TotalTelly.co.uk

Devoted to Popular, Cult and Retro TV

Ulysses [1967]


RRP: £15.99
Our Price: £4.69 (subject to change)

A Modern Reading of Ulysses
Review date: 2008-01-17 Rating: 10 out of 10

Literary anoraks usually have difficulty in coping with movie adapations of their favourite books, failing to understand that their mental view of the original will not survive the change of medium and the consequent creation of a new art form. A book as iconic as Joyce's Ulysses will never be faithfully 'reproduced' on screen to the satisfaction of such critics.

In fact Joseph Strick's 1967 film not only sees the successful transition of Joyce's book into a new medium (within the 'new wave' tradition popular with film makers at the time) but has also created a work that remains highly relevant to the 21st century viewer. Strick actually filmed in black and white and in 'modern dress' ( for the time) for budgetary rather than aesthetic reasons.

Although set a century ago in 1904 the book introduced a whole plethora of very modern sounding topics -sexual and personal relationships, consumerism, nationalism, religious and racial intolerance, advertising and media, immigration, popular music and the position of the artist in society (among others!). Strick's film was fortunately made at a time in the Sixties when the ground norms of society were being widely questioned and the film picks up some of this buzz. The happy result - helped greatly by the minimalist 'modern' dress and settings - is a film that seems to consist of up -to-date real people with real lives and something relevant to say to a present day audience about their own lives.

Sean Walsh's more recent adaptation of Ulysses ('Bloom', made in 2004)on the other hand, while beautifully fimed and acted, is played as a period drama that aims to reproduce the original environment of Joyce's book as closely as possible. As a result, to me anyway , the latter film fails to touch any nerve other than as a pleasant enough adaptation but one that is about as relevant to our present day lives as an adaptation of Jane Austen.

Similar Products

Reviews


Awful
Review date: 2007-11-16 Rating: 2 out of 10

This stultifyingly pedestrian adaptation of one of the greatest novels of the 20th century is to be avoided at all costs. Joseph Strick hadn't the wit to perceive that a book as good as 'Ulysses' is just too good a book to survive translation into another medium, even if Joyce himself once thought that it might be possible to film it (there's a reason why Joyce never directed a film). Not only does Strick pointlessly transfer the action to the 1960s, he interprets the stylistic changes of the book in the most literal-minded way imaginable. The result is just an embarrassment and a blot on the careers of everyone involved.

Fine adaptation of James Joyce masterpiece
Review date: 2007-06-08 Rating: 10 out of 10

For me James Joyce 1924 novel Ulysses comes under the heading of "some kind of masterpiece I suppose" depicting as it does a day in Dublin in 1904, the year in which Joyce became a voluntary exile from Ireland never to return, but writing about Ireland for the rest of his life.

The once experimental "stream of consciousness" style of internal monologue is well captured in this 1967 film by voice over, and the adaptation clearly focuses on the outstanding events in the novel, events I clearly remember thirty years after reading it (it is that kind of novel).

There is no real plot, just two men walking about Dublin in June 1904 and finally meeting in the evening. Stephen Dedalus (fictional persona of James Joyce first met in his semi autobiographical novel "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man") a young schoolteacher, Leopold Bloom (Milo O'Shea) is on the margins of society as a jew and is married to a famous singer Molly Bloom (Barbara Jefford) who is openly adulterous adding to Bloom's isolation.

The novel ends with Molly Blooms famous long monologue which Barbara Jefford handles superbly.

This is a great adaptation of Joyce's controversial novel, but will mainly appeal to those familiar with the book.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Milo O'Shea
Martin Dempsey
Maurice Roëves
Barbara Jefford
T.P. McKenna

Creators:
Barbara Jefford (Primary Contributor)
Milo O'Shea (Primary Contributor)
Joseph Strick (Producer)
Joseph Strick (Writer)
Fred Haines (Producer)
Fred Haines (Writer)
Walter Reade (Producer)
Wilfred Eades (Producer)
James Joyce (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Arrow Films
Manufacturer: Arrow Films
EAN: 5027035002934
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Black & White, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2004-02-23
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 120 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1967
Language: English (Original Language)

Add to Cart

© 2006 Darren Hester, DesignsByDarren.com, Some Rights Reserved.
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional