Ulysses Review:

Based on the classic James Joyce novel this adaptation follows several characters through a single day in 1904 Dublin. One is the repressed Leopold Bloom (O’Shea), longing for female contact who falls in with haunted poet Dedalus (Roeves) and together they partake in a wild night eventually leading them to a brothel.

Having heard of the novel only by reputation I approached this with trepidation especially when words such as ‘unfilmable’ and ‘streams of consciousness’ have been used to describe such an impenetrable work. So I’m afraid I can’t offer a direct comparison but what can be said is that Ulysses certainly makes for one strange movie experience. Released in 1967 is was widely banned, especially in Ireland itself, and while aspects of the film now seem tame it’s easy to see why it could have raised a few eyebrows but it’s only when the second half kicks in that things start to take a turn for the weird.

The first hour deals rather linearly with several characters going about their daily business, which seems to mainly consist of wandering around before beginning the Guinness drinking at noon, and you’d be hard pushed to say this was a controversial movie. It has more in common with Last of the Summer Wine with old men ambling around town and if someone took off down a hill in a bathtub it wouldn’t have surprised me. The fact that Strick has made no attempts to make Dublin look as it was in 1904 is mildly annoying and clumsily hidden behind black and white film stock. However, having said that the characters do take hold once you get used to the thick accents and the slighted, domesticated Bloom makes a stark contrast to the wild, hard-drinking poets he keeps running into. This is all shot through with racial angst against his Jewish background that gives the film a much needed raw edge preparing the audience for a more Joycian wave to come.

When Ulysses really takes off it can be both dangerous and interesting but at times it verges on a sort of Carry On Dublin romp. What you’d compare it to in modern cinema would be David Lynch when characters suddenly find themselves in other locations and even as other people giving Bloom the opportunity to wallow it his own subconscious as a sexual predator and leader of men while he suspects his wife of having an affair. Things break down when the filmmakers need to decide how to end what is essentially a non-story with no real resolution so they instead rely on Joyce’s words spoken by the characters as voiceover. This adds a touching depth to the O’Shea and Dedalus relationship as they part ways at the end of the night before leading to a half hour speech by Bloom’s wife, certainly the most controversial as she philosophises on orgasms and genitals, proving that the film maybe better suited to English students looking for a quick introduction to the novel rather than a cinema audience.

Long winded but throws up some memorable scenes that may point you in the direction of the classic novel rather than the repeat button.

Picture & Audio

As I mentioned the picture is in black & white that is crisp and clean given the films age. However, it is a bit grey and the lack of contrast sometimes confuses what time of day it is supposed to be.

The audio is a bit patchy and frequently scratches whenever the sound spikes. Obviously this can be mildly annoying.

Extras

Nothing on the disc and if it somehow makes up for it you get a little covering note from the director entitled ‘Memoirs of Ulysses’. It is merely an introduction that gives you a bit more insight into the controversy surrounding the film when it was first released.

Rich Badley

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