''Ulysses'' is a 1967 drama film loosely based on
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
's 1922 novel ''
Ulysses
Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature.
Ulysses may also refer to:
People
* Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name
Places in the United States
* Ulysses, Kansas
* Ulysse ...
''. It concerns the meeting of two Irishmen, Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus, in 1904 Dublin.
Starring
Milo O'Shea
Milo Donal O'Shea (2 June 1926 – 2 April 2013) was an Irish people, Irish actor. He was twice nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in ''Staircase (play), Staircase'' (1968) and ''Mass Appeal (play), Mass A ...
as Leopold Bloom,
Barbara Jefford
Mary Barbara Jefford, OBE (26 July 1930 – 12 September 2020) was a British actress, best known for her theatrical performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic and the National Theatre and her role as Molly Bloom in the 1967 ...
as Molly Bloom,
Maurice Roëves
John Maurice Roëves (; 19 March 1937 – 14 July 2020) was a British actor. He appeared in over 120 film and television roles, in both the United Kingdom and the United States. His breakthrough performance was as Stephen Dedalus in the 1967 f ...
as Stephen Dedalus,
T. P. McKenna as Buck Mulligan, and Sheila O'Sullivan as May Golding Dedalus, it was adapted by
Fred Haines
Fred Haines (February 27, 1936 – May 4, 2008) was an American screenwriter and film director.
Early life
Haines was born in Los Angeles in 1936, and later moved to Tucson, Arizona with his family. He joined the United States Navy in 1953 ...
and
Joseph Strick
Joseph Ezekiel Strick (July 6, 1923 – June 1, 2010, aged 86) was an American director, producer and screenwriter.
Life and career
Born in the Pittsburgh area town of Braddock, Pennsylvania, Strick briefly attended UCLA, then enrolled in the U.S ...
and directed by Strick. Haines and Strick shared an
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
nomination for the screenplay.
Making of the film
This was the first film adaptation of the novel, 45 years after its publication.
The film was shot on location in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
on a modest budget.
Although the novel is set in 1904, the film portrays the city as it was in the 1960s.
Critical reception
Strick earned an Oscar nomination for
Best Adapted Screenplay.
The film was entered into the
1967 Cannes Film Festival
The 20th Cannes Film Festival was held from 27 April to 12 May 1967. The Grand Prix du Festival International du Film went to the ''Blowup'' by Michelangelo Antonioni. The festival opened with '' J'ai tué Raspoutine'', directed by Robert Hosse ...
.
It was reportedly jeered at its first screening, but during the second showing, French
subtitles
Subtitles and captions are lines of dialogue or other text displayed at the bottom of the screen in films, television programs, video games or other visual media. They can be transcriptions of the screenplay, translations of it, or informati ...
in which Molly Bloom described sexual intercourse were seen to have been scrubbed out by a grease pencil, pushing audience sympathies toward Strick who had not been informed of the censorship beforehand.
When Strick noticed the deletions during the film's screening, "he stood up and yelled out that this film had been censored", Strick's son David told the ''Los Angeles Times''.
"When I went to the projection room to protest, the committee was waiting for me", Joseph Strick later recalled. "I was forcibly ejected, pushed down the steps and suffered a broken foot. I withdrew the film from Cannes."
Reviews from some critics were very positive.
Bosley Crowther
Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' put the film on his year-end list of the ten best films of 1967, declaring it "A faithful and brilliant screen translation of Joyce's classic novel, done with taste, imagination and cinema artistry."
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
ranked the film second on his own year-end list (behind only ''
Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...
''), writing that it "went into the minds of recognizable human beings and revealed their thoughts about those things most important to them – expressed in the only words they knew."
Charles Champlin
Charles Davenport Champlin (March 23, 1926 – November 16, 2014) was an American film critic and writer.
Life and career
Champlin was born in Hammondsport, New York. He attended high school in Camden, New York, working as a columnist for the '' ...
of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' wrote that "presuming no familiarity with the novel, the film remains an engrossing experience—very often superbly funny, frequently moving, a confrontation not with three but with more than a score of authentic and credible individuals." Champlin's review concluded, "'Ulysses' is a remarkable achievement, a further chapter in the maturity of film."
Other reviews were negative. ''
The Monthly Film Bulletin
''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...
'' wrote that "Joseph Strick's film version is, quite simply, a debasement of the novel. It could not have been otherwise, and Strick must have known this—so why bother in the first place? ... What one misses particularly is a sense of the author's presence, without which the book would be nothing—and without which the film is oddly and insistently impersonal."
Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...
described it as "an act of homage in the form of readings ... plus slides."
Stanley Kauffmann
Stanley Kauffmann (April 24, 1916 – October 9, 2013) was an American writer, editor, and critic of film and theater.
Career
Kauffmann started with ''The New Republic'' in 1958 and contributed film criticism to that magazine for the next fifty ...
called it "a facile and ludicrous reduction."
Rating and censorship
''Ulysses'' was originally rated "X" in the UK after extensive cuts were demanded by BBFC censor
John Trevelyan. However, director Joseph Strick replaced the offending dialogue with a series of screeches and sounds, thus rendering the scenes unintelligible. Eventually the film was released uncut in 1970, and the rating was reduced to "15" for the video release in 1996.
In New Zealand, the film was originally restricted to adults over 18 in gender-segregated audiences. The rating was reduced to "M" (suitable for mature audiences over 16) in the 1990s.
In 1967, the film was banned in Ireland for being "subversive to public morality". The ban was upheld by the Films Appeal Board and placed on the film a second time in 1975. It was eventually lifted in September 2000 at the request of director Strick, although it was screened at the
Irish Film Theatre (a private club cinema) in the late 1970s. The first public screening of the film in the country was held in February 2001, with then-censor Sheamus Smith and Strick both in attendance. It went on general release at the
IFI from 8 February 2001.
Cast
The large number of characters in the novel is reflected in the large cast of the film. The cast, in order of credit:
*
Milo O'Shea
Milo Donal O'Shea (2 June 1926 – 2 April 2013) was an Irish people, Irish actor. He was twice nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in ''Staircase (play), Staircase'' (1968) and ''Mass Appeal (play), Mass A ...
–
Leopold Bloom
Leopold Bloom is the fictional protagonist and hero of James Joyce's 1922 novel ''Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and intimate scale, those of Ulysses/Odysseus in Homer's epic poe ...
*
Barbara Jefford
Mary Barbara Jefford, OBE (26 July 1930 – 12 September 2020) was a British actress, best known for her theatrical performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Old Vic and the National Theatre and her role as Molly Bloom in the 1967 ...
–
Molly Bloom
Molly Bloom is a fictional character in the 1922 novel '' Ulysses'' by James Joyce. The wife of main character Leopold Bloom, she roughly corresponds to Penelope in the ''Odyssey''. The major difference between Molly and Penelope is that while P ...
*
Maurice Roëves
John Maurice Roëves (; 19 March 1937 – 14 July 2020) was a British actor. He appeared in over 120 film and television roles, in both the United Kingdom and the United States. His breakthrough performance was as Stephen Dedalus in the 1967 f ...
–
Stephen Dedalus
Stephen Dedalus is James Joyce's literary alter ego, appearing as the protagonist and antihero of his first, semi-autobiographic novel of artistic existence ''A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'' (1916) and an important character in Joyce' ...
*
T.P. McKenna
Thomas Patrick McKenna (7 September 1929 – 13 February 2011) was an Irish actor, born in Mullagh, County Cavan. He had an extensive stage and screen career.
Career Early years
Thomas Patrick McKenna was born at Mullagh, County Cavan, Ireland, ...
–
Buck Mulligan
Malachi Roland St. John "Buck" Mulligan is a fictional character in James Joyce's 1922 novel '' Ulysses''. He appears most prominently in episode 1 ''(Telemachus)'', and is the subject of the novel's famous first sentence:
"Stately, plump Buck ...
*
Anna Manahan
Anna Maria Manahan (18 October 1924 – 8 March 2009) was an Irish stage, film and television actress.
Manahan received two Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play nominations for her performances in the 1968 production of '' Lovers'' an ...
–
Bella Cohen
This is a list of characters from ''Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's ''Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and inti ...
*
Chris Curran –
Myles Crawford
*
Fionnula Flanagan
Fionnghuala Manon "Fionnula" Flanagan (born 10 December 1941) is an Irish stage, television, and film actress. For her contributions to the entertainment industry, she was given the IFTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Flanagan is known fo ...
–
Gerty MacDowell
*
Geoffrey Golden
Geoffrey Dickerson Golden (born April 26, 1994) is an American gospel musician. His music career started in 2014, with the appearance and victory on the gospel singing competition, ''Sunday Best''. He released, a live album, ''Kingdom...LIVE!' ...
–
The Citizen
*
Martin Dempsey –
Simon Dedalus
This is a list of characters from '' Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's '' Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and i ...
*
Edward Golden –
Martin Cunningham
*
Maire Hastings
Maire may refer to:
Places
* Maire, Netherlands, a former municipality
* Maire de Castroponce, a municipality located in the province of Zamora, Castile and León, Spain
* Château Saint-Maire, a castle in Lausanne, Switzerland
* Lougé-sur ...
–
Mary Driscoll
This is a list of characters from '' Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's '' Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and i ...
*
David Kelly –
Garrett Deasy
This is a list of characters from ''Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's ''Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and inti ...
*
Graham Lines –
Haines
*
Desmond Perry Desmond or Desmond's may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Desmond'' (novel), 1792 novel by Charlotte Turner Smith
* ''Desmond's'', 1990s British television sitcom
Ireland
* Kingdom of Desmond, medieval Irish kingdom
* Earl of Desmond, Irish a ...
–
Bantam Lyons
This is a list of characters from '' Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's '' Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and in ...
*
Rosaleen Linehan
Rosaleen Philomena Linehan (; born 1 June 1937) is an Irish stage, screen and television actress.
Career
Linehan was born in Dublin. She attended University College Dublin and graduated in 1957 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Po ...
–
Nurse Callan
This is a list of characters from '' Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's '' Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and i ...
*
Joe Lynch –
Blazes Boylan
This is a list of characters from '' Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's '' Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and i ...
*
Maureen Potter
Maria Philomena Potter (3 January 1925 – 7 April 2004), known as Maureen Potter, was an Irish singer, actress, comedienne and performer.
Early life
Potter was born in Dublin and educated at St. Mary's school in Fairview. She had a long career ...
–
Josie Breen
This is a list of characters from ''Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's ''Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and inti ...
*
Maureen Toal
Maureen Toal (7 September 1930 – 24 August 2012) was an Irish stage and television actress whose professional career lasted for more than sixty years.
She was born in 1930 and was originally from Fairview, Dublin. Toal began performing at the ...
–
Zoe Higgins
This is a list of characters from ''Ulysses (novel), Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's ''Ulysses (novel), Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 ...
* Frank Bailey
*
Jim Bartley –
Private Carr
*
Colin Bird –
Private Compton
*
Robert Carlisle Jr
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
–
Dr Dixon
*
Barry Cassin
John Finbar Cassin (23 November 1924 – 14 January 2017), known professionally as Barry Cassin, was an Irish television, stage and screen actor. On stage, he is best known for his role in the production of ''Twelve Angry Men''.
On screen, Cassi ...
*
Brendan Cauldwell
Brendan Cauldwell (25 October 1922 – 12 January 2006) was an Irish radio, film and television actor.
Early life and education
Cauldwell was born in Fairview, Dublin. He was educated at O'Connell's Irish Christian Brothers School and went on ...
–
Bob Doran
Robert William Doran HFNZCS (5 November 1944 – 13 October 2018) was a New Zealand-based computer scientist and historian of computing. He was Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Robert W. Dor ...
*
Mary Cluskey
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
–
Mrs Yelverton Barry
This is a list of characters from '' Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's '' Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and i ...
*
Leon Collins
Leon Collins (February 7, 1922 - April 16, 1985) was an American tap dancer.
Collins was born Leandre Kollins in Chicago, Illinois to a father of West Indian descent. He began tap dancing at an early age, but he wanted to be a prizefighter. As ...
–
Vincent Lynch
*
Danny Cummins – a drinker in
Barney Kiernan
This is a list of characters from '' Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's '' Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and i ...
's pub
*
Brenda Doyle
*
Tony Doyle – Lt
Stanley G. Gardner
This is a list of characters from '' Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's '' Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and in ...
*
Meryl Gourley –
Mrs Mervyn Talboys
This is a list of characters from ''Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's ''Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and inti ...
*
Don Irwin
Donald Emerson Irwin (July 22, 1913 – June 8, 1983) was an American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Boston/Washington Redskins. He played college football at Colgate University and was drafted in the sev ...
*
Des Keogh –
Joe Hynes
*
Eugene Lambert
Eugene Lambert (1928 – 22 February 2010) was an Irish puppeteer and actor from County Sligo. He was owner of the Lambert Puppet Theatre in Monkstown, County Dublin. He was noted for co-starring as O'Brien in the RTÉ television series ''W ...
–
Punch Costello
*
Thomas MacAnna
*
Pamela Mant –
Kitty Ricketts
*
Peter Mayock
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
–
Jack Power
*
Paulline Melville
*
John Molloy –
Corny Kelleher
This is a list of characters from '' Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's '' Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and i ...
*
Claire Mullen
Clair or Claire may refer to:
*Claire (given name), a list of people with the name Claire
* Clair (surname)
Places
Canada
* Clair, New Brunswick, a former village, now part of Haut-Madawaska
* Clair Parish, New Brunswick
* Pointe-Claire, Q ...
–
Florry Talbot
This is a list of characters from ''Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's ''Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and inti ...
*
Ruadhan Neeson –
Cyril Sargent
This is a list of characters from '' Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's '' Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and i ...
*
Maire Ni Ghrainne
Maire may refer to:
Places
* Maire, Netherlands, a former municipality
* Maire de Castroponce, a municipality located in the province of Zamora, Castile and León, Spain
* Château Saint-Maire, a castle in Lausanne, Switzerland
* Lougé-sur-Ma ...
* Sheila O'Sullivan –
May Golding Dedalus
* Jack Plant –
Denis Breen
This is a list of characters from '' Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's '' Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and i ...
*
Derry Power
Derry Power (born 1935) is an Irish actor born in Dublin. He appeared in the first production of Brendan Behan's The Quare Fellow at Dublin's Pike Theatre in 1954. He is best known for playing management genius Seamus Finnegan in the BBC Televis ...
*
Lilian Rapple
* Charlie Roberts
*
Paddy Roche
Patrick Joseph Christopher "Paddy" Roche (born 4 January 1951) is an Irish former football goalkeeper.
Born in Dublin, Roche started his career with Shelbourne with whom he won the first of his eight full international caps. During his time ...
–
Madden
*
Ann Rowan
Ann Rowan (1928/1929 - 10 August 2014) was an Irish actress. She was best known for her role as Julia Mac in the RTÉ television soap opera ''The Riordans''. She also had roles in the television series ''Father Ted'' and ''Screen Two''. She ma ...
–
Mrs Bellingham
*
Cecil Sheehan
*
Cecil Sheridan
Cecil Sheridan (21 December 1910 – 4 January 1980) was an Irish comedian and actor who performed in variety shows and pantomimes in Ireland and Great Britain during a versatile career spanning over forty years.
Early life
Born at 31 Pearse Squ ...
–
John Henry Menton
This is a list of characters from '' Ulysses'' by James Joyce.
Principal characters
* Leopold Bloom is a protagonist and hero in Joyce's '' Ulysses''. His peregrinations and encounters in Dublin on 16 June 1904 mirror, on a more mundane and i ...
*
Robert Somerset
General Lord Robert Edward Henry Somerset (19 December 17761 September 1842) was a British soldier who fought during the Peninsular War and the War of the Seventh Coalition.
Life
Somerset was the third son of Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufo ...
– Lenehan
*
Ritchie Stewart
Ritchie may refer to:
People Surname
*Adele Ritchie (1874–1930), singer – comic opera, musical comedy and vaudeville
*Albert Ritchie (1876–1936), governor of Maryland 1920 to 1935
*Alistair Ferguson Ritchie (1890–1954), crossword compiler ...
*
O.Z. Whitehead –
Alexander J. Dowie
*
Biddy White-Lennon
Biddy or Biddie is a given name which may refer to:
People
* Biddy Anderson (1874–1926), South African cricketer
* Biddy Baxter (born 1933), English television producer
* Biddy Dolan (1881–1950), American Major League Baseball player
* Biddy ...
–
Cissy Caffrey Cissy, Cissie or Cissi may refer to :
People
* Cissy Chandler (died 1954), wife of American author Raymond Chandler
* Cissie Caudeiron (1909–1968), Creole nationalist and folklorist
* Cissi Elwin Frenkel (born 1965), Swedish journalist and t ...
See also
*''
James Joyce's Women
''James Joyce's Women'', filmed in 1982 and 1983, is a 1985 released British/Irish period drama film produced by and starring Fionnula Flanagan as writer James Joyce's wife Nora and some of the real women in Joyce's life and fictional women from ...
'' (1985)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1967 films
1967 drama films
American black-and-white films
American drama films
British black-and-white films
British drama films
Censored films
Film controversies in Ireland
Film controversies in the United Kingdom
Film controversies in New Zealand
Obscenity controversies in film
Rating controversies in film
Films based on Irish novels
Films directed by Joseph Strick
Films relating to James Joyce
Films scored by Stanley Myers
Films set in Dublin (city)
Films set in Ireland
Films shot in the Republic of Ireland
Irish black-and-white films
Irish drama films
Ulysses (novel)
1960s English-language films
1960s American films
1960s British films