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"From
the early moments of his new film, when a glittering rainbow
arches over emerald green meadows, it is apparent that Ken Russell
is the purest interpreter D. H. Lawrence could have hoped for" (Caryn
James, New York Times, 5 May 1989) |
Ken Russell filming of DH Lawrence's The Rainbow.
Russell was finding it hard to
find commercial backers for his films so is retreating to
the occasional television documentary and acting roles to
support new ventures. The Rainbow was an attempt to
revive the success of Women in Love and while it almost
succeeds critically, it failed commercially. But typical
of Russell he then comes out with a minor classic, Whore.
The Rainbow is the prequel of DH
Lawrence's Women in Love. Whereas the novel covers many
generations living through the industrialisation of North
England, Russell focuses on the rites of passage of
Ursula from the child looking at the rainbow through to
her self-realisation. She calls herself "a bird
blown out of its own latitude".
"Women in Love was all about passionate expression; Ursula
and her sister Gudrun created themselves as colorfully and
self-consciously as if they were modernist works of art. The Rainbow
tells of the young Ursula's struggle against the genteel, repressive world
into which she was born... Ken and Vivian Russell's script takes some
liberties with the novel, creating sharply drawn characters to surround
their heroine" (Caryn James, New York Times, 5 May 1989).
As a teenager Ursula meets the
dashing soldier, who almost seduces her in a
church, slowly peeling off her glove, reminiscent
of Brando picking up the glove in On the Waterfront.
But he cannot compete with the
forbidden eroticism of the swimming instructor. Ursula
asserts her freedom by becoming a teacher, in a
Dickensian school, but it is an unhappy place as
she is caught between leering masters and
prank-playing children.
Discovering she is pregnant her only
hope seems to be with the soldier, but she
discovers he has since married. Caught
in a fog she comes across horses which terrify
her and she flees, the flight across a river
causing a fever which almost kills her. She wakes
at home, with her parents looking after her, and
a rainbow outside her window encourages her to
decide her future.
"The film reeks of mediocrity, floundering in banal imagery
(kisses against boughs, rushing waterfalls, etc). Many essentials in what
is a masterful three-generation novel have been jettisoned, and Carl
Davis' score is formulary in the extreme. Saving graces are Sammi Davis'
earthy, matter-of-fact portrayal of Ursula, and Amanda Donohoe's sensitive
Winifred" (WH in Timeout, no date, click
here).
"this is not a nostalgic costume drama, dripping with
atmosphere. Russell has kept all of the hurt and anger of Lawrence's
fiction. This is a movie that speaks to today, that could feel like an
anthem to a young woman who feels that her spirit is not free... in The Rainbow he has made a measured, thoughtful literary
adaptation. He obviously believes Lawrence's message is as appropriate now
as it was then, and, of couse, he is right" (Roger Egbert, 2 Jun 1989
click here).
Russell uses many of the same
people, actors and technicians, who had worked on Women
in Love: Glenda Jackson and Christopher Gable,
cinematographer Billy Williams and George Cole, gaffer. The film company, Vestron, went
bankrupt just before the release, so the film had no advertising whatsoever.
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