Ulysses (1967)

Dublin; June 16, 1904. Stephen Dedalus, who fancies himself as a poet, embarks on a day of wandering about the city during which he finds friendship and a father figure in Leopold Bloom, a ... See full summary »

Director:

Joseph Strick

Writers:

Fred Haines, James Joyce (novel),

Stars:

Barbara Jefford, Milo O'Shea, Maurice Roëves

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Barbara Jefford	...	Molly Bloom
Milo O'Shea	...	Leopold Bloom
Maurice Roëves	...	Stephen Dedalus
T.P. McKenna	...	Buck Mulligan
Martin Dempsey	...	Simon Dedalus
Sheila O'Sullivan	...	May Golding Dedalus
Graham Lines	...	Haines
Peter Mayock	...	Jack Power
Fionnula Flanagan	...	Gerty MacDowell (as Fionnuala Flanagan)
Anna Manahan	...	Bella Cohen
Maureen Toal	...	Zoe Higgins
Maureen Potter	...	Josie Breen
Chris Curran	...	Myles Crawford
Maire Hastings	...	Mary Driscoll
Eddie Golden	...	Martin Cunningham

Storyline

Dublin; June 16, 1904. Stephen Dedalus, who fancies himself as a poet, embarks on a day of wandering about the city during which he finds friendship and a father figure in Leopold Bloom, a middle-aged Jew. Meanwhile, Bloom's day, illuminated by a funeral and an evening of drinking and revelry that stirs paternal feelings toward Stephen, ends with a rapprochement with Molly, his earthy wife.

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Plot Keywords:

poet | funeral | jew | drinking | book seller | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1967 (UK)

Also Known As:

Alucinação de Ulisses

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Laser Film Corporation, Ulysses Film Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Mono 4-Track Stereo

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

27 September 2000: finally passed by the film censors in Ireland!

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Connections

Referenced in Time Shift: Dear Censor... The secret archive of the British Board of Film Classification (2011)

User Reviews

Terrific and brave adaptation of a difficult book.

Having enjoyed Joyce's complex novel so keenly I was prepared to be disappointed by Joseph Strick's and Fred Haines's screenplay, given the fabulous complexity of the original text. However, the film turned out to be very well done and a fine translation of the tone, naturalism, and levity of the book.

It certainly helps to have read the original text before viewing the film. I imagine the latter would seem disjointed, with very odd episodes apparently randomly stitched together, without a prior reading of the text to help grasp the plot.

It's amazing to see how "filthy" the film is, given that it was shot in Dublin in 1967. The Irish film censors only, finally, unbanned it for viewing by general audiences in Ireland as late as 2000 (it was shown to restricted audiences in a private cinema club, the Irish Film Theatre, in the late 1970s). Joyce's eroticism is not simply naturalistic and raunchy, it offers many wildly "perverse" episodes. Never mind that so many of these fetishes were unacceptable when the book was published in 1922 - they were still utterly taboo when the film was made in 1967.

It is astonishing and heartening to watch the cream of the Irish acting profession of the 1960s, respected players all, daring to utter and enact Joyce's hugely transgressive text with such gusto.

Bravo!