Quite frankly, D.H. Lawrence is a better writer than Margaret Mitchell. With the help of outstanding acting performances, it stood to follow that "Sons and Lovers" is a better film than "Gone With the Wind". Of course, the former book and film is quite good, and Margaret Michell in an excellent page-turner writer. However, when it comes to passion and delving into the more complex questions of life, D H Lawrence is, in my opinion, the heavyweight champion.
He delivers a first-round knockout with this film. It is rivaled only by Women In Love, which I also thought very highly of.
Directed by Jack Cardiff and adopted for the screen by Gavin Lambert and TEB Clarke and featuring no less than five stellar performances; three of which, in my opinion, were Oscar-worthy. Best film for 1961 was "The Apartment", a good film, but certainly not as well-written or acted as this film. Burt Lancaster won for Elmer Gantry that year, a well-deserved win. However, for Best Supporting Actor, the award should have gone to Trevor Howard, who, for some reason, was nominated for Best Actor, even though he had less than half of the time of the film on screen as did Dean Stockwell. But Stockwell had no chance against Lancaster.
Howard, on the other hand, might have won in the Best Supporting Actor category. And Wendy Hiller should have won for Best Actress, without a doubt. Jack Cardiff was head and shoulders the Best Director for the 1961 Awards. Mary Ure as Clara was far more deserving of Best Supporting Actress, but did not win.
But enough about the film; let us not forget the pen of DH Lawrence; the man who is not afraid to dive to great depths and ask the great questions we all face in life. How do we balance our animal instincts vs our spiritual and philosophical beliefs? Should we heed the father's advice and not ask too many questions, or delve into those questions too deeply?
Or should we become sad figures like Heather Sears' Miriam; a tragic result of her mother's absolutely horrid religious over-zealousness? Should we accept our fates like Dean's mother and take the good with the bad? Should we have a more simplified view of life like the lout portrayed as Dean's father? Dean was a bit of a lout himself for not being more understanding of the condition of Miriam. All of these are profound questions, that most other writers cannot fathom.
He delivers a first-round knockout with this film. It is rivaled only by Women In Love, which I also thought very highly of.
Directed by Jack Cardiff and adopted for the screen by Gavin Lambert and TEB Clarke and featuring no less than five stellar performances; three of which, in my opinion, were Oscar-worthy. Best film for 1961 was "The Apartment", a good film, but certainly not as well-written or acted as this film. Burt Lancaster won for Elmer Gantry that year, a well-deserved win. However, for Best Supporting Actor, the award should have gone to Trevor Howard, who, for some reason, was nominated for Best Actor, even though he had less than half of the time of the film on screen as did Dean Stockwell. But Stockwell had no chance against Lancaster.
Howard, on the other hand, might have won in the Best Supporting Actor category. And Wendy Hiller should have won for Best Actress, without a doubt. Jack Cardiff was head and shoulders the Best Director for the 1961 Awards. Mary Ure as Clara was far more deserving of Best Supporting Actress, but did not win.
But enough about the film; let us not forget the pen of DH Lawrence; the man who is not afraid to dive to great depths and ask the great questions we all face in life. How do we balance our animal instincts vs our spiritual and philosophical beliefs? Should we heed the father's advice and not ask too many questions, or delve into those questions too deeply?
Or should we become sad figures like Heather Sears' Miriam; a tragic result of her mother's absolutely horrid religious over-zealousness? Should we accept our fates like Dean's mother and take the good with the bad? Should we have a more simplified view of life like the lout portrayed as Dean's father? Dean was a bit of a lout himself for not being more understanding of the condition of Miriam. All of these are profound questions, that most other writers cannot fathom.