Ryan's Daughter (1970)

Director:

David Lean

Writer:

Robert Bolt (writer)

Release Date:

17 December 1970 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A story of love...set against the violence of rebellion

Plot:

World War I seems far away from Ireland's Dingle peninsula when Rosy Ryan Shaughnessy goes horseback...

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Breasts | Dynamite | Political Unrest | Sin Eater

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Robert Mitchum	...	Charles Shaughnessy
Trevor Howard	...	Father Collins
Christopher Jones	...	Randolph Doryan
John Mills	...	Michael
Leo McKern	...	Thomas Ryan
Sarah Miles	...	Rosy Ryan
Barry Foster	...	Tim O'Leary
Marie Kean	...	Mrs. McCardle
Arthur O'Sullivan	...	Mr. McCardle
Evin Crowley	...	Maureen
Douglas Sheldon	...	Driver
Gerald Sim	...	Captain
Barry Jackson	...	Corporal
Des Keogh	...	Lanky private
Niall Toibin	...	O'Keefe
Philip O'Flynn	...	Paddy
Donal Neligan	...	Maureen's boyfriend
Brian O'Higgins	...	Const. O'Connor
Niall O'Brien	...	Bernard
Owen Sullivan	...	Joseph
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Emmet Bergin	...	Sean (uncredited)
May Cluskey	...	Storekeeper (uncredited)
Annie D'Alton	...	Old woman (uncredited)
Julian Holloway	...	Voice of Randolph Doryn (uncredited)
Pat Layde	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Ed O'Callaghan	...	Bernard (uncredited)

Directed by
David Lean

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Robert Bolt		writer

Produced by
Anthony Havelock-Allan	....	producer
Roy Stevens	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Maurice Jarre

Cinematography by
Freddie Young

Film Editing by
Norman Savage

Production Design by
Stephen B. Grimes		(as Stephen Grimes)

Art Direction by
Roy Walker

Set Decoration by
Josie MacAvin

Costume Design by
Jocelyn Rickards

Makeup Department
Charles E. Parker	....	makeup artist (as Charles Parker)
A.G. Scott	....	hair stylist
Eric Allwright	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Douglas Twiddy	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles Frend	....	second unit director
Michael Stevenson	....	assistant director
Roy Stevens	....	second unit director: storm
Pedro Vidal	....	assistant director
Jonathan Burrows	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Peter Dukelow	....	constructor
Eddie Fowlie	....	property master
Derek Irvine	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
John Bramall	....	sound recordist
Ernie Grimsdale	....	sound editor
Gordon K. McCallum	....	sound mixer
Winston Ryder	....	sound editor
John Hayward	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Michael Hickey	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Robert MacDonald	....	special effects

Stunts
Vic Armstrong	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Cooper	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Denys N. Coop	....	camera operator: second unit (as Denys Coop)
Ernest Day	....	camera operator
Robert Huke	....	camera operator: second unit (as Bob Huke)
Bernie Prentice	....	chief electrician
Roy Rodhouse	....	chief electrician
Doug Byers	....	electrician (uncredited)
Robert Willoughby	....	special still photographer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Tony Lawson	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Maurice Jarre	....	conductor
Eric Tomlinson	....	music recordist

Other crew
Phyllis Crocker	....	continuity
Eddie Fowlie	....	location manager
William O'Kelly	....	production liaison
Ron Bareham	....	assistant accountant (uncredited)
Al Burgess	....	location manager (uncredited)
John Trehy	....	production accountant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Faraway Productions

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• CBS Television (1974) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (199?) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1970) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Neue Visionen Filmverleih (????) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Vídeo Arte (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment

Also Known As:

Michael's Day (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for a sex scene.

Runtime:

206 min (roadshow/DVD version) | 195 min (general release version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 (f) | Australia:PG | UK:15 (video rating) | Singapore:M18 | UK:AA (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:11 | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:R (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Bridges of Ross, County Clare, Ireland

Company:

Faraway Productions

Trivia:

The schoolhouse built on the cliffs an Dunquin head still stands.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: As he is driving Major Doryan to the camp, the corporal asks him if he had been in the Second Battle of the Marne. The Second Battle of the Marne was fought in July and August of 1918 near the end of WWI while events in Ryan's Daughter are set in 1916 not long after the Easter Rising.

Quotes:

Corporal: Good morning. Blowy day?
Maureen: Yes, Corporal - it's the wind!
Corporal: Only want to be friendly, kids.
Irish Girl: Then go back to London, and write us a letter!
Corporal: I don't come from London, love.
Maureen's boyfriend: Go anyway.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Gorgo (#10.9)" (1998)

A victim of mistaken expectations

It is such a major tragedy that one of the greatest directors in the history of film, David Lean was so savaged by the critics after pouring vast stores of time, energy and devotion into this production. It has long been clear to me why "Ryan's Daughter" was so poorly received. After Lean's previous epics, everyone was certain that, with all the time and money that went into this film, and with its lengthy running time, it would simply have to be a similar type of show. When people bring such expectations to a movie and are confronted with something so daringly different, they often focus on what they didn't see and miss the virtue of the picture they saw. This film is too "slow", too absorbed with the subtle dynamics of the interaction between its characters for a viewer who is burning to see vast battle scenes, mighty parades and mobs of extras caught up in violent historical struggles. The "spectacle" in this film (and spectacle it is indeed) comes from the exquisite widescreen lensing of stunning Irish coastal scenery. The fabulous storm sequence with villagers battling raging surf in their efforts to retrieve floating contraband is, in my opinion, unmatched in all the thousands of movies I have seen. The drama of the central characters' lives and the depiction of the way the eternal conflicts that continue to trouble their nation work to destroy normal existence for them....this all works for me. I guess there are going to be many who just can't buy into the whole thing, but I can only feel sorry for them. To me, Lean did create an epic here, but not the traditional kind that everyone came to see. It is a "feast-for-the-eyes", intimate epic of the tumultuous emotional life of a little village caught in a swirl of hatred, suspicion, prejudice and seething conflict with an occupying army. One of my dearest hopes is that I may live to see a handsome DVD release of this splendid masterpiece before too much more time elapses. It should NEVER be viewed in some pan-and-scan edition on an ordinary TV! Seen this way with all that glorious cinematography cropped and miniaturized, "Ryan's Daughter" could indeed be seen as a failure. I always wonder how many magnificent David Lean films we will never see as a result of the unproductive years that resulted from the crushing effect on the director of the widespread rejection of this wonderful creation. What a travesty!