ULYSSES, by James Joyce: Movie, 1967
Trying to read through James Joyce's ULYSSES In University was a pretty daunting task, an almost impossible one. I would rate it above the novels of French Marcel Proust in difficulty. Try making a movie out of that UNIQUE, ENORMOUS NOVEL. IMPOSSIBLE! Well it was done in 1967 with MILO O'SHEA as the middle aged Jew, Maurice Reeves as Stephen Dedalus and Barbara Jefford as Bloom's all too earthy wife plus a ridiculously long list of cast members. The film was adapted by Fred Haines and Joseph Strick, directed by Strick. The adaptation was paramount as it would have been impossible to film such an unwieldy novel. The film as the book becomes a series of episodes if one can call the scenes, episodes. The movie ran into censorship problems world wide. It could not be screened in its own native Ireland until 2000. It was the first film ever to use the word f_ _ _, but that is positively nothing compared to the themes and language. Molly Bloom, Leopold's wife has a particularly fowl mouth. I can understand why in 1967 it couldn't be shown in many places or was slapped with a huge R rating. X did not exist in those days. The only way to tell you anything about Ulysses, the film is to give a few examples of the episodes. IN NO WAY DO THESE GIVE AWAY THE FILM PLOT LINE AS FOR ME AND MOST THERE IS NO PLOT IN THE CONVENTIONAL SENSE. - We are in 1904 Dublin, the day Stephen Dedalus is wondering through Dublin when he meets Leopold Bloom, a well known Jew. - A father-son rapport seems to emerge. - Bloom is cheered up and illuminated by a funeral that passes by one day. - There are episodes aplenty drinking and revelry in those famous Irish pubs. - Bloom and Molly fight and swear in bed. - Molly Bloom proves time and time again that such a mouth as hers with what she utters is not exactly for the faint of heart. I dutifully sat through this movie that almost drove me crazy. Half the time I didn't know what the hell was going on and came to conclude that I certainly was not the crazy one. The characters are" MAD " or so it would seem... Joyce was one weird bird, a very strange, brilliant man. But as they say: " there is a very fine line between genius and madness." This is a movie that very few will ever see. It's almost impossible to decipher. Those I know who have seen it think it's impossible viewing. To be civil and not appear like a total moron I will give the film a five, but I would much more prefer giving it a 1 or a 2. But then we must also be somewhat respectful to the genius of James Joyce and the mad man Joseph Strick who turned Ulysses into a film. If you can sit through this movie, you will be able to sit through any movie ever made or about to be made. Good Luck if you take the plunge!
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