Charlton Heston is very good as Michelangelo Buonarotti, the Florentine painter, sculptor, architect and poet, one of the greatest and most versatile artists of the Renaissance who exerted an extraordinary influence on Western art...
The story - based on the Irving Stone best-seller - tells of that period during Michelangelo's life when he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel...
Rex Harrison portrays the sprightly Pope Julius II, the greatest art patron of the papal line and one of the most powerful rulers of his age, who led military efforts to prevent French domination of Italy and as a politician and patron of the arts, he shove for a synthesis of church and state, of spirit and culture, with a grandeur unequaled by succeeding popes... His name is closely linked with those of great artists such Bramante, Raphael and Michelangelo... With his wealth of visionary ideas, he contributed to their creativity... Although he had little of the priest in him, he was concerned - toward the end - only with the church's grandeur... He wished for greatness for the papacy rather than for the pope, and for peace in Italy...
The film shows the extraordinary violent temper of the Pope, his lost of his self-control and his rude behavior towards the Florentine when he shouts: 'He will paint it or he will hang!'
But, in one scene, he explains to Michelangelo his reasons: 'If I had not become a conqueror, there would be no church, no pontiff, no hope for peace for mankind and, I might add, no patrons for sculpture, painting, and architecture.'
"The Agony and the Ecstasy" is a proof of faith and a battle of wills... The pope continually asks Michelangelo: 'When you will make an end of it?' and the answer of Buonarotti is invariably the same: 'When I'm finished!'
But despite these recurrent strains imposed on their relations by the two overly similar personalities, their relationship is so close that the Pope becomes, in fact, Michelangelo's intellectual collaborator... The paintings are in form and conception, a product of the artistic symbiosis of two towering figures of the 16th Century-Italy...
Two breathtaking moments of the motion picture are to be mention: The 'Inspiration' scene where the clouds were forming the focal points of Michelangelo's Frescos; and the great sequence of meditation between the Pope and Buonarotti in front of the creation panel...
The supporting cast include: Harry Andrews playing the Italian architect of the Renaissance Bramante; Tomas Milian as Raphael, the master of the Italian High Renaissance style; and Diane Cilento as Contessina Medici, the woman who drives Michelangelo to search his heart for important paths of activity...
The film - an ecstasy for those who love and appreciate great art and powerful work - is a huge spectacle, a rich dramatization, moving and fascinating...
The picture ends by another commission of the Pope to Michelangelo, another huge work, full of swirling figures and terrible images of despair, the powerful fresco: 'The Last Judgment', the ceiling behind the high altar... Michelangelo's continuous argument is heard: 'I still say painting is not my trade!' and, obviously, the Pope response: 'To work, my son!'
And what a huge work Michelangelo left... A breve documentary demonstrates before the beginning of the motion picture: The Pieta of St. Peter's; The Colossal David; and The Moses.
Pope John Paul II led a ceremony December ll, 1999 celebrating the completion of the two-decade restoration of the Sistine Chapel... Speaking haltingly, he said: 'This place dear to the world's faithful not only for the masterpieces it contains but also because of the role it plays in the life of the Church.'
The story - based on the Irving Stone best-seller - tells of that period during Michelangelo's life when he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel...
Rex Harrison portrays the sprightly Pope Julius II, the greatest art patron of the papal line and one of the most powerful rulers of his age, who led military efforts to prevent French domination of Italy and as a politician and patron of the arts, he shove for a synthesis of church and state, of spirit and culture, with a grandeur unequaled by succeeding popes... His name is closely linked with those of great artists such Bramante, Raphael and Michelangelo... With his wealth of visionary ideas, he contributed to their creativity... Although he had little of the priest in him, he was concerned - toward the end - only with the church's grandeur... He wished for greatness for the papacy rather than for the pope, and for peace in Italy...
The film shows the extraordinary violent temper of the Pope, his lost of his self-control and his rude behavior towards the Florentine when he shouts: 'He will paint it or he will hang!'
But, in one scene, he explains to Michelangelo his reasons: 'If I had not become a conqueror, there would be no church, no pontiff, no hope for peace for mankind and, I might add, no patrons for sculpture, painting, and architecture.'
"The Agony and the Ecstasy" is a proof of faith and a battle of wills... The pope continually asks Michelangelo: 'When you will make an end of it?' and the answer of Buonarotti is invariably the same: 'When I'm finished!'
But despite these recurrent strains imposed on their relations by the two overly similar personalities, their relationship is so close that the Pope becomes, in fact, Michelangelo's intellectual collaborator... The paintings are in form and conception, a product of the artistic symbiosis of two towering figures of the 16th Century-Italy...
Two breathtaking moments of the motion picture are to be mention: The 'Inspiration' scene where the clouds were forming the focal points of Michelangelo's Frescos; and the great sequence of meditation between the Pope and Buonarotti in front of the creation panel...
The supporting cast include: Harry Andrews playing the Italian architect of the Renaissance Bramante; Tomas Milian as Raphael, the master of the Italian High Renaissance style; and Diane Cilento as Contessina Medici, the woman who drives Michelangelo to search his heart for important paths of activity...
The film - an ecstasy for those who love and appreciate great art and powerful work - is a huge spectacle, a rich dramatization, moving and fascinating...
The picture ends by another commission of the Pope to Michelangelo, another huge work, full of swirling figures and terrible images of despair, the powerful fresco: 'The Last Judgment', the ceiling behind the high altar... Michelangelo's continuous argument is heard: 'