Review of Women in Love

Introduction

The sisters Gudrun and Ursula Brangwen are keen to suck out the sap of life. Gudrun in particular is desperate to experience the mysteries of sex and sexuality. They meet two men who are close friends with each other and they both form relationships; Ursula (Jenny Linden) with Rupert Birkin(Alan Bates), the school inspector and Gudrun(Glenda Jackson) with Gerald Crich (Oliver Reed) the local mine owner`s son. Whilst Ursula and Rupert are `in love` it is the pain of the relationship between Gudrun and Gerald that is examined as it reaches its tortured conclusion. Meanwhile images of death and love abound as tragedy comes to Gerald`s family.

Video

Shamefully this is a poor copy of this sumptuous film that overflows with images of colour and symbolism From the very start as the women are marked out from the miners and their wives in terms of costume this is a film that needs to express itself clearly and the marks of age and dirt on the print mute the message. Still getting into the film and ignoring that is easy enough but it is not right that a film less than 40 years old should be in this condition.

Credit must go to Ken Russell and his cinematographer for some beautifully staged set-pieces, including the `wrestling scene` and the Swiss locations at Zermatt.

Audio

There are no problems with the sound and the musical soundtrack includes period music appropriate to the plot. It opens with I`m forever blowing bubbles`.

Based on the novel by DH Lawrence written in 1920 the dialogue does on occasion sound pretentious but actors manage to make it all sound credible.

Features

A nice bonus would have been a decent print to transfer from. Here though there is chapter selection and nowt more.

Conclusion

If you enjoy intense films about the difficulties of relationships between men and women and can overlook the mediocre picture long enough to get into the film then this is worth a punt in the bargain bin. However to face facts the quality of the print is shabby and a let down.

It is beautifully photographed and the costume and set design are superb. There can be no questioning the quality of the actors; Glenda Jackson got an Oscar for her performance and Oliver Reed is totally convincing in his characterisation of the possessive Crich. There are some amazing moments in this film with images that tend to stick in the mind and I don`t just mean the naked wrestling scene.