SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

bkoganbing I guess the best way to describe The Ruling Class is Jonathan Swift by way of Monty Python. It was one of 8 trips to the Best Actor Oscar that Peter O'Toole took without first prize.Two phrases come to mind when viewing this film. One is from Philip Barry when he wrote in The Philadelphia Story about those privileged classes enjoying their privileges. The other one is how it depends how rich one is to be deemed eccentric as opposed to crazy.The stern and righteous Earl Of Gurney Harry Andrews who is a most conservative gentleman in his public image dies one night. But what a way to go. Apparently the man had the decency to keep his vices in private. He enjoyed erotic asphyxiation wearing a tutu. But accidents will happen and the estate now devolves upon his son Peter O'Toole who is more public with his eccentricities. He thinks of himself as Jesus Christ and has a cross built there where he spends hours a day just standing against and looking and dressing like a blond Jesus.That's got everybody concerned, we can't have this guy in the House of Lords the rest of the family will never be able to show their faces in public again. What to do and believe me this family tries a number of formulas.O'Toole looked like he was having one great old time in this part. I'm not sure I've ever seen any player looking like they were having so much fun in a role. A few others stand out. Coral Browne plays one of the family whose promiscuity becomes more and more open as well. Alastair Sim who seems to have taken a leaf from Alex Guinness's dotty vicar in Kind Hearts And Coronets. And there's Arthur Lowe who's family butler and when he gets a few in him starts spouting all kinds of Bolshevism against these idiots he deals with and who give him a living.It was always hard luck for O'Toole at Oscar time. In 1972 he was up against Marlon Brando for The Godfather. I doubt O'Toole would have dissed the Academy and his peers by refusing the Oscar.Think of Edward Everett Horton hawking the virtues of Happydale in Arsenic And Old Lace, think of Cecil Kellaway ready to administer the hypo to Jimmy Stewart in Harvey. Then think of Peter O'Toole in the House Of Lords.Frightening and funny.

MartinHafer "The Ruling Class" is a film that is sure to offend--after all, the leading man (Peter O'Toole) thinks he is Jesus! Right away, this sort of idea eliminates many potential viewers who would just be too offended to see such a film--especially with scenes where O'Toole climbs up on a giant cross in his house in order to meditate or take a nap. Additionally, the film nails the final nails in the coffin of the traditional English class system--and probably offended quite a few tradition-bound Brits as well. As for me, I was less offended (especially in its skewering of the upper class) but more bothered because the execution of the plot left a bit to be desired. Specifically, it was overlong and overly indulgent.The film begins with the Earl of Gurney accidentally hanging himself while having a rant--during which he was wearing a tutu! Obviously, the guy was NOT in his right mind. However, his heir (O'Toole) is 100% bonkers--and thinks he's Jesus! Considering he's got a seat in the House of Lords the family thinks this is a serious problem! But they also want to have an heir and so they trick the new Earl into a marriage and a child is soon produced. Now that the heir is here, the family will either have O'Toole committed or cure him--they don't care which--they just know they can't have a loony representing the family in the House! The film has a lot to like. I love how, for absolutely no reason, the cast members periodically break into song and dance numbers. I also like the general premise that the monarchy has long outlived its usefulness. Finally, the Butler is wonderful, as once he inherits his fortune he doesn't care one bit about propriety and tells EVERYONE exactly what he'd been hiding all those years--and delivers some very funny lines. But, I also feel irritated that such a lovely idea is, at times, squandered because the film just goes on and on and on and on. Someone really needed to look at this film and make a few judicious cuts here and there or say 'enough' when it lost momentum because scenes were just overdone or lacked comedic timing. This is especially true near the end--a portion that should have taken about ten minutes but took 40! And, frankly, the Jack the Ripper angle was handled in a very, very unfunny way--and it could have been hilarious. Overall, an interesting and compelling failure.By the way, the Rorschach cards used by the psychiatrist in the film are two of the actual cards from this test. It's rare to see real cards in films or TV.

