Rating: 
Summary: Black Humor At Its Disturbing Best
Review: The first half of this film appears both dated and silly, which caused me to seriously consider turning it off. But after seeing the emotionally-charged second half, I realized how well-structured the film is as a whole. It is a remarkable work of art that demands a second viewing. The high price is justified.
Rating: 
Summary: o'tooles tour de force
Review: the main flaw of this film is that it overstays its welcome. that said, o'toole delivers one of his most powerful over the top performances.
this is a true cult classic and, thanks to criterion, it has gotten the remastering it deserves.
not for the closed minded to be certian, but a challenging and rewarding comedy that delivers and jolts.
Rating:
Summary: The Ruling Class
Review: The movie is both entertaining and thought provoking. Bringing out the possibilities of the "Jeckel and Hyde" in each of us. Portarying a personallity of a rejected man of peace that was forced into a personallity of acceptable evil. A must see.
Rating:
Summary: Maximum Overdrive
Review: The Ruling Class achieves something that is almost completely unheard of in film comedy. It hits the ground running with an unforgettable cameo by the great Harry Andrews and almost never loses its kinetic pace for 2 1/2 hours. Peter O'Toole is best remembered as Lawrence Of Arabia and by later generations as the eccentric dandy in My Favorite Year & Creator. But in this gem of a "Only in the 70's" satirical comedy O'Toole gives what will probably rank as his best film performance. It is certainly the best script he has ever had to work with in his brilliant, if erratic, film career. A star turn in every sense of the word, O'Toole is beatific, haughty, a song and dance man, warm, wise, petulant, frightened and VERY terrifying in his incarnation as Jack The Ripper. He is positively electric in the same way that the 1950-1954 era Brando was. Except that what is so marvelous about O'Toole here is his focus and articulate nature. When he's on top of his game, O'Toole comes across as the most intelligent and the most gloriously insane actor ever caught on film. Whether delivering a long speech or tossing off a one-liner, O'Toole makes Barnes' great words beautiful to hear. And what a supporting cast! Alastair Sim was at the end of a magnificent career and this gave the actor a truly great send off as a bumbling, didactic Bishop. The scene where he feebly attempts to preside over O'Toole's nuptials is perhaps the most hilarious moment ever captured on film. Coral Browne and a host of great British character actors round out the flawless ensemble. And steering the ship with a steady hand is the underrated Peter Medak. Much like how Spike Jonze brought a dark, melancholy reality to Being John Malkovich, Medak deserves credit for maintaining a consistent reality to ground us in the world of these insane characters and circumstances. The Ruling Class is almost peerless among screen comedies. Only the best of Buster Keaton, the Marx Bros. WC Fields, Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story and top-flight Preston Sturges can stand toe-to-toe with it. It was once noted that all great comedies are either very intelligent or incredibly low brow. The Ruling Class, along with those other giants of screen comedy, succeed in achieving both and make it look effortless.
Rating:
Summary: Simply wickedly good
Review: The Ruling Class is a brilliant film, based on a brilliant play. The story is simple enough. The Earl of Gurney dies, his heir is mad, and thinks he is Jesus Christ. The other members of the family attempt to dislodge the new nutty earl so that they can keep the cash. Their attempts to commit the earl trace the flaws in the English class system with unpleasant accuracy and a great deal of sometimes very black humour. It all comes to a sticky and very black ending. It says alot that Peter O'Toole is continually upstaged by just about everyone else in the cast. His Christ figure is very well delivered but, all in all, lacks some level of "humanness" that the other characters, particularly Arthur Lowe as the butler, have in abundance. Arthur Lowe literally steals scene after scene with one or two lines while the vast tracts of dialogue that O'Toole's character must deliver can quickly alienate a less than motivated viewer. The above said, this can be a very funny film and is directed with enough aplomb that one is not continually reminded of the scripts start as a stage play. While it was obviously controversial when it was made and while the ideas it traces are just as pertinent now, somehow time seems to have dealt poorly with it and left it less a "searing indictment" and more of a historical curiosity. The DVD master is brilliant, sharp and without any artifacting, and as one expects from Criterion, in the correct aspect ratio. If you want to see this film this is a magnificent way to do it. As far as owning it goes, Arthur Lowe's performance will delight anyone with a sense of humour for years to come. Quite highly recommended but a bit self indulgently black.
Rating:
Summary: A unique and hilarious black comedy
Review: The Ruling Class remains a unique film in many ways. Totally iconoclastic, brilliantly concieved and executed, original in style and tone from start to finish, it is both hilarious and touching in its story of the 14th Earl of Gurney (played by Peter O'Toole) who believes himself to be Jesus Christ. The picture painted of the British upper classes is mercilessly biased but the comedy that is mined from their shallowness and greed is as funny as when the film was made. O'Toole's performance is delightful. He gets to do a little bit of everything in this film, including sing and dance. The cast of supporting players is brilliant, especially Alister Sim as a tongue tied Bishop trying to perform a wedding between 'Christ' and the bride picked for him by his family so they can control his fortune. Other standouts include such characters as 'The Master in Lunacy', who decides that the Earl is sane because he has the right school pretensions. The pivotal twist of the plot comes in the 'healing' sequence when the Earl is transformed from 'Christ' into 'Jack'. Unfortunately, the Jack in question is Jack the Ripper. This new persona seems so much more sane, but violently less so. This is a strange concoction but never fails to amuse. Everything about it continues to be fresh because nothing about it has ever been copied. It is a one of a kind film that deserves a place in any serious video collection of great, original movies.
Rating: 
Summary: The Cut Version
Review: This is a great movie that has been cut to smithereens. The running time for the uncut version is 154 minutes. Demand the FULL version. Don't buy this abridged mutilation.
Rating:
Summary: Stay Away
Review: This movie is described as a black comedy. While it is certainly very "black", over the top in my estimation, I found little humor in it. The movie makes its point that the Britsh upper class is an arrogant, witless, self-serving, immoral group in the first ten minutes and continues to heavy-handedly beat us over the head with this for the next two plus hours. In the meantime, Peter O'Toole chews up the scenery as the schizophrenic black sheep heir of the family estate who initially believes he is Jesus Christ and is then "cured" and believes he is Jack the Ripper.
In order to be funny there should be some shred of connection of reality that you can relate to the situation portrayed in the film.
I found this film to be absurd and humorless.
Rating:
Summary: "TEA, TARTS and CLOTTED CREAM", but
Review: this one also includes, "tutus", "step-stools" and a "noose". Well, it did take me a few years to figure out the hilarious opening sequence with Harry Andrews! This blistering black satire of manners, expertly directed by Peter Medak has no peer. It rustles nary a kilt and wrinkles many a Bond Street creation. We just don't find these gems today, and more good fortune, this version on VHS is complete! Now a future DVD release would be sublime. You'll relish every eccentric moment with the Great O'Toole, as tempted Christ with a twist. There's also the venom-voiced Coral Browne in one of her most memorable "brittle" performances and the ultra-eccentric Alastair Sim as the befuddled Bishop. Most of these actors are no longer with us, but their cultural contributions fortunately remain intact. FOUR STAR entertainment for the novice, and inspiration for the actor - whether aspiring or established. Anything by Terry Gilliam ["Brazil" etc.] provides apt companions.
Rating: 
Summary: very interesting, great acting.
Review: This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.
"The Ruling Class" is a most unusual film. It was originally a play of the same name by Peter Barnes and made into a movie in 1972.
A member of the House of Lords dies after accidentally killing himself during a mock self-hanging. His heir is his son Jack (Peter O'Toole). The only problem is that his son is mentally ill and belives himself to be Jesus. When he moves in to his father's mansion, the other family members, feeling cheated, attempt to take the house from him. Though Jack is eventually cured, he then regresses into thinking that he is Jack the Ripper.
The film has some good laughs and is quite tame for an R rated film by today's standards. The acting by Peter O'Toole is very good and the supporting cast does a good job too, though I am not too familiar with them.
The DVD has some great special features as well
There is full-length audio commentary by Lead Actor Peter O'Toole, Director Peter Medak, and Writer Peter Barnes.
There are also excerpts from home movies taken by Peter Medak while location scouting for the mansion, a theatrical trailer, and publicity and production photos.
This is a must-have for Peter O'Toole fans!
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