Introduced by Linda Williams

Ken Russell's adaptation of the D. H. Lawrence novel is a showcase for fine acting. Gerald (Oliver Reed) is an unsentimental industrialist who enjoys his days as a bachelor discussing the philosophies of life with his friend Rupert (Alan Bates), a sexually ambiguous school overseer. Things change when the two fall in love with a pair of sisters: Gudrun (Glenda Jackson), a socialite and a pragmatist, and Ursula (Jennie Linden), a girl who is simple and sweet in her pursuits of love. Underneath all of the seemingly polite and proper dialogue breathes an erotic tension that seeps into their conversations (such as a discussion over how to eat a fig) and other spectacular moments (Jackson's interpretative dance with a herd of bulls and, of course, the nude wrestling scene with Reed and Bates).