The Ruling class

[Elaine]

Since there is no topic of Wicked Satire in this group, I guess I have to call this "foreign." Well, it is British. I just got the Criterion remaster of this 1972 masterpiece with Peter O'Toole. It restores the scenes originally cut out for American consumption, and by doing it, has made it even more cutting and brilliant. Nobody can skewer their ruling class more than the British and this movie outdoes even Oscar Wilde's plays. The ending, however, is very disturbing and without spoiling the plot, I can't say why, but perhaps one of you can tell me why Jack changes as he does at the end. What is the import? Is it that we need religion to guide us?If so, it invalidates the rest of the movie, doesn't it?

[Alex DeLarge]

I believe the ending concerns society's acceptance of violence and murder; a caustic condemnation of Capitalism run amok! The Rule Of law governed by dessicated corpses haunting the House Of Lords is genius...and prescient. Here's my review:

THE RULING CLASS (Peter Medak, 1972, UK) Peter Medak’s Monty Python-esque militant parody is a scathing attack and indictment of the British noblesse oblige and the infantile beliefs of religion. Peter O’Toole is the paranoid schizophrenic black sheep of the family who thinks he is Jesus Christ incarnate. When his father dies (in a masturbatory auto-erotic asphyxiation scene) he is left the entire estate…but the family has other plans. The uncle comes up with a foolproof plan to have his nephew marry his mistress, father a child, then have him committed to an insane asylum. To cure him of his god-complex, his psychiatrist has him battle the Electric Messiah (another patient from the asylum) in a violent and hilariously original scene in which he loses. When he acknowledges his real name Jack, he seems to be cured. But he actually becomes Jack The Ripper, murders his aunt, and condemns the butler for the act. Now that Jack is “perfectly normal” he fits right in to the British Elite and joins the House Of Lords. Excellent! The film plays like some bizarre stream-of-consciousness and much of the dialogue seems improvised, insane, and refreshingly idiosyncratic. O’Toole hangs from his cross and spouts religious non-sense and non-sequiturs with the invigorating belief of any priest on Sunday Mass. He is crazy when he teaches love but Society only accepts him when he becomes a homicidal maniac. The final scene with the decaying corpses in the House Of Lords is fantastic! THE RULING CLASS is filmed like a classic television show with many close-up and few edits. Though I believe it could have been edited for a shorter run-time this is still a must see film for all intelligent and freethinking cinephiles. (B)

I view the film as condemning religion/fantasy as much as Capitalism. Love exists outside of the confine of religiosity, and his madness masquerades as Christianity. Just my 2 cents.

[Tom]

I don't see the film as condemning religion in any significant way. As long as Jack thinks he's the God of Love (a.k.a. Jesus) he's a hell of a guy: loving, kind, generous, and clearly (to the upper classes) out of his mind and completely dangerous. His return to "sanity" is signalled by an enthusiasm for blood sports and class distinctions, and he is welcomed back into the British Aristocracy with open arms: they just don't realize that he's now the God Of Wrath a.k.a. Jack The Ripper. The joke is not on religion, but on those who pervert religion (God, Jesus, whatever) for their own terrible oppressive ends.

I've never liked this film at all. I think it is terribly badly made: as Alex says it looks like a TV movie but I don't mean it as anything like a compliment. The camera all too often seems to be about 20 feet away from the action. A couple of the supporting actors rise to the occasion, especially Alistair Sim and the great Graham Crowden, but for me the only real reason to sit through this tired little flick is to watch Peter O'Toole's performance. He's really something to watch.

[George]

Well, I think the line where he explains how he came to the realization that he was in fact Jesus, "I found that when I was praying, I was talking to myself" is difficult to see as anything other than an attack on religion. but it is absolutely an attack on hypocracy and the aristocracy

[Phillip]

Somehow I've never gotten around to watching the Ruling Class. I'm glad to hear that Criterion has released a print that restores the version originally intended for audiences.