather than vilifying and excommunicating her for adultery, he tries to help her. He condemns the villagers' savage intolerance instead and blesses the two spouses as they go away to start a new life elsewhere. The usually rough and unsympathetic Howard gives here one of his best performances ever, and looks totally credible in the role. Miles's character loves her husband but then she discovers there is something missing in their marriage. The only time they make love he is too gentle and almost shy and finishes quickly, to her disappointment. Also, she finds his hobbies very dull and she feels he is keener on them rather on spending time with her. So she is frustrated, no matter how nice and gentle he is to her. Then a much younger and handsomer man comes along and her lust is suddenly unleashed. Many people may think that for being a Catholic she ought to be morally stronger and more virtuous, but precisely because of the moral repression she has always suffered in that tight-close redneck community, she has reached the point when her sexual urges get out of control.
Much mockery rose on its day upon Christopher Miles's wooden acting and the fact that he had to be dubbed. But in my opinion he is not as bad in the role as everyone back then said he is. The character behaves like an automaton and looks sick because he is just coming out of a mental breakdown from shell-shock after the horrors he went through in the trenches. It is something that happened to many soldiers who survived World War One.They returned home as broken men for life, suffering from constant nightmares and phobias. So the way Jones acts is just adequate to the circumstances of the character. And the actor cannot be blamed for the dullness he displays. To his credit, I think he did a decently good job within his limited acting skills.
Fortunately this magnificent film has been is now enjoying a new breath of life. Those of us who love it are lucky enough to enjoy it on DVD even if the small screen can't fully capture the sheer grandiosity of Freddie Young's spectacular cinematography. But at least we have it, and that is the most important thing.