Recent content by Bill Huelbig

I didn't go, but I certainly wish I did!

Ryan's Daughter also opened in the fall of 1970 in 70mm.

I watched it again last night (HD version, streaming on Prime) for St. Patrick's Day. I'll always be thankful to David Lean, Robert Bolt, and all the cast and crew for making such a beautiful film, and to MGM for sparing no expense.

Also 4 Oscar nominations: Best Actress - Sarah Miles Best Supporting Actor - John Mills (winner) Best Cinematography - Freddie Young (winner) Best Sound

Not only does Ryan's Daughter feature uniformly fine performances including an Oscar winner (John Mills), plus video/audio system demonstration-level cinematography and sound, but the story says a lot about guilt, punishment, penance and forgiveness in very moving ways. It's a beautiful film in...

I wonder if Vincent Canby liked it better when he saw it the second time with a paying audience? 2001 got lots of bad reviews as well, but more than one critic went back to see it again, and then reversed their opinion of it in print.

It's true those were all local NYC critics, but Judith Crist was a national figure. She was a regular fixture on the Today Show, and she wrote a weekly column in TV Guide. Woody Allen spoofed her in Stardust Memories. I've always liked Wanda Hale because she came out in defense of my...

This was the version I probably saw in 1971, in 35mm general release. It was also the version that was always shown on TV. I didn't see the full version, with the original opening on the Cliffs of Moher, until the VHS tape came out. Strange why that particular scene was cut: it was the basis...

The audience reaction was very good. At least I think it was because they were all behind me. I was in the front row so I could be overwhelmed by it. I would go again in a heartbeat, even with the Swedish subtitles.

I had to settle for 35mm when I first saw it in 1971, but I sat in the front row to compensate. It's strange how much this movie polarizes people. Slow, boring, too long - I've heard it all. I try to watch it at least once a year, and the 3 1/2 hours literally fly by.

I'm always hearing about how much it was hated by the critics. Pauline Kael and Richard Schickel hated it, but it looks like they might have been a very vocal minority.

When I finally got to see it in 70mm, it was the Swedish print, shown at Lincoln Center in New York City. The title card for the intermission said PAUS.

I saw that show at the Ziegfeld in NYC in 1970. I like to think it was 70mm, but it probably wasn't. There was no mention of it in the ads.