- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,420
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
I first had the pleasure of seeing Ryan's Daughter in its road show presentation at the Ziegfeld in New York. On that huge screen, and projected in 70mm in a print derived from the camera original, every bit of information comes across sharp and clean.
One look at the images of Sarah Miles atop the cliffs during the opening sequence in extreme long shots, will give you some idea of what one is missing on home video.
I've been waiting 35 years for Ryan's Daughter to be released on DVD -- or any high quality video mechanism.
And short of seeing the film in its proper 70mm format on a huge screen, Warner's normal definition release to DVD, and what will hopefully be one of their initial high definition releases, is the best that we will find.
In this case, the release is a cause for celebration.
The studio has done a magnificent job of bringing the film to DVD, as it is both visually and sonically stunning. A great deal of time and effort has obviously gone into this transfer.
To my mind, Ryan's Daughter is one of the greatest films ever created. Unfortunately, it was released during a period where other films made it look a bit old-fashioned.
Today, it is those up to the minute creations which look ancient, where Ryan's Daughter has beautifully stood the test of time.
David Lean once mentioned that the biggest error he felt that he made on Ryan was not to have given Trevor Howard, in his role as the priest, a single line of dialogue which would have explained things more clearly.
Most audiences never understood the fact, although it seems quite obvious, that the scene in the forest between Ms. Miles and Mr. Jones never really occurred as we see it.
What we see is actually more in Rosy's mind than reality -- a totally idealized version of events clouded by her love for the British officer played by Jones.
David felt that the point could have been easily handled with a simple bit of dialogue spoken by the priest to Rosy: "Rosy... You're looking at the world through rose colored glasses."
The DVD release is inclusive of both a commentary track as well as a documentary. While some scenes from the film serve the purpose of underlining the discussion, some are used more as pictorial fill than for any other reason, and with the very same interview dialogue track used, once again, for much of the commentary track.
Any documentary supported by footage directed by David Lean and photographed by Freddie Young is going to look great. But the result here is that either documentary or commentary turns out to be unnecessary, while at the same time making the commentary track, which might have otherwise given additional space to the image, rather redundant to the entire project.
The proper people have been interviewed, and each has interesting points to add, but I have no doubt that someone with more of a love of the cinema as opposed to being in the business of grinding out DVD documentaries, could have done it better and made it more interesting.
I give the presentation of the film an A+ in all departments, and will wait patiently for the high definition release. The normal definition version is an essential purchase until that time comes, and will stand as one of the most beautiful high def transfers down-rezzed to date.
I've noted before that with all of the talented documentarians out there, and available to projects such as this, that we seem to get the same old quick and dirty extras from this particular production group. I'm actually surprised to see it coming from Warner. Imagine what a Photoplay documentary would have been like. For those unaware, Kevin Brownlow wrote the authorized biography of David Lean. A documentary from Photoplay could have offered information and insights which can only be touched upon here, and have done so in a aura of class and elegance of which this documentary is rather devoid.
Ryan's Daughter is yet another example of a vault title which could easily go back into limited theatrical release with a few 70mm prints, allowing modern audiences to see what real filmmaking is all about.
RAH
One look at the images of Sarah Miles atop the cliffs during the opening sequence in extreme long shots, will give you some idea of what one is missing on home video.
I've been waiting 35 years for Ryan's Daughter to be released on DVD -- or any high quality video mechanism.
And short of seeing the film in its proper 70mm format on a huge screen, Warner's normal definition release to DVD, and what will hopefully be one of their initial high definition releases, is the best that we will find.
In this case, the release is a cause for celebration.
The studio has done a magnificent job of bringing the film to DVD, as it is both visually and sonically stunning. A great deal of time and effort has obviously gone into this transfer.
To my mind, Ryan's Daughter is one of the greatest films ever created. Unfortunately, it was released during a period where other films made it look a bit old-fashioned.
Today, it is those up to the minute creations which look ancient, where Ryan's Daughter has beautifully stood the test of time.
David Lean once mentioned that the biggest error he felt that he made on Ryan was not to have given Trevor Howard, in his role as the priest, a single line of dialogue which would have explained things more clearly.
Most audiences never understood the fact, although it seems quite obvious, that the scene in the forest between Ms. Miles and Mr. Jones never really occurred as we see it.
What we see is actually more in Rosy's mind than reality -- a totally idealized version of events clouded by her love for the British officer played by Jones.
David felt that the point could have been easily handled with a simple bit of dialogue spoken by the priest to Rosy: "Rosy... You're looking at the world through rose colored glasses."
The DVD release is inclusive of both a commentary track as well as a documentary. While some scenes from the film serve the purpose of underlining the discussion, some are used more as pictorial fill than for any other reason, and with the very same interview dialogue track used, once again, for much of the commentary track.
Any documentary supported by footage directed by David Lean and photographed by Freddie Young is going to look great. But the result here is that either documentary or commentary turns out to be unnecessary, while at the same time making the commentary track, which might have otherwise given additional space to the image, rather redundant to the entire project.
The proper people have been interviewed, and each has interesting points to add, but I have no doubt that someone with more of a love of the cinema as opposed to being in the business of grinding out DVD documentaries, could have done it better and made it more interesting.
I give the presentation of the film an A+ in all departments, and will wait patiently for the high definition release. The normal definition version is an essential purchase until that time comes, and will stand as one of the most beautiful high def transfers down-rezzed to date.
I've noted before that with all of the talented documentarians out there, and available to projects such as this, that we seem to get the same old quick and dirty extras from this particular production group. I'm actually surprised to see it coming from Warner. Imagine what a Photoplay documentary would have been like. For those unaware, Kevin Brownlow wrote the authorized biography of David Lean. A documentary from Photoplay could have offered information and insights which can only be touched upon here, and have done so in a aura of class and elegance of which this documentary is rather devoid.
Ryan's Daughter is yet another example of a vault title which could easily go back into limited theatrical release with a few 70mm prints, allowing modern audiences to see what real filmmaking is all about.
RAH
