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The Agony and the Ecstasy |
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Home: You are here: DVD : The Agony and the Ecstasy |
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The Agony and the Ecstasy  Rating: Rating:  - All the grandeur of a classicThe first time I saw The Agony and the Ecstasy was more than 20 years ago. Apparently it really made an impression on me because I remember Michelangelo's method of transferring images to the ceiling so clearly, that I used the same method myself for painting a large mural in a school cafeteria. I have seen it another time since then. Unfortunately for Michelangelo, played by Charlton Heston, there seems to be far more agony than ecstasy. Pope Julius II, played by Rex Harrison, doesn't hesitate to exert pressure on the passionate yet complex artist who really wants to sculpt instead of paint. But the Pope knows what he wants and how to get it and Michelangelo gives in. Despite their contentious relationship, I felt satisfaction in knowing that it was the Pope's nagging that provided the necessary impetus for Michelangelo to create one of his greatest masterpieces. I found the technical details of how the Michelangelo's vision was executed to be fascinating and I learned a lot about Michelangelo's life, his work and history all at once. The fact that The Agony and the Ecstasy was released 40 years ago doesn't matter a bit - there is no over-dramatizing or inappropriately stilted language, just all the grandeur that make it a classic. If I see a movie more than once, it has to be good. Rating:  - Entertaining But Extremely SuperficialIf you go into THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY with the idea that you will learn anything factual about Michelangelo, Pope Julius II, the Sistine Chapel, and Renaissance Rome--much less art--you are in for a rude awakening. Historians were quick to point out that the film was even less historically accurate than the Irving Stone bestseller on which it was based. Film critics were also harsh: while they described the film as competent, by and large they felt that a movie so crammed with notable talents should have been quite a bit better than it actually was. There is some truth to these accusations. As a whole, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY is essentially a prettified and cleaned-up 1965 idea of the characters and story it offers. Even the alleys are well-swept and the servant drudges remarkably clean, and in terms of visuals and designs the film is nothing so much than THE SOUND OF MUSIC gone Italian. The dialogue is remarkably pretentious and the plot extremely repetitive. And certainly neither Charleton Heston nor Rex Harrison were anything like Michelangelo or Pope Julius II. Even so, the film works unexpectedly well on its own merits. Heston and Harrison may be incredibly miscast, but they both play with considerable conviction, and their clashing styles lend surprising believability to their scenes together. While a more accurate portrait of the era would be more interesting, one can't complain about the entertainment value involved; there is always something to see on the screen. And although director Carol Reed and writer Philip Dunne play fast and loose with the facts, the story they offer is quite entertaining. This is not a great masterpiece of cinema, but it is a lot of fun to watch--as long as you don't take it too seriously as either history or art. The bonus package is quite slight, but the restoration is very nice, and the film comes with the original and interesting documentary on Michelangelo's works that prefaced it when it was in theatrical release. While I would not place this on a short of list of films to own, it is a pleasant enough way to spend a rainy night, particularly if you are looking for a film the entire family can watch together. GFT, Amazon Reviewer Rating:  - Masterpiece of a Masterpiece.Stupendous over-acting from both Rex Harrison and Our Man Charlton is the saving grace of this lavish movie, which threatens to bog itself sermonizing over religion and art, set in an epoch seemingly dominated by both, The Renaissance. Adapted from a slice of Irving Stone's book of the same name, Heston is Michelangelo Buonarroti, all melodramatic neck-grabbing and body-hugging, whose quest to complete the Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco is tempered by his patron and inadvertent nemesis, Harrison, as Pope Julius II, who must balance the Chapel commission against his war efforts, constantly spurring Michelangelo into gratuitous melodrama. The most dogged nullifidian would find inspiration in this tale, through the sheer pioneering brilliance and stamina invested in the completed vault, camera in final scene panning over the Sistine's magnificence, vainly trying to capture on 70mm that which is uncapturable. Goethe effuses: "Without having seen the Sistine Chapel one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving." Midway to completion, Julius tries to convey the majesty of his craft to Michelangelo, who self-effaces, "It's only painted plaster, Your Holiness." Indeed. And Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is only music notes. Rating:  - I never received this itemI did not recieve this item because Amazon would not recognize my change of address. The DVD was declared "undeliverable" and was returned to you. Not knowing how to contact Amazon, I decided not to pursue the matter since I was not charged for it. It's unfortunate because the item was intended as a gift. OBVIOUSLY, the item does not deserve a 1 star, but since the review could not be posted, I had no choice but to give it a star. Very annoying to say the least. |
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