Direct from its restored premiere screenings at the London Film Festival, famed British novelist D.H Lawrence’s tale of infidelity and exploration is adapted to the screen by iconoclast Ken Russell (The Devils), eschewing preconceived notions of British romance in the 1920s.
Close friends Rupert (Alan Bates) and Gerald (Oliver Reed) begin a relationship with two sisters; the schoolteacher Ursula (Jennie Linden) and the free-spirited artist Gudrun (Glenda Jackson) with whom they share a morbidly surreal affection. After a shockingly bizarre incident, they eventually wed, taking a joint honeymoon to Switzerland. Infidelity and death mars their joyous holiday however, and in the midst of this madness the aloof Gerald and the eccentric Gudrun embark on sexual exploration as both try to comprehend the notion of a perfect relationship.
Explicitly powerful and darkly funny, this period piece is unlike any other.