The Ruling Class

Starring: Alastair Sim, Peter Otoole Director: Peter Medak Original UK Premiere: 1972 Dvd Release: 25th June, 2001 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: Full Screen, PAL, Region 2 Encoding

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The Ruling Class is a 1972 satire film which tells the story of a mentally ill British nobleman who inherits a lordship. Played by Peter OToole the 14th Earl of Gurney at first he thinks he is Jesus & shocks his family & friends with his talk of love & charity. Later after rigorous treatments the Gurney instead believes himself to be Jack the Ripper, but those around him believe him to be cured as his speeches in favour of capital & corporate punishment are seen as perfectly suitable to the House of Lords. The movie was adapted by Peter Barnes from his play with few major changes. It was directed by Peter Medak. It cost some 1,4 million dollars & was filmed at a sprawling & gaudy estate in Harlaxton with the interiors reconstructed on sound stages. It was quite cheap as Peter OToole worked for free & was instead paid a great deal for the big budget Man of La Mancha released by the same studio later in 1972. In Britain the released film ran some two & a half-hours. The American distributors insisted it be cut by twenty minutes.

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 & 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.

Alastair Sim was a Scottish character actor, whose comic appearance ensured him success in a string of classic British films. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, into a family of tailors. Preferring the stage, he made his London debut in Othello in 1930. He also appeared for a season at the Old Vic. Sims film début was in Riverside Murder. Subsequent successes included Green for Danger, The Happiest Days of Your Lives & Laughter in Paradise. His greatest film roles included Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, the Inspector in An Inspector Calls & the headmistress Miss Fitton in the St. Trinians series. Prior to his death, he played the judge in the popular television series Misleading Cases by A P Herbert. Posters Of Scrooge

Editors Choice: The Littlest Horse Thieves, The Ruling Class, An Inspector Calls, Scrooge, Hue And Cry, Passport To Pimlico, The Titfield Thunderbolt, A Christmas Carol, View DVDology

Peter OToole is a famous Irish film actor. He was born Peter Seamus OToole in County Galway, Ireland & was raised in Leeds, England. He left school at an early age & became a journalist, working at the Yorkshire Evening News. But after National Service he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art on a scholarship. He worked in theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic & with the English Stage Company, before making his television debut in 1954 & a very minor film debut in 1959. In 1958 he married actress Siân Phillips ; they divorced in 1979. OTooles major break came when he was chosen to play Lawrence in David Lean s Lawrence of Arabia, after Albert Finney turned down the role. His performance introduced him to US audiences & earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. His subsequent film choices have ranged from superb to mediocre. Posters Of Bright Young Things

Editors Choice: Lassie, Bright Young Things, The Final Curtain, Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell, Coming Home, Phantoms, Rosamunde Pilchers Coming Home, King Ralph, View DVDology

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