raymundohpl I recently watched the uncut version of this film on Turner Classic Movies in the wee hours of the morning and thoroughly enjoyed the performances of all the actors in it with the exception of the lead character J.C./Jack played by the redoubtable Peter O'Toole. The plot of a mad lord(God knows that there are way too many of them by far in the House of Lords both in the past and present) who believes himself to be a benevolent, loving "Peace, Man" Jesus Christ who is subsequently driven by the "scientific" vile machinations of a crazed German psychiatrist(who ends up needing his own head examined)to become a "sane" Jack the Ripper, is buttressed by the superb performances of the supporting cast. Peter O'Toole's "Tour de Force" performance which for the most part lauded by the other reviewers here, is too over-the-top which works within the context of this film for his role but I found O'Toole shamelessly mugging and leering without restraint(indeed like a real madman) which again works accidentally within the context of this film. After O'Toole has been branded "sane" as Jack the Ripper there are several huge closeups of his wide staring eyes--I swear I thought I was watching Joan Crawford as "Mommie Dearest" glaring in her best Kabuki "Mie"-grimace before letting her "Strait-Jacket" axe descend for some satisfying mayhem. Harry Andrews as O'Toole's pater, the 13th Lord Gurney turns in a short but satisfying appearance in his rigid iron-jawed unpleasant upper-crusty sod who offs himself whilst wearing unflattering raiment, William Mervyn and Coral Browne play two of the Gurneys, the nastiest "upper class" scum dripping with self-importance and probably a leaky colostomy bag! Mervyn excelled in portraying snooty, "stiff-upper-lipped" pompous nabobs with their noses in the air though I presume he was not like that in real life; Coral was just doing what came naturally, playing herself, i.e., being a nasty, caustic-tongued man-hungry bitch who got her hooks into horror legend Vincent Price in reality as Vinnie's last wife, James Villers as his specialty, a gormless pathetic gangling twit, Nigel Green as an "Electric Jehovah"(Nigel offed himself after this role, his life imitated his F-art), Michael Bryant as the crazed unscrupulous German psychiatrist, Hugh Burden as the harried mousy lawyer(Mr. Reeder indeed!), Graham Crowden as a gimlet-eyed "sanity officer" who bursts into a lively duet of the Eton Boating Song with O'Toole, Arthur Lowe as the one sympathetic character in the whole film, the Bolshie old manservant who gets framed for the murder done by O'Toole, and last but not least, the great Alastair Sim as the doddering old Bishop, shaking and trembling in fear in the best Kierkegaardian manner. These supporting actors along with Kay Walsh and Patsy Byrne, all work very well together but O'Toole, purposely, I'm sure, strikes a jarring note in the whole film as the huge stinking turd floating in the middle of the punchbowl. You can't miss him but wish he were a little less noticeable! All in all, 10 Stars, Excellent All Around, even with O'Toole's shameless overacting, and chewing up the scenery, which I am sure was his original intent for the overall theme of this gem of a film. The director, Peter Medak(The Changeling, Species II, The Krays) does an absolutely rip-roaring job here and is to be highly commended for this film, which may indeed be his masterpiece!

spanishflea50 Firstly I would like to say that i adore the way almost every aspect of this film. It is extremely witty (witness the oft quoted line from O'Toole about why he thinks he is God) and also very touching (Jack's joy when he marries his wife for example) and it's songs are great and very nicely integrated. The one area where I think it fails is as a satire against the ruling classes. The idea that the aristocracy is uncomfortable with non comformity or uncontrolled emotion is neither original nor reserved solely for that strata of society. This does not mean that the film lacks depth however and I found myself extremely troubled by the film's observation that the world is more tolerant of excessive coldness than excessive love. At times I feel that the film could work as a parable to the release of Barrabas and the crucifixtion of Christ. Perhaps this is to read too much into it but I urge everyone to watch the film and ponder it for themselves.