Women in Love (1969)

Director:

Ken Russell

Writers:

Larry Kramer (writer)
D.H. Lawrence (novel)

Release Date:

25 March 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The relationship between four sensual people is limited: They must find a new way.

Plot:

The battle of the sexes and relationships among the elite of Britian's industrial Midlands in the 1920s...

Plot Keywords:

Sculptress | Naked Gladiator | Homoeroticism | Outdoor Love Scene | Male Full Frontal Nudity

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

Alan Bates	...	Rupert Birkin
Oliver Reed	...	Gerald Crich
Glenda Jackson	...	Gudrun Brangwen
Jennie Linden	...	Ursula Brangwen
Eleanor Bron	...	Hermione Roddice
Alan Webb	...	Thomas Crich
Vladek Sheybal	...	Loerke
Catherine Willmer	...	Mrs. Crich
Phoebe Nicholls	...	Winifred Crich (as Sarah Nicholls)
Sharon Gurney	...	Laura Crich
Christopher Gable	...	Tibby Lupton
Michael Gough	...	Tom Brangwen
Norma Shebbeare	...	Mrs. Brangwen
Nike Arrighi	...	Contessa
James Laurenson	...	Minister

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Norway:15 (TV rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (2004) | Portugal:M/18 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2004) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | West Germany:18 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Bedlington Colliery, Northumberland, England, UK

Company:

Brandywine Productions

Trivia:

Considered, along with Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool (1969), to be among the first mainstream movies to feature male frontal nudity.

Quotes:

Gerald Crich: And who is "Gudrun"?
Gudrun Brangwen: In a Norse myth, Gudrun was a sinner who murdered her husband.
Gerald Crich: And will you live up to that?
Gudrun Brangwen: Which would you prefer me to live up to, Mr Crich? The sinner or the murderer?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Watermelon (2008)

Just as Powerful, Just as Profound

This faithful adaptation by Ken Russell of one of D.H. Lawrence's best works is just as powerful & just as profound now, over 30 years after its initial release. The story is set in England a few years after World War I, at a time when many women of marriageable age were forced to examine their assumptions about relationships. When the Brangwen sisters complain about the lack of men, it's true. Many of the men who should have been available to them were lost in the war.

The film was made @ the dawn of the women's movement, once again a time when many women of a certain age were driven to examine their own assumptions about relationships, and looked to Lawrence (& then to Russell) for answers to questions beyond words.

This is not to deny the importance of the men in this story. Both Rupert & Gerald are drawn to the kind of women who ask these questions. Both of them have a myriad of other choices, but they're not satified by less.

So Russell finds a visual way to tell this story, & much of it would seem to be "over the top" were it not so obviously sincere & courageous. Glenda Jackson, a relative unknown at the time, won her first Oscar. We agree. She gives an extraordinary performance in a most difficult role: Gudrun is not likeable, but she IS honest.