University of Virginia Library

Portraying Nature

"Ryan's Daughter" is a good
film, just as its three predecessors
were; there was nothing daring
about them, they were entertaining
and they had just enough pretty
camera work to be considered
"arty." I could say, "If you liked
the desert in "Lawrence" and the
snows in "Zhivago," you'll love the
sea in "Ryan's Daughter," which
would be perfectly true.

Mitchum, Miles: Imposed Vastness

No other director can handle
Mother Nature as well as Lean can.
You can predict when the shots of
the landscape will come, and when
the music (little bits of Beethoven's
"Erotica") will come in, because the
whole film has the same sure about
it that now characterizes a Lean
film, specifically abundant
production. The plot doesn't
demand the vastness which Lean
has given it. "Ryan's Daughter" is a
simple way to spend three hours of
your life, but for fifty cents you
could get a simple gist of the story
and the Lean style from Mad
magazine.

(Now at the Paramount)