Mania Grade: A+
Disc Grade: A-
Reviewed Format: DVD
Rated: Not Rated
Stars: Peter O'Toole, Alastair Sim, Arthur Lowe, Harry Andrews, Coral Browne
Writer: Peter Barnes
Director: Peter Medak
Distributor: Criterion Collection
Original Year of Release: 1972
Retail Price: $39.95
Extras: widescreen anamorphic; commentary; Peter Medak's home movies; stills gallery; trailer; subtitles

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THE RULING CLASS

When his father dies, Jack receives the entire amount of his father's holdings minus a minor gift to beloved household servant Tucker (Arthur Lowe) something that doesn't sit well with the rest of his family, particularly since Jack is insane. Rather than contest the will they scheme up a plan where they will marry Jack off to his uncle Sir Charles' (William Mervyn) mistress Grace (Carolyn Seymour), which will hopefully produce an heir. Once Jack has reproduced the family can have Jack committed and lay claim to the estate as the child's guardians. It seems foolproof except Jack thinks he's Jesus and while he may not convince people of this, his charming, altruistic ways win the hearts of key players in the conspiracy against him, leading to revolt amongst the ranks. Rather than go with Sir Charles' dastardly plan they conspire to have Jack cured, aided by the kindhearted Dr. Herder (Michael Bryant), a German, and the film's most sympathetic character. Through an unconventional 11^th hour attempt at a cure, Dr. Herder manages to convince Jack that he's not Jesus Christ and Sir Charles' plan is seriously put in check. Surprising all, Jack transforms into what seems the idealized personification of a British aristocrat. Jack no longer thinks of himself as the humanitarian New Testament son of God, he's now the father, the merciless Old Testament God Almighty and the Jack whose body he inhabits is not the 14^th Earl of Gurney but Jack the Ripper!

Peter Barnes' script may feel like a razor sharp attack on the upper crust, but is it really? The figures it lampoons are decidedly archaic and feed into the stereotype of the upper echelon as bloodthirsty buffoons out for their own self-interest. Which, if we believe the idea that stereotypes are true, does have some merit, but this attacks one specific type of stereotype and while this type certainly needed a good wrist slapping, particularly in the tumultuous early '70s, it, through omission of the "other" (the equally valid, opposite end of the spectrum, concept of the wealth as beneficiary), eventually betrays a one-sided angle that borders on propaganda. But is it Barnes', or Medak's for that matter, true intent to give the "ruling" class a good poke in the eye? On a second look, the answer is no, though the surface jab is still present. The film is filled with characters "out of time" (to quote from Ian Christie's liner notes), not so much figures out of reality but figures based on works of fiction, established caricatures. The film starts with a rather conventional gimmick of the outsider whose eccentricity brings joy, a la HARVEY, and punctuates the proceedings with jubilant outburst of song, setting into motion, via experience, the audience's sense of comfort as both the screwball comedy and the musical are generally accepted as "entertainment" so to speak freeing one from the trouble of the everyday for 90-something minutes. Then when Jack is cured and all is well the curtain should fall and the audience should leave refreshed, except the curtain doesn't fall.

Does one ever consider what happens after Edwood P. Dowd decides to remain insane in HARVEY? He may, at present, be a kind-hearted drunk, but what about tomorrow or the day after or the day after that? Would he come home after a particularly dark binge and beat the crap out of, or worse kill, his sister Veta? Not likely you might say, but how do you know? Barnes takes the screwball notion of the insane as "hero" and shows it for the farce it is. His film is a critique of the way entertainment has distorted our perceptions of reality, putting us at ease in situations where it is imperative we stay on guard. It glosses over, or flat out ignores, plausible consequence to assure us that because the monster didn't come out from under the bed to rip us to shreds last night, it won't do it tomorrow. Of course this is just one small aspect of a larger whole, but it makes the title, THE RULING CLASS, more intriguing. Who is the "ruling" class, is it our leaders who have the ability to commit heinous acts or is it us who not only allow it, but in some cases encourage it?

Now a sober critique of entertainment is nothing new, but what makes Barnes' and Medak's work stand head and shoulders above other such offerings is its intense level of fun. (Just take a look at the French New Wave offerings to see how such an essential component can be lost amidst all the posturing.) Barnes and Medak make entertainment from exposing entertainment. As the film appears to go from comedy to horror, the seemingly jarring but really not, for we've just been blindsided by expectations switch throws the audience into a more sublime true terror, the horror of the uncontrollable in control, with a wicked wink.

While Peter O'Toole will never be able to escape the shadow of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA his performance here is actually more accomplished, for in LAWRENCE he merely had to descend into madness; here he has to evolve from one aspect of insanity to another all the while dropping indicators which reveal that the two are creatures of the same cloth. It's a monumental undertaking, which he handles with sublime skill, that reveals him as one of the greatest actors of our time (even if his general choice of roles does much to diminish this.)

Peter Medak has sadly proved himself a hit and miss director on one hand directing THE KRAYS and on the other SPECIES II but, as evidenced by THE RULING CLASS, when the man is on he can put on one hell of a show.

THE RULING CLASS has been dismissed in some circles as being more theatrical than filmic (to paraphrase Christie) but is that the case? Well, only if you want to dismiss the cinema of the '30s and the '40s, outside of a few Welles and Lang type figures, which you can't do because THE RULING CLASS is a homage to that era of cinema, down to its incorporation of spontaneous hit parade songs. Both a celebration and a wry Postmodern attack, its brilliance has likely been dismissed because of a lack of historical perspective, entertainment-wise, but in today's home video boom that distance has been removed and the film, thanks to Criterion's full version (first time available in the States), might finally get its well deserved title of masterpiece. (Those who've been caught in the sway of this film know it is, or are clinically insane and who knows where that can lead?)

If Woody Guthrie were alive today he'd write songs of resplendent beauty about Criterion. Their release of THE RULING CLASS is top notch, providing the full version along with a smattering of well-considered extras that heighten the experience without overburdening it. The print has been appropriately letterboxed at 1.78:1 and looks better then any pervious home video incarnation. That said, the print is not flawless, for minor blemishes, scratches and grain crop up from time to time, but the contents are there and that's what counts.

The DVD boasts Peter Medak's home videos from the shoot sadly silent (could have been a great place to put the soundtrack); the theatrical trailer; behind the scenes stills and subtitles. Most impressive is a commentary track featuring the three Peters Barnes, O'Toole and Medak that engagingly details the creation of this modern masterpiece. (There I said it, watch your back.)