Ulysses (1967 film)
6.6 /10 1 Votes
Duration Language English | 6.6/10 IMDb Genre Drama Music director S. Myers Country UKUSA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Release date 14 March 1967 (USA)June 1967 (UK) Cast (Molly Bloom), (Leopold Bloom), Maurice Roeves (Stephen Dedalus), T. P. McKenna (Buck Mulligan), Martin Dempsey (Simon Dedalus), Sheila O'Sullivan (May Golding Dedalus)Similar movies Related Joseph Strick movies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Its a day in the life of Leopold Bloom (Milo OShea), his wife, Molly (Barbara Jefford), and Stephen Dedalus (Maurice Roeves) in 1904 Dublin, based on the James Joyce novel.
Contents
Ulysses is a 1967 British-American drama film loosely based on James Joyces novel Ulysses. It concerns the meeting of two Irishmen, Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus, in the Dublin of 1904.
Starring Milo OShea as Leopold Bloom, Barbara Jefford as Molly Bloom, Maurice Roeves as Stephen Dedalus, T. P. McKenna as Buck Mulligan and Sheila OSullivan as May Golding Dedalus, it was adapted by Fred Haines and Joseph Strick, and directed by Strick. Haines and Strick shared an Oscar nomination for the screenplay.
Dublin; June 16, 1904. Stephen Dedalus, who fancies himself as a poet, embarks on a day of wandering about the city during which he finds friendship and a father figure in Leopold Bloom, a middle-aged Jew. Meanwhile, Bloom's day, illuminated by a funeral and an evening of drinking and revelry that stirs paternal feelings toward Stephen, ends with a rapprochement with Molly, his earthy wife.
Making of the film
This was the first film adaptation of the novel, 45 years on from its publication. It stands out over the subsequent film, Bloom, for its fidelity to the book and the fact that almost the entire screenplay is taken from lines in the book.
The film was shot on location in Dublin on a modest budget. Although the novel is set in 1904, the film portrays the city as it was in the 1960s.
Critical reception
Strick obtained a BAFTA and Golden Globe nomination on foot of the film as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
It was entered into the 1967 Cannes Film Festival. Festival organizers deleted some of the French subtitles without informing the director. When Strick noticed the deletions during the films screening, "he stood up and yelled out that this film had been censored," Stricks son David told the Los Angeles Times. "He went upstairs to the projection booth and turned off the switches. He was then pushed down a flight of stairs by festival goons. My father and his associates withdrew the film immediately from the festival," David Strick said.
Pauline Kael described it as "an act of homage in the form of readings ... plus slides". Stanley Kauffmann called it "a facile and ludicrous reduction".
Rating and censorship
Ulysses was originally rated X in the UK after extensive cuts were demanded by BBFC censor John Trevelyan. However director Joseph Strick replaced the offending dialogue with a series of screeches and sounds, thus rendering the scenes unintelligible. Eventually the film was released uncut in 1970, and the rating was reduced to 15 for the video release in 1996.
In New Zealand the film was originally restricted to adults over 18 in gender-segregated audiences. The rating was reduced to M (suitable for mature audiences over 16) in the 1990s.
The film was not approved for general release in Ireland until 2000; however, it was screened at the Irish Film Theatre (a private film club) in the 1970s.
Cast
The large number of characters in the novel is reflected in the very large cast of the film. The cast, in order of credit, is as follows:
References
Ulysses (1967 film) WikipediaUlysses (1967 film) IMDb Ulysses (1967 film) themoviedb.org