It feels like it has to squash the DH Lawrence novel into a film under two hours and the last half falters a little, but this adaptation manages to overcome these problems very well. With Alan Bates, Oliver Read, a female cast (Glenda Jackson and Jennie Linden) as strong as the male one, and moments of delirium created by the director throughout it is incredibly watchable and a great drama.

Jackson won an Oscar for her multi-edged portrayal. The film is sensuously shot and dramatized more for mood and effect than plot and action. Bates and Reed co-star and they read the tricky dialogue with spectacular skill.

Yay! Incessantly unpredictable. Has all the thoughts any stilted, stunted lover ever had.

loved at first sight + beautiful colours

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Has a few memorable scenes, but all in all the material is too subtle for a brash and loud director like Russell. I never got what people saw in Glenda Jackson, but Bates and Reed are superb.

Satisfactory rendering of a celebrated novel, with excellent period detail atoning for rather irritating characters. The nude wrestling scene was a famous first.

As pretentious as modernist Russian cinema, but with ample sexuality and without the emotional depth. This film, while entertaining is too absorbed in its own illusions of philosophical profundity. The cast is mostly excellent, but the roles themselves are un-compelling.