Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

They just don't make movies like this anymore! This is a delightfully insane, smart and ultimately unpredictable black comedy with Shakespearian and surrealistic undertones. It's great to finally see a script that does justice to Peter O'Toole's singular talents. A short description of the plot would be useless however, since the movie practically defies classification. The harsh criticism aimed at British aristocracy is merely a pretense for a deeper analysis of… everything. Religion and freedom, love and happiness, "normality" and alienation, life and death, good and evil, society vs. the individual --- the human condition, basically--- everything is scrutinized and relentlessly exposed or challenged, with quirky humor, sarcasm, and - yes - compassion underneath it all. If you don't care for these topics, "then kindly leave the stage", says the hero. The splendid Peter O'Toole simply shines in this unconventional and difficult role, playing it to perfection and beyond. His intelligently nuanced tour-de-force performance is hilarious, disturbing and touching all together – "I'm being everybody", he says. Everything that comes out of Peter O'Toole's mouth has a Shakespearian ring to it. Everything about him has a distinctive elegance that is unparalleled to this day. The supporting cast is excellent; dialogs are cleverly built on multiple layers of symbolism; the music is fabulous. Each time you watch this movie, you'll pick up on something new. Well, there's much to be said, but… watch it and judge for yourself. Get the full-length version of the movie, form Criterion Collection. "The Ruling Class" is a must-see, one of the best movies ever - timeless, profound, moving and truly unique.

What a sorry mess! "The Ruling Class" begins as full of promise and with wit and an irreverent willingness to defy convention and slowly (glacially!) mutates over its 2-1/2 hour running time into a directionless screed against Britain's aristocracy. Never willing to let the audience grasp their intentions on their own, again and again Peter Medak uses hamfisted characterizations and plot devices to convey author Peter Barnes' view that the titled in Britain are superficial, hypocritical, incestuous, calloused, categorically corrupt and evil, congenitally insane, the personification of Satan, and Jack the Ripper himself! And the members of the House of Lords? Why they're a bunch of stuffy old corpses. No, really! NO, REALLY! Every time you say to yourself "Yeah, I get it", the Two Peters reply "Oh, no you don't; not by a long shot!" and then proceed to tell you the same thing over and over and over and over and over again. Peter O'Toole is pretty good (although led down by comically bad make-up and wigs), but O'Toole is much better elsewhere. Unless you're an O'Toole completist, save yourself 2-1/2 hours of having tabloid-level editorializing rubbed in your face.

Back in 2001, The Criterion Collection saw fit to add "The Ruling Class" (1972) to their catalog; which means there is now a good print available in the correct aspect ratio, one that includes the entire original release running time of 154 minutes. It also means that "The Ruling Class" is now regarded in film circles as a "significant" movie. Of course almost any film student will tell you that "significant" is not necessarily synonymous with entertaining, critically acclaimed, or well-made.So if you are considering a purchase or have just had a confused post-purchase viewing experience the following discussion may prove useful. This is a British film, one I originally watched on the BBC a few months after its release. It was neither a critical success (mixed reviews) nor a box office sensation and hitting the BBC so soon after a theatrical release back then was not much different from going direct-to-video today.It was a counter-culture film, and much of my original enjoyment came from the obvious tweaking of certain cultural and political institutions. Much of this stuff has lost its power and appeal over the years.It has a lot of expressionistic and allegorical elements; this sort of stuff was (and is) relatively rare in an English language film and probably accounts for much of the current cult status of the film. The black comedy aspect of these elements has held up very well and you will understand the film better and enjoy it more if you don't take it literally.Jack, the 14th Earl of Gurney (Peter O'Toole), has recently inherited the family title and a place in the House of Lords of the British Parliament. The story actually begins with a cheerfully provocative black comedy sequence as his father, the 13th Earl (Harry Andrews), accidentally hangs himself while performing what is apparently a long-standing self-pleasuring ritual.Jack believes himself Jesus Christ and his family believes that they can get their hands on the estate once he produces an heir. Their idea being to have him committed and then become guardians of the child. Carolyn Seymour plays his uncle's mistress who is brought in to marry Jack. Her character throws a wrench in the works by falling in love with her new husband. Other than Jack, Seymour's character is the only one that undergoes any real change during the course of the film and she sells this transformation quite nicely while also providing one of the best striptease sequences you are likely to stumble across in a mainstream movie.As already noted the running length is 154 minutes, that's about the length of two movies and if the film were being produced today I suspect that it would be done as two separate films. Indeed it is really two stories with each having an entirely different tone. About midway through the film, the Jesus version of the 14th Earl is replaced by a Jack the Ripper version. In the process a farcical and relatively light-hearted black comedy is instantly transformed into a much darker story. Black comedy gives way to dark fantasy and hallucinations as the wheels fall off the story until a visually stunning ending.The 1972 theme being essentially that being forced to conform to the ritualistic practices of upper class British society produces a monster. That not being able to "do your own thing" unleashes a monster on the world. Unfortunately the basic cause and effect of this whole process is glossed over and one is left wondering why the film you have been watching has been replaced with something entirely different and far less entertaining.O'Toole underplays his two characters, don't expect a lot of Gary Oldham type excess. Jesus is more a mild narcissist than a booming holy roller. Jack (the Ripper) is much better mannered but obviously smoldering beneath his polite exterior.The laughs mostly come from the discomfort of Jack's family and from Alastair Sim's apoplectic bishop and Authur Lowe's collectivist butler who abuses the family with a "Benson" type frankness.There are two great musical sequences, a hunt club performance of "Dem Bones" (a homage to "The Prisoner") and the climatic scene in the House of Lords (a surreal montage of decay to the music of "Pomp and Circumstances" and "Onward, Christian Soldiers").Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

It's too long and sometimes rather obvious, but this black comedy musical is an utterly unique experience; mad, eccentric and often hilarious as it sticks the knife deep into its target – the mad, eccentric English aristocracy. Peter O'Toole is totally magnetic throughout as the lunatic 14th Earl Of Gurney who thinks he is Jesus Christ, and Arthur Lowe delivers wonderfully dry comic moments as the loyal but offensive communist butler.The mood varies between wit, slapstick and savagery (the latter a taste of Peter Barnes' original stage play), with plenty of memorable lines, and the odd crazy song-and-dance routine thrown in for good measure; but in the second half it becomes darker and the message clearer. The comic veneer only serves to emphasise the depth of Barnes' feelings towards the British establishment.I have two editions, but the Momentum DVD (though more easily available and cheap in the UK), is of poor quality, panned & scanned to 4:3, has low sound quality and, worst of all, only runs to 124 minutes despite the cover claiming it is full-length and full-frame.So I took the advice of earlier reviewers and sought out the Criterion edition. Get this one if you can - it's of superior quality, full screen and runs the full 154 minutes - it's worth the extra cost. Enjoy!