D.H. Lawrence Movies

D.H. Lawrence's once-scandalous tale of a married woman who finds herself through an affair with another man is brought to the screen in this adaptation directed by Pascale Ferran. Constance Chatterley (Marina Hands) is a lovely woman in her mid twenties who is married to Sir Clifford Chatterley (Hippolyte Girardot), a wealthy British nobleman many years her senior who is paralyzed from the waist down due to an injury sustained during World War I. While Constance loves her husband, she has grown weary of her life as a bird in a gilded cage, as well as her husband's lack of affection. One day, Constance steps out to take a walk and pauses to tell Parkin (Jean-Louis Coulloc'h), the estate's groundskeeper, that the cook would like him to shoot a pheasant for the evening's meal. Constance discovers Parkin is only half-dressed, and the physical strength of his body makes a strong impression on her. Parkin senses Constance's attraction to him, and he's equally taken by her beauty; in time the two throw caution to the wind and give in to their mutual passion. Constance blooms through her lovemaking with Parkin, and she finds his simple, rustic individualism is more to her taste than the life her husband has given her. But as Constance embraces her love for Parkin, others become aware of their relationship. Lady Chatterley was adapted from Lady Chatterley et l'Homme des Bois, the second of three versions Lawrence would publish of his best-known novel (it was published in English as John Thomas and Lady Jane). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

D.H, Lawrence's early play about a married woman who wishes her husband dead after falling in love with another man comes to the screen in this adaptation starring Zoe Wannamaker and Colin Firth. When her wish becomes a horrifying reality, her life begins to change in ways she could have never anticipated. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Director Ken Russell returns to the D.H. Lawrence territory that had earlier served him well in Women in Love. Sammi Davis plays Lawrence's Welsh heroine Ursula Brangwen, daughter of a wealthy mine owner, who is first seen as a child given to literally chasing rainbows. Disappointed that she can never have the real thing, the older Davis seeks out figurative rainbows in the form of sexual fulfillment. Neither heterosexual nor homosexual affairs fully satisfy Davis, because no one lover can match the "ideal" the girl has created in her imagination. Davis' disappointment in the world is paralleled with the sorry lot of the wives of the local coal miners, who have adapted to their lives--something Davis can never do, will never do. Stately despite its raw subject matter, The Rainbow was filmed just before Russell's outrageous sword-and-sorcery fantasy Lair of the White Worm; since both films utilize many of the same cast members, the two pictures might make an astonishing double feature. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Tim Burstall directed this adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's semi-autobiographical novel recalling his experiences in Australia in the early 1920s. The film, set at the height of World War I, begins at the English coastal home of writer Richard Somers (Colin Friels) and his German-born wife Harriet (Judy Davis). Since Somers is a conscientious objector and his wife is the nationality of the enemy, the British police pay him a visit. Somers is then drafted and undergoes a humiliating physical examination at the draft board. Seeing harassment in the air, Somers and his wife decide to leave England for the relative calm of Australia, where their neighbors are a pair of earthy suburbanites, Vicki (Julie Nihil) and Jack Calcott (John Walton). Jack, disillusioned by the war, has joined a fascist paramilitary group called the Diggers, led by a wealthy old general with the code name "Kangaroo" (Hugh Keays-Byrne). The Diggers want to stifle the emerging union movement in the country, and Kangaroo hopes to enlist Richard in the cause because "a country does not exist until it has found a voice." But Somers finds himself torn between opposing camps, since the Socialist trade unionists also want to utilize his writing skills for their own ends, looking for Somers to help them carry through "a partnership between poetry and power." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The once-notorious D. H. Lawrence novel Lady Chatterly's Lover seemed like kid stuff by the time this 1981 adaptation hit the screens. To pep up Lawrence's tale of an aristocratic woman who conducts an affair with her earthy gamekeeper, soft-core porn specialist Just Jaeckin attempted to convert the material into Emmanuelle Goes to England. To this end, Jaeckin utilized the undraped talents of his Emmanuelle star Sylvia Kristel, who behaves more like a saloon hall gal than the mistress of an 18th-century manor. Lady Sylvia--er, Lady Chatterly--can't get no satisfaction from her paralyzed spouse, so she dallies with low-born Nicholas Clay. As in most other Just Jaeckin films, the production values and photography are exquisite, the dialogue and acting less so. An earlier, more sedate version of Lady Chatterly's Lover was filmed in France in 1959, with Danielle Darrieux and Erno Crisa in the leads. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Women in Love is set in 1920s England, where free-spirited artist Gudrun (Glenda Jackson) and her schoolteacher sister Ursula (Jennie Linden) make the acquaintance of lifelong friends Gerald (Oliver Reed) and Rupert (Alan Bates). The foursome attends a picnic in honor of a pair of newlyweds, who put a damper on the proceedings (literally!) by drowning in a nearby lake. Evidently unscathed by this tragedy, Gerald and Rupert participate in a nude wrestling match later that evening (this was the sequence that got the most press, thanks to fleeting glimpses of the male stars' privates). Gerald marries Gudrun, Rupert weds Ursula, and the foursome embarks upon a Swiss honeymoon. The holiday is marred by infidelity and sudden death, leaving Rupert to wonder aloud just what it is that makes men and women "tick." An Academy Award went to Glenda Jackson, while nominations were bestowed upon screenwriter Larry Kramer and cinematographer Billy Williams (who received an uncredited assist from director Ken Russell). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Motion Picture Production Code was still in effect (albeit weakly) when Sons and Lovers was filmed in 1960, so don't expect a thoroughly frank and faithful adaptation of the D.H. Lawrence novel. Set in an English mining town, the film focuses on Paul Morel (Dean Stockwell), the sensitive son of a roughhewn, alcoholic miner (Trevor Howard) and his gentle, repressed wife (Wendy Hiller). Intent on becoming an artist, Paul is not above depending upon the financial kindnesses of the young women of the town. Many of the girls carry a torch for him, but his strong bonds to his mother leave him emotionally sapped. Freddie Francis's evocative, grimy industrial-town cinematography won him an Academy Award. Despite censorial restrictions, this admirably captures the essence of the dour Lawrence original. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

D.H. Lawrence's tragic fable The Rocking Horse Winner is faithfully transferred to the screen in this 1950 gem. John Howard Davies, the young star of Oliver Twist (and the future chief film editor at the BBC) plays sensitive lad Paul Grahame, whose selfish, grasping mother (Valerie Hobson) warps his values. When his mom once more whines over her lack of wealth, the boy retreats to his new Christmas present, a hobby horse. Having been taught to ride like a real jockey by kindly handyman Bassett (John Mills), Paul furiously bobs up and down on his horse, hoping to drive his mother's words out of his brain. Instead, Paul suddenly acquires the ability to pick the names of winning race horses. Capitalizing on her son's "gift," Paul's mother becomes fabulously wealthy, only to spend the money as quickly as it comes in. Thinking only of his mother's happiness, Paul continues to ride his magical horse, which results in more lucrative racetrack predictions. Before his mother can come to her senses, the boy takes one "ride" too many, dropping dead from the exhaustion. Though essentially a dark fantasy, The Rocking Horse Winner is rendered with utter credibility by writer/director Anthony Pelissier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide