- Actors: Peter O'Toole, Alastair Sim, Arthur Lowe, Harry Andrews, Coral Browne
- Directors: John Fortenberry, Peter Medak
- Writers: Bill Oakley, Josh Weinstein, Peter Barnes
- Producers: David Korda, Jack Hawkins, Jules Buck
- Format: PAL
- Language English
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: 15
- Studio: Momentum
- DVD Release Date: 25 Jun 2001
- Run Time: 154 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00005B73R
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 31,568 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details |
Reviews
Special Features
Full Screen
DVD 5
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 2.0 English
Dolby Digital 2.0
None
DVD 5
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 2.0 English
Dolby Digital 2.0
None
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, SYNOPSIS: An institutionalized schizophrenic with a Messiah complex inherits the position of an English Earl in this cutting satire of British society, based on a play by Peter Barnes. The film's irreverent tone is established with the disturbingly hilarious death of the thirteenth Earl of Gurney during a bizarre attempt at auto-erotic asphyxiation. To the dismay of the earl's family, the title passes to his son Jack (Peter O'Toole), who has been locked away for eight years after claiming to be the second coming of Jesus Christ. Mad but harmless, Jack is released to assume his seat. However, his embrace of Christianity proves incompatible with a position of power in "normal" society, where peace and love are considered serious weaknesses, and a somewhat unhinged psychiatrist is called to help him adjust. Meanwhile, Jack's scheming uncle, Sir Charles (William Mervyn), works on developing a complex scheme to trick Jack out of his position. Loaded with idiosyncratic touches from eccentric camera angles to unexpected outbursts of song, the film creates an experience nearly as inspired and mad as O'Toole's brilliantly hilarious central performance. The film's devilish invention may at times seem overloaded, but most drawbacks are redeemed by the sharpness of the satire, particularly during the memorably disturbing finale. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Cannes Film Festival, Golden Globes, Oscar Academy Awards, ...Ruling Class
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
101 of 104 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
The Ruling Class (cat. no. MPo55D),
By Jo Fell (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ruling Class [DVD] (DVD)
Beware this edition of The Ruling Class, the classic crazy 1972 film. For starters the cover doesn't even have the correct title - it just says "Ruling Class". On watching, you'll find it's not widescreen, which it should be. And worst of all there are 25 minutes of footage missing from the film, making a complete mockery of it. I'm now off to try and exchange this for a proper edition.
66 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
The Ruling Class,
By Michael A Williamson (Totton, Hampshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Criterion Collection: Ruling Class [DVD] [1972] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
I agree with the previous reviewer, this DVD is a travesty of one of the funniest films ever made.Most of the cuts are not critical to the plot development - they just cut some of the funniest scenes in the movie. If my memory serves me well, the following scenes have been removed: 1. The marquee scene after the wedding 2. The scene in the mental asylum where Peter O'Toole is placed in a room with a bunch of violent psycopaths 3. The scene with the fox urinating after outwitting the hunt 4. William Mervyn's hillarious line after finding his murdered wife's body And worst of all: 5. The duel between Michael Bryant and Peter O'Toole where the psychiatrist comes to realise that the man he thought he had cured is, in fact, a murderer. This makes the scene near the end of the film where Michael Bryant ends up in his own institution unintelligible. This movie was all but destroyed on its release by distributors who objected to its length. With DVDs like this nobody is ever going to realise just how good it was. Pete O'Toole is quoted as saying it was the best film he ever made but nobody would ever know from this cut.
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Very Poor DVD indeed,
By
This review is from: Ruling Class [DVD] (DVD)
I absolutely agree with the previous 2 reviews. The running time of this movie should be 154 minutes, not the heavily edited 123 minute version we have here. The picture quality is poor and "noisy" and no attempt has been made to restore it. The audio quality is appalling!!! As stated previously this is pan & scan not widescreen - WHY? Also, the cover gives the running time as 154 minutes, which leads potential buyers into thinking this is the full movie. Thats just downright dishonest. Buy the Region 1 Criterion version. OK it's expensive, but it is the definitive version of this great movie. All in all, a shameful exploitation and a complete travesty. Peter O'Toole's performance deserves much better. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
