Under Milk Wood (1971) User Reviews (22)

Dylan on Dylan on same DVD

[Erick-12 · 6/10 · 30 January 2006]

I agree with many of the review comments already posted here, so I won't say more about the film itself. Instead, it hasn't yet been pointed out that the DVD (produced by Sundance and Hart Sharp Video) also contains an hour-long documentary about Dylan Thomas, tucked away in the extra features. "Dylan on Dylan" is in some ways more interesting than the film adaptation of _Under Milkwood_. It runs through a biography of him along with old photos and audio, bits of biodrama reenacted, and especially includes footage from the WWII wartime morale propaganda films that Dylan Thomas wrote! One of those is a genuinely forceful parody: he appropriated the original propaganda film made _for_ Hitler by Reni Riefenstahl, and redid the sound -- so that Hitler's speech is more of an honest description.

This feature documentary also includes a brief interview with two actresses who performed with Dylan Thomas live in _Under Milkwood_ virtually on the same day that he collapsed and died.

Dylan Thomas' genius translates well onto celluloid

[timcphillips-1 · 7/10 · 16 September 2005]

The movie is a painting of scenes, and a romance with English words that, oddly enough, only Celtic people seem capable of; Welshman Burton's riveting voice gives life to his countryman's work like perhaps none living could, today . The language is so lively and the metaphors so concentrated that the film may leave some scratching their heads; but for lovers of poetry, or literature at large, this well-conceived and directed interpretation of Dylan is worth the viewing. Peter O'Toole and Elizabeth Taylor give interesting performances, and the film contains several scenes that will stay with the viewer long after the film is over. The lush countryside of seaside Wales, and the sleepy little village in which the action plays out, are also quite haunting. Llareggub, indeed.

"You can hear the dew falling, and the hush town breathing..."

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 19 February 2024]

There is nothing so hushed about this chatty BBC-commissioned film-adaptation of poet Dylan Thomas's 1954 radio drama (which later made its way onto the stage) about the colorful residents of a Welsh fishing village. The long list of actors' credits at the beginning tips one early this is going to be a character-filled spread, and it is indeed! There are humorous and lightly erotic overtures in writer-director Andrew Sinclair's visualization, and a genuine feel for these eccentric working-class people and their daily routines, but I much preferred Sinclair's montages set to Thomas's poetry rather than the conversational episodes themselves. Richard Burton, snarling his way through the early narration, is a stranger wandering the town with a child-like grown-male companion (making sure we don't misunderstand these two to be homosexual, the men share a trollop). Burton looks ghostly pale, as if he were haunted at his core, though his familiar and imposing profile gives the picture some movie star allure. Meanwhile, Peter O'Toole, in milky contact lenses, is a former sea captain going blind, revisiting faces from his past including Elizabeth Taylor as a local Red Hot Rosie. The sprawling and bawling is high-spirited and theatrical, featuring men who long to sneak kisses from their missus, merry women who cackle like hens while happily complaining about putting up with their mates' snoring (as if women don't snore). A little of this stuff goes a long way. ** from ****

not altogether satisfactory

[didi-5 · 4 April 2004]

Dylan Thomas' play for voices has always worked best as a radio text, where its rich poetry can be fully appreciated. This film version is indeed true to the text but as a visual medium, is saddled with the need to open out and show scenes as described in the text - with sometimes risible results.

However, there are certain strengths that even the filmed treatment can't ruin. Chief amongst these are Peter O'Toole's interpretation of the blind Captain Cat, dreaming of his lost love, Rosie Probert (played by an overly made-up Elizabeth Taylor); and O'Toole's then wife, Sian Phillips, as Mrs Ogmore-Pritchard, abusing both her dead husbands as they lie with her. Polly Garter and Myfanwy Price, Thomas' corrupt and innocent, are well-played by Ann Beach and Glynis Johns.

Richard Burton is 1st Voice, as he was in the memorable radio production of the 1950s. But here he is also a malevolent presence wandering quietly round the village of Llareggub, influencing the action at some points (the scene in the barn seemed out-of-place and slowed the pace of this film). I'm not knocking Burton's voice, which was superb for the material, but perhaps his presence would have been better restricted to a narrator.

Under Milk Wood

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 28 May 2023]

This is an enjoyable enough adaptation of Dylan Thomas' story of the lives of a small Welsh fishing community with a name (read it backwards) that pretty much sets the tone for this whimsical tale that mixes sex, poetry, lust and mischief through characterisations lead by the blind "Capt. Tom Cat" (Peter O'Toole); his slatternly pal "Rosie Probert" (Elizabeth Taylor) and the sexy Glynis Johns - all underpinned by a wonderfully mellifluous narrative from Richard Burton. As a book it allows your imagination to run wild; as a film - and particularly this one - the imagination is replaced by rather unimaginative imagery that over-relies on the stars and underplays the subtlety and nuance of the work. Some things are best left to our own fantasy - or, perhaps, to the radio where again the audience must do most of the thinking. Cinema bursts the bubble and leaves all with the one interpretation that stifles, somewhat, individual appreciation of the eccentricities of this sexually charged, frequently comical story. Clearly a labour of love for Burton and still well worth a watch, but a bit underwhelming.

just read the play

[KarateKari · 2/10 · 1 November 2004]

First, a caveat: What I'm about to say is in regards to this film version only. The play itself is beautiful. I'm currently involved in a stage production of Dylan Thomas's "Under Milk Wood." The language is nothing short of breathtaking. Truly, it's a beautiful play.

Very minor spoilers ahead:

However, this film version of "Under Milk Wood" is nothing short of ridiculous. Large chunks of the wonderful narration have been left out, chronology changed, and general mayhem has been wreaked with the script. There are two creepy guys (accompanied by creepy music) who wander around the town, but appear to serve no real purpose. They don't narrate (as Voice One and Voice Two in the script do). They simply wander around creepily, and at one point have completely random, completely gratuitous tag-team (fully clothed) sex in a barn with some random woman. I'm left wondering, "What on earth were the people who made this movie thinking?" Thomas's script does not, in fact, include tag-team sex in a barn. I can see no reason whatsoever for this particular addition to have been made. It's ridiculous.

This is not to say that the film has no redeeming qualities. The woman who played Mrs. Banks in "Mary Poppins" turns in a nice performance as Myfanwy Price. Peter O'Toole plays a fairly good Captain Cat. The actress who plays Mae Rose Cottage does a lovely job. Mr. Pugh is played quite well.

On the flip side, Liz Taylor's portrayal of Rosie Probert is forgettable. Mrs. Pugh provides little motivation for her husband's intense hatred. The two creepy guys succeed in being creepy, but may as well have wandered on from another set for all the reason they seem to have for being in the film at all. Nogood Boyo is very badly cast, and may as well have been renamed Nogood 30-Year-Old Guy.

All in all, I can't say I'm at all impressed with this film. If you want to know "Under Milk Wood," you'd be better off by far just reading the play then watching this bastardization of such a lovely work.

Not enchanting enough

[steven-222 · 4/10 · 16 September 2005]

Before they made a musical of T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats," they made a movie of Dylan Thomas...sort of. UNDER MILK WOOD is based on his poem/radio play about the eccentric denizens of a tiny fishing town. Ardent admirers of the Welsh bard may find this film a delight; I found it alternately tedious and enchanting...but not enchanting enough.

Since there is no plot, the result is a series of recurring, mostly whimsical vignettes (the wife with two husbands; Organ Morgan, who can't stop playing; blind Captain Cat, who lives in a house that looks like a ship; etc.). The actors sound marvelous, but there is nowhere for them to go. To be sure, the language is intoxicating, if often obscure. (I found it helpful to watch with English subtitles turned on.)

Do NOT expect a Liz Taylor vehicle; her role amounts to a cameo. (And her brash 1970s makeup seems completely inappropriate for the role!)

rare magic

[tatter · 10/10 · 28 February 2005]

A film of rare magic. This little known but top-notch production is whimsical, thoroughly engaging, and delicately controlled.

The atmosphere is consistent throughout, with universal types exaggeratedly peopling and animating a small Welsh seaside town.

This is as close as any British film has come to creating a Fellini-like mood.

Narrative lyricism overpowers any actor's personal performance, though Peter O'Toole excels as Captain Cat. Glynnis Johns's performance also stands out, as do those of a motley mix of more minor characters.

Over it all, Richard Burton's driving cadences worthily guide Thomas's verse to an eccentric and vibrant cinematic life.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

This is "A Play for Voices"

[ahothabeth · 5/10 · 10 April 2001]

Dylan Thomas sub-tilted Under Milk Wood with "A Play for Voices".

This is where this is best. With the words allowing the listener to develop some lovely images. The film as little if anything to the Argo or BBC recordings (or should I say soundscape?).

Buy either of the audio tapes or CD and enjoy.

The film is best left alone.

big names in a little village.....

[swanjac · 8/10 · 6 April 2004]

a beautiful adaptation of Dylan Thomas' "Play for Voices". An amazing cast, beautifully shot by people passionate about the project. Do notice the "second voice", the wonderful late and much lamented Ryan Davies, an actor and comedian revered here in Wales, probably the biggest star who never became known outside his own country, he sadly died in 77 at a tragically young age, 42 i believe. An educated and cultured man, his loss was a dreadful blow to all of Wales. Also look out for a very young David Jason as "no-good Boy" and topless performances from a young Susan Penhaligan and Ruth Madoc!

So much to see in this film there just arent enough words! Peter O'Toole was brilliant as Captain Cat, and Elizabeth Taylor wonderful as raunchy Rosie....vulnerable, sexy, sad all in one delicious bundle! Do try to catch this film...you wont be disappointed.

Really strange

[HotToastyRag · 1/10 · 20 July 2017]

Under Milk Wood is seriously one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. Virtually the entire movie is set to Richard Burton's narration of Dylan Thomas's prose. Most of the scenes are an overlay to his voice; the people in the scenes don't generally speak for themselves. The scenes themselves are extremely strange. To start, Richard Burton and his odd-looking companion walk the streets of a seafaring town at night, and as they look upon residents' houses or shops, Richard Burton tells the audience a little about the townspeople, or what they're dreaming about. There's a man sleeping next to a skeleton dreaming of his mother, a woman dreaming of her cobbler lover, and a blind retired sea captain who remembers his former crew and love interest.

If you know Dylan Thomas's writings, you'll know what to expect. Every Christmas, I watch A Child's Christmas in Wales, so I'm used to his ramblings about the residents of a small seaside town and his colorful descriptions, but if you've never heard his words before, you'll probably find the sentences in this movie very strange. Honestly, if Richard Burton can't save the movie, it's pretty bad. And it is pretty bad.

DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend, since sometimes the camera swirls. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

Nice sound, just don't look

[vandino1 · 26 January 2006]

Dylan Thomas's poetic flow is all that counts with 'Under Milk Wood.' Perhaps it could have been made poetic visually as well, but this effort doesn't prove it. In fact, the direction is pedestrian, and some odd liberties with the text (the scene in the barn with Burton & Davies getting it on with a woman, for instance) only makes things worse since it is the text that matters.

Then there is Richard Burton. No doubt that he would be THE actor for this film being a fellow Welshman like Thomas and a champion of the writer's work, but he is actually a bizarre presence in this film. He and Ryan Davies play a pair of wanderers drifting through town, their characters having little interaction with the folks, but Burton's character somehow has an omniscient knowledge of all of them. Burton doesn't speak on camera: his vocal performance is all voice-over narration. Ryan Davies never speaks a word on camera or off, as if he wandered in from a silent movie. Sadly, Burton strolls through the entire film with a goofy grin on his face, looking pale and drunk. And his wife Liz Taylor, handed a cameo, maintains her hideous late 60's makeup and renders herself unwatchable. But to be fair there are a lot of pretty women in this film and they are continuously slobbered over by a series of ugly Welshmen. The other featured star is Peter O'Toole as the blind Captain Cat. I admire this actor but he carries himself strangely in this film: he moves like a marionette straight out of the 'Thunderbirds.' Lastly, a weak music score doesn't help, especially with the lovely lyrics. Stick with the radio version.

If it had to have been done. . .

[lawrence81 · 5/10 · 5 July 2005]

. . .I guess that this was the way to do it.

But who had the harebrained idea of doing a play for voices as a film, the most visual of media? All the actors, with the exception of Elizabeth Taylor, were very talented people, and were clearly doing their best, but conditions were against them. And even Taylor wasn't precisely BAD--it was just that so much of Rosie Probert's part was cut that one couldn't get a fair impression of what she could do with the part.

And why was so much of not just Rosie Probert's part, but the play as a whole cut? If it was because of time limitations, what was with the insertion of the totally-irrelevant and gratuitous 'Norma Jean' sequence? I'd say, save your money and buy a recording of some other version of MILKWOOD done as an audio play as God and Dylan Thomas intended.

Poetry for the hard of seeing

[wobelix · 9/10 · 24 November 2001]

Conceived for the voice, and easily obtainable on BBC compact disc with the wonderful voice of our Stranger here, Richard Burton, this film of UNDER MILK WOOD still has a lot to offer. Poetry is for the imaginative eye, but Burton and O'Toole give nice performances, and who would like to mis Rosie Probert, who passed away but forgot dying, on the silver screen ? Forest leaves, cobble stones, rippling waves and Elizabeth Taylor make this film exciting. Not to forget the voices of course; the voices...

Surreal and beautiful

[ignazia · 9/10 · 19 March 2007]

Firstly you must remember that this was originally a play for voices. To fully appreciate this surreal movie you need to listen to a recording of Dylan Thomas' play beforehand.

The imagery in the movie totally worked for me. I was familiar with all the characters and was delighted how they were delineated on screen. The only performer I had "issues" with was Peter O'Toole as Captain Cat. He was obviously too young for the part - or his make-up was just not good enough. I enjoyed the way that the 2 Narrators were able to move around the town like ghostly interlopers, observing and describing the behaviour of the denizens. Using voice-over instead of direct speech added to the "other worldliness" feel of the whole. Such a shame that Richard Burton was allowed to monopolize the dialogue - Ryan Davies should have read more lines. Interesting to see Elizabeth Taylor (quite obviously in this due only to Welsh hubby Burton's involvement) playing the part of the popular local village prostitute no less. (For a sample of the same affection shown to Rosie Probert see "Never On Sunday" (1960) with Melina Mercouri.) Regarding the gratuitous menage-a-trois in the barn - if you view this as a surreal adaptation then the scene fits even though this was never written in the play.

A long time ago I read that it was common in these small isolated Welsh villages for the water supply to became contaminated with heavy metals - probably due to all the dams that were built in the valleys that prevented the natural flow of water into the local wells. The result was that the local population suffered from a kind of pollution-induced madness. As the UK government provided no funding to find a cure these communities were fenced-in and the inhabitants allowed to live out their natural lives within the confines of their village. It is said that Dylan Thomas' play was describing this type of life. If you decide to watch this movie bear this in mind when considering the eccentricities displayed by the characters.

Absolutely Magic

[Writer_Mario_Biondi · 8/10 · 16 June 2014]

This is a marvelous piece of theater (yes: theater) put on a roll of film and released as a movie. The images are not that important, the real importance lies in the WORDS: the way the words are connected one to the other in the text, with silences, spaces, italics and all, and the way they are PRONOUNCED. This is a work for voices, conceived by Dylan Thomas (I think) for the radio, not for the TV (1954). As a matter of fact the subtitle says: "A Play for Voices". And here you have almost the best as far as voices are concerned: Burton, O'Toole, the others. You could as well shut your eyes and simply listen. I did it, and found myself dreamily trying to follow the rhythm of the voices

Listen

[drew-121 · 23 July 2002]

There is no way on earth that this film can ever compare visually with the lyrical lines written by Dylan Thomas.

Although it is nice to hear Burton speak the words of his great idol, the inclusion of Elizabeth Taylor as Rosie Probert is a mistake.

Full marks to Peter O'Toole for a fine effort as Captain Cat.

You snored all night like a brewery

[Dr_Coulardeau · 10/10 · 1 February 2007]

One day in a small village along the coast of Wales, a fishing harbour that is surviving in coming modernity that is going to destroy it and later on transform it. The film enables the director to create a real world extracted from Dylan Thomas's words, and the general description of the historical heritage of the village can be uttered by some guide on a bus half full of old ladies touristing around the country and the conclusion is the village can get levelled down no one would protest. That was a long time ago. Since then these small fishing villages on the Welsh coast have become seaside resorts for all kinds of rich people. Dylan Thomas tries to recreate the life of the village the way he remembers it. The film shifts the observing eye from the author to first a couple of unnamed male strangers going through the village and saying absolutely nothing, hence being pure creations in this film to focus especially on one observer, through whose ears and blind eyes we can discover everything, Captain Cap. This is also a great shift in the point of view of the poem. The medium is the message and the camera imposes its own point of view. I will definitely say it is a good thing to visualize the poem that is otherwise difficult to follow, but at the very same time it is imposing one interpretation, one reading onto the poem, a linear reading that does not accept contradictions and multifariousness. Personally I think a poem should not be visualized on a screen. It must remain language. A recording of this language is already reducing the number of possible readings, but it cannot really reduce it to one reading. Images often do because no matter what you may say, it is them that will come out first and last, dominant, number one. You may call a fish a cat, it will be what the image says and if the image is that of a fish, it will not be a cat. Whereas the word can accept metaphorical transpositions and displacements and even distortions. Images do not accept metaphors very easily except through ellipses, which are more metonymies than metaphors, whereas words can easily express sleepless green ideas that sleep furiously. Yet the film is interesting because the editing makes us jump from one place to so many others with hardly one blink of one eye that we get a little bit dizzy and that is supposed to create in us a certain nostalgic feeling for the past, the long gone and forgotten and lost past.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Paris Dauphine & University of Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne

Cool

[sebaveron2001 · 14 January 2004]

This film is cool, but the 17 year old looks about 30. I think the film is at times bizarre but at other times an everyday life story. Elizabeth Taylor (Butterfield 8) is badly cast but O'Toole is fantastic as the blind fisherman. Never sentimental, at times a little hard going, but rewarding. Not worth watching for anyone under 15 though, very difficult bits involved, even if you are very clever.

A wonderful commentary on a bygone age

[boblam_ · 8/10 · 24 May 2013]

I saw this film again after a gap of many years. The story is well known ,the author lauded and the actors quite superb. What really captured and engrossed me was the 'time frame' of the film in it's setting of Fishguard. It is of another age,innocent and simple, lost in the vaults of time. Everything about it is of the heart. The schoolchildren,the honest rascal, sometimes no-good, characters and the relationships. Watching and listening to Burton is to enjoy the rich voice of a great artist. And, has Elizabeth Taylor ever looked so stunningly beautiful as in this film ? It also shows how rich we were in highly talented actors during this period. This account " in the day of ...." will increase in importance as the years roll on. It will surely stand the test of time.

Frailties and strengths

[jefadlm-1 · 10/10 · 19 May 2022]

Encompasses all the frailties and strengths of the human condition ,! In no particular order: EVIL : PATHOS : HUMOR: DOUBTS: FANTASY: HORROR: :WEAKNESS: STRENGTHS: From Andrew Sinclair's narration : WE did not make a film, the film made us quote/unquote......Perfection , no it is not, instead of such exaggerated superlatives i opt for imperfect perfection including warts and blemishes , a take and accept or leave its unabashed expose of everything and nothing all rolled into one unashamed mish mash !! All of us battling to analyze the un analyzable ! ? All those pseudo intellectuals , very possibly similar to me, never having attended uni , added to which as a self taught non intellectual, left academia behind at 15 years and 4 or 5 months young ! As a consequence of which i learned and am still learning life's lessons independently !

So, i modestly suggest many folk out there could consider possibly reading DTs U M W again and also viewing Andrew Sinclair's unique production, in addition to which I highly recommend directors scene by scene narration and intricate personal and emotional descriptions .......

This was 'a play for voices' - pictures are superfluous

[bootlebarth · 12 August 2008]

Dylan Thomas, whose surname was borrowed by someone born Zimmerman, was a weaver of words. He wrote a radio play, not a film script. If you have the DVD, put on your blindfold or turn your back to the wall. The visual elements, although they merge well enough with a faithful adaptation of Thomas' words, add little and tend to distract.

If you insist on watching, there are some irrelevant treats. It's good to see Elizabeth Taylor playing a scrubber (of a floor). The casting director must have had a sense of humour to give David Jason, not the most authentic of Welshmen, the Onanistic part of Nogood Boyo.

Sometimes a verbal work is enriched when embedded in pictures. Not so with 'Under Milk Wood'. Thomas demands attention with the ears, not the eyes. This film is a worthy but misguided attempt to bring the work of a great writer to people who can't be bothered to read or listen.

Dylan Thomas knew best: this is 'a play for voices'.