Women in Love (1969)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Ken Russell

Writers:

Larry Kramer (writer)
D.H. Lawrence (novel)

Release Date:

25 March 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The relationship between four sensual people is limited: They must find a new way.

Plot:

The battle of the sexes and relationships among the elite of Britian's industrial Midlands in the 1920s...

Plot Keywords:

Sculptress | Naked Gladiator | Homoeroticism | Outdoor Love Scene | Male Full Frontal Nudity

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

Alan Bates	...	Rupert Birkin
Oliver Reed	...	Gerald Crich
Glenda Jackson	...	Gudrun Brangwen
Jennie Linden	...	Ursula Brangwen
Eleanor Bron	...	Hermione Roddice
Alan Webb	...	Thomas Crich
Vladek Sheybal	...	Loerke
Catherine Willmer	...	Mrs. Crich
Phoebe Nicholls	...	Winifred Crich (as Sarah Nicholls)
Sharon Gurney	...	Laura Crich
Christopher Gable	...	Tibby Lupton
Michael Gough	...	Tom Brangwen
Norma Shebbeare	...	Mrs. Brangwen
Nike Arrighi	...	Contessa
James Laurenson	...	Minister
Michael Graham Cox	...	Palmer
Richard Heffer	...	Loerke's Friend
Michael Garratt	...	Maestro
Leslie Anderson	...	Barber
Charles Workman	...	Gittens
Barrie Fletcher	...	Miner
Brian Osborne	...	Miner
Christopher Ferguson	...	Basis Crich
Richard Fitzgerald	...	Salsie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alex 'Alien' Russell	...	(uncredited)
Petra Siniawski	...	Dancer (uncredited)

Directed by
Ken Russell

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Larry Kramer		writer
D.H. Lawrence		novel

Produced by
Roy Baird	....	associate producer
Larry Kramer	....	producer
Martin Rosen	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Georges Delerue

Cinematography by
Billy Williams

Film Editing by
Michael Bradsell

Art Direction by
Kenneth Jones		(as Ken Jones)

Set Decoration by
Harry Cordwell

Costume Design by
Shirley Russell

Makeup Department
Charles E. Parker	....	makeup artist (as Charles Parker)
A.G. Scott	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Neville C. Thompson	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jonathan Benson	....	assistant director

Art Department
Luciana Arrighi	....	set dresser
George Ball	....	property master
Jack Carter	....	construction supervisor
Luciana Arrighi	....	set designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Maurice Askew	....	dubbing mixer
Terry Rawlings	....	dubbing editor
Brian Simmons	....	sound recordist
Lionel Strutt	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Stephen Claydon	....	assistant camera
George Cole	....	electrical supervisor
David Harcourt	....	camera operator
Paul Borg	....	electrician (uncredited)
Steve Claydon	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Shura Cohen	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Chris Kelly	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Georges Delerue	....	conductor

Other crew
Angela Allen	....	continuity
Harry Benn	....	production controller
Lee Bolon	....	location manager
Tom Erhardt	....	assistant to producers
Terry Gilbert	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Brandywine Productions

Distributors

• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print)
• Rank Filmes de Portugal (197?) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• United Artists Corporation (1969) (UK) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1970) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (Italy) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1988) (UK) (VHS)

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Norway:15 (TV rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (2004) | Portugal:M/18 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2004) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | West Germany:18 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Bedlington Colliery, Northumberland, England, UK

Company:

Brandywine Productions

Trivia:

Glenda Jackson was pregnant throughout the shoot. In referring to her nude scenes, she said she'd never had such a "wonderful bosom."

Quotes:

Gudrun Brangwen: How frightfully kind of you!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Brothers of the Head (2005)

Just as Powerful, Just as Profound

This faithful adaptation by Ken Russell of one of D.H. Lawrence's best works is just as powerful & just as profound now, over 30 years after its initial release. The story is set in England a few years after World War I, at a time when many women of marriageable age were forced to examine their assumptions about relationships. When the Brangwen sisters complain about the lack of men, it's true. Many of the men who should have been available to them were lost in the war.

The film was made @ the dawn of the women's movement, once again a time when many women of a certain age were driven to examine their own assumptions about relationships, and looked to Lawrence (& then to Russell) for answers to questions beyond words.

This is not to deny the importance of the men in this story. Both Rupert & Gerald are drawn to the kind of women who ask these questions. Both of them have a myriad of other choices, but they're not satified by less.

So Russell finds a visual way to tell this story, & much of it would seem to be "over the top" were it not so obviously sincere & courageous. Glenda Jackson, a relative unknown at the time, won her first Oscar. We agree. She gives an extraordinary performance in a most difficult role: Gudrun is not likeable, but she IS honest.