Category Archives: Catherine Willmer

#54 Favorite Film, 1969 Films, Alan Bates, Alan Webb, Art, Catherine Willmer, Christopher Gable, Drama, Eleanor Bron, Glenda Jackson, Jennie Linden, Ken Russell, Oliver Reed, Phoebe Nicholls, Romantic Drama, Top 100 Films, Top 250 Films

Women in Love-1969

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Women in Love-1969

UPDATED REVIEW

Director Ken Russell

Starring Glenda Jackson, Oliver Reed, Alan Bates

Top 250 Films #54

Scott’s Review #766

Reviewed June 2, 2018

Grade: A

Women in Love (1969) is a British romantic drama film that stands out as truly one of a kind. The film is quite cerebral and requires a bit of thought, which will undoubtedly lead to good conversation with film connoisseurs everywhere after a viewing.

The four central characters are complex and flawed, and they dramatically intersect in each other’s lives, making the film a “thinking man’s” feast.

The film is adapted from a popular D.H. Lawrence novel of the same name.

In 1920, set in the Midlands section of central England, sisters Ursula (Jennie Linden) and Gudrun (Glenda Jackson) attend the wedding of an acquaintance, Laura Crich. The Crich family is enormously wealthy and owns a large share of the mining town.

During the ceremony, Gudrun and Ursula fantasize about Gerald Crich (Oliver Platt) and Rupert Birkin (Alan Bates), respectively. When the foursome cross paths again at Rupert’s pretentious girlfriend’s party, attraction and conflict arise.

The film is described as “character-driven,” but it does not begin to do it justice. Each of the four principal characters is richly written with intelligence and gusto. All of them are either flawed or insecure in some way, while the fact that Gerald and Rupert share a sexual attraction for each other is another nuance explored throughout the film.

Rupert is confident and outspoken about his bisexuality- extremely rare for a 1969 film. In this way, Women in Love is ahead of its time.

The significant themes in Women in Love are commitment and love, and how each character handles them, sometimes embracing them and sometimes running away from them.

Gudrun and Gerald are in love with each other, as are Rupert and Ursula, but only one couple reaches any bliss. The characters possess a bevy of emotions, making their happiness almost impossible, and they feel doomed to failure from the onset.

This is an example of Larry Kramer’s tremendous writing and of bringing the characters to the big screen in a memorable way.

Jackson’s Gudrun and Bates’s Rupert are my favorite characters because they seem to have a bit more depth and feel like standouts. Gudrun appears to have love-hate feelings toward Gerald and is often downright cruel to him.

As they vacation in the Swiss Alps, Gudrun purposely and inexplicably flirts with a gay artist, leaving Gerald extremely jealous, which results in tragedy.

Counter-balancing Gudrun’s anger, Rupert showers in fun and zest for life, happily bisexual and thinking nothing of it, enjoying his sexually charged affections for both men and women.

The supporting characters, specifically snobbish Hermione and mentally unstable Christianna Crich, are examples of perfect casting. Eleanor Bron plays Hermione as mocking and teetering on the edge of unhinged. As she psychologically bullies poor Ursula, even though it’s clear Rupert prefers the more innocent woman, Hermione becomes frightened.

Actress Catherine Willmer takes Christianna to a new level of creepy. Already appearing psychotic, when her daughter tragically drowns, the woman goes over the edge, unleashing vicious dogs on any visitors to her estate.

Both actresses give unforgettable performances.

Women in Love contains a scene that may very well be the most homo-erotic scene in film history. As Rupert and Gerald decide to partake in a Japanese-style wrestling match one evening, they strip completely naked and grapple in front of a roaring fire.

In this lengthy sequence, both front and rear nudity are provided, leaving nothing to the imagination. When Rupert suggests they swear eternal love for each other, Gerald cannot commit to the emotional union.

One wonders if this outstanding scene influenced 2007’s Eastern Promises.

1969’s Women in Love is a fantastic film with terrific acting all around. Taking romantic drama to an entirely different level and setting a new standard for cinematic complexity, the work of director Ken Russell is peppered with nuance, making it rich with great storytelling and character development.

The fact that one couple ends in bliss and the other in tragedy is sheer excellence.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Director-Ken Russell, Best Actress-Glenda Jackson (won), Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, Best Cinematography

1971 Films, British, Catherine Willmer, Christopher Logue, Drama, Dudley Sutton, Gemma Jones, Georgina Hale, Horror, John Woodvine, Ken Russell, Max Adrian, Michael Gothard, Murray Melvin, Oliver Reed, Religious, Vanessa Redgrave

The Devils-1971

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The Devils-1971

Director Ken Russell

Starring Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave

Scott’s Review #1,403

Reviewed October 4, 2023

Grade: A

Ken Russell, best known for directing the outstanding Women in Love (1970) and The Who’s Tommy (1975), creates a disturbing opus about perversion and scandal within the Roman Catholic Church in medieval times.

The film’s graphic portrayal of violence, sexuality, and religious blasphemy ignited shocked reactions from censors, and it initially received an X rating in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

It was banned in several countries and heavily edited for exhibition in others. This alone will pique the interest of open-minded, curious viewers.

It sure did mine.

The film is ironically entitled The Devils (1971) and stars Russell regular Oliver Reed, who also appeared in the aforementioned films.

Reed leads the charge as a sexy, rugged man who beds many women and is the center of a convent full of nuns’ nasty and naughty thoughts.

Vanessa Redgrave also appears as a lustful and evil nun with a hunchback.

During the period of seventeenth-century France, Father Grandier (Reed) was a priest whose unorthodox views on sex and religion influenced a passionate following of nuns, including the sexually obsessed Sister Jeanne (Redgrave).

When the power-hungry Cardinal Richelieu (Christopher Logue) realizes he must eliminate Grandier to gain control of France, Richelieu vows to destroy the man. He portrays Grandier as a Satanist and spearheads a public outcry to destroy the once-loved priest’s reputation.

The Devils is outrageous and bizarre in the best possible way. Who doesn’t love a healthy dose of nun orgies and simulating fellatio on a large candlestick?

One nun violently masturbates as another looks on, giggling sadistically.

The camera loves Reed and Redgrave, who, interestingly, are not a couple in the film. These British actors were at the height of their careers in 1971, and both portrayed roles that must have been tremendously challenging.

Despite being set in France, the film opens in a naughty way with a nearly nude dance performed by skinny Louis XIII (played with wacky delight by Graham Armitage). Rumored to be gay, the king traipses around in colorful costumes and later shoots protestants dressed as gorillas for sport.

There are themes of exorcising and burning at the stake, and mentions of the warring Catholics and Protestants, so there is a seriousness amid the antics and shenanigans.

It took me a little while to become fully immersed in the chaotic land of Loudon, a town in western France where the film is set. In truth, a second viewing really helped me settle in and have a sense of what was going on.

The best films really are like fine wines.

Russell’s attempts to irritate and incite the overly religious are quite satisfying in a wicked way. As much as he mocks religion by making the traditionally sexually conservative filled with lust and animalistic sexual prowess, there is much more going on.

Beneath the surface, he challenges the ridiculousness of religion, which cinema lovers will embrace and delight in. There are history lessons to be had, though, and the film provides exceptional details of the political upheavals and tyranny that occurred.

The thunderous musical score by Peter Maxwell Davies is fabulous, especially during The Devil’s final act, when a central character endures a broiling on a wooden stake.

Those who own the wonderful Blu-Ray version of the film can enjoy various outtakes, cast interviews, and behind-the-scenes information.

An added delight for knowledgeable film fans is the inclusion of character actor Murray Melvin, famous for playing Reverend Runt in the classic Barry Lyndon (1975). He plays Father Pierre Barre.

The Devils (1971) is a perverse and operatic extravaganza of lunacy. It’s caked with sex and nudity and blasphemy that I loved every bit of.

The dangerous tone can be studied and thought about long after the film ends.

1969 Films, Alan Bates, Alan Webb, Art, Catherine Willmer, Christopher Gable, Drama, Eleanor Bron, Glenda Jackson, Jennie Linden, Ken Russell, Oliver Reed, Phoebe Nicholls, Romantic Drama

Women in Love-1969

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Women in Love-1969

Director Ken Russell

Starring Glenda Jackson, Jennie Linden

Scott’s Review #553

Reviewed December 20, 2016

Grade: A

Women in Love is a shamefully, by and large, forgotten gem- except for the obscure cinema lover- made in 1969.

The film is a British art film and is way ahead of its time. Despite the title, it is anything but a romantic comedy- quite dark in content. The film is adapted from a D.H. Lawrence novel of the same name.

The story is of two sisters, Gudrun and Ursula, living in a small mining town. They gather for a friend’s wedding, and each becomes enamored of a member of the wedding party.

Later, at a swanky dinner party, the girls meet the men. The film tells of the sisters’ relationships with each of the men (played by Alan Bates and Oliver Reed) and of the men’s relationship with each other.

All of the relationships are very complex and filled with tender emotion, and some are pretty violent.

Women in Love is one of the first films to feature extensive nudity, but not in a gratuitous way.

The film explores themes of love, hatred, and the trials and tribulations of the English upper class. The film is a love of mine because it is character-driven, told from each character’s perspective, and is quite an intense experience.

Glenda Jackson won the 1970 Best Actress Oscar- deservedly so.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Director-Ken Russell, Best Actress-Glenda Jackson (won), Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, Best Cinematography