The Ruling Class

source: The Ruling Class

Trailer—The Ruling Class

The Ruling Class

This hilarious indictment of England's aristocracy gives Peter O'Toole what was probably his best role. Playing insane earl Jack Gurney - who believes himself to be Jesus Christ - O'Toole makes the most of the role. "The Ruling Class" not only goes all out in ripping at the class system, but also shows how he can get away with anything (after they Jack him of believing himself to be Jesus, he believes himself to be Red Jack: Jack the Ripper). Anyway, this is a movie that I recommend to everyone. It just goes to show that as long as England has it's monarchy and aristocracy, England will always produce some hilarious movies. Certainly it shows Peter Medak (happy birthday, Peter!) to be a great director. Accidental suicide while wearing a tutu. Ha!

Aristocrat Ralph Gurney, the 13th Earl of Gurney, dies from accidental auto-asphyxiation while dressed in a tutu. His mentally-disturbed son Jack (Peter O'Toole) takes over most of the estate despite his delusions of being Jesus Christ. His uncle Sir Charles and wife Lady Claire are infuriated. Charles and Claire pair up his mistress Grace with Jack. Their plan is to marry them off and send him to an institution. It goes off course as Grace falls for Jack as Dr. Herder tries to cure him. This stage play is filmed without much imagination. It all falls on O'Toole to give this movie life. It's rather flat without him. It tries to skewer the British aristocrats but they are rather easy targets. It's a black comedy with limited laughs. Alastair Sim has a supporting role. This movie needs more O'Toole and limit the scenes without him.

This is an excellent movie, but don't watch it expecting it to be purely a dark comedy. There is a lot of humor in it--often very bizarre humor--but it is primarily a very powerful statement about what can happen when, for the sake of social acceptability, a human mind is forced into a mold that doesn't fit. In my opinion, the British ruling class was chosen to illustrate this point only because they do have very rigid rules about what kind of behavior is socially acceptable and what is simply "not done." It's statement about the dangers of excessive self-repression apply equally to us all.

The Ruling class is a disturbing commentary on the nature and necessity of our whole belief systems. It both highlights the extreme fragility of those beliefs, and takes gently mocking aim at us for our dependency on them. Viewed in that light, the film succeeds 100%. When viewed merely as a satire on the British ruling classes, of course it doesn't. It goes far deeper, becoming also an essay on our tendency to manipulate others for our own benefit: the characters' collective idiosyncrasies serve as punctuation for that essay. Brilliantly acted, often hilarious but always profoundly moving, it is a genuine classic of its kind, notwithstanding its undeniable, though relatively minor, flaws. I'd love to have it on DVD!

'Kind Hearts and Coronets' meets 'If...'. Peter O'Toole gives a masterclass as a well-depicted paranoid schizophrenic who thinks he's God, inherits an Earldom and is 'cured' by the superb Michael Bryant's psychiatrist, only to become Jack the Ripper in the House of Lords. The anti-establishment message is battered home with a 15lb sledgehammer, but the cast of English (and most of the Scottish) movie stalwarts at least have a good time. Partly stagey, partly like avant-garde television of the time, and partly 'Gosford Park', TRC is not to be watched for anything other than to see actors having a terrific romp. No story, no meaningful social/religious/moral comment, just great actors (and crew) doing a great job with a somewhat ropey playscript. Special mentions for Carolyn Seymour, Michael Bryant, Arthur Lowe, Nigel Green and of course Alastair Sim wiping the floor with the lot of them. Oh, and the quintessential James Villiers idiotic toff performance.

Mind blowing, superior satire on the class system in Britain, with a once in a lifetime cast (Peter O'Toole, Alastair Sim "The Zambeesi Missions", Arthur Lowe "Alexi Kronstadt...Revolutionary!", Coral Browne, William Mervyn and so forth). Cinematically, the British have long proved that no one has a better sense of humor, or is as self critical of them, than they themselves. Perhaps, as the saying goes, "It keeps the old girl honest." This scathing comedy takes no prisoners, whether engaging in outlandish situational dialogue or performers suddenly zipping out in a song and dance routines. There are too many individual gems of dialogue to count (although a personal fave is O'Toole's talk with Mrs. Piggot-Jones and Mrs. Treadwell). The performances are delivered with just the right amount of relish and timing. A modern classic. Highly recommended.

This movie has EVERYTHING!!!!! I'm serious. Does it have musical numbers? Yes, it does. Beautiful costumes, fabulous sets, serial killers, witty dialogue, burlesque striptease, opera and aristocracy, romance and insanity, jealousy and drama, comedy and theology? Yes, yes, yes!!! Oh, why couldn't there be more films like this? In a way, it reminded me of "The Ninth Configuration" although that movie lacked humor. Peter O'Toole is just gorgeous, as well. My father (psychiatrist) says that this film is just about the only accurate film representation he's seen of MANIA, but when i asked him about it, he didn't recall the musical numbers. So i suppose it's got something for everyone. I could write about THE RULING CLASS for hours and hours and compare it to everything in the entire world but i don't want to give anything away. This is an absolute MUST-SEE for anyone with an interest in film, England, mental disorders, or dancing the Varsity Rag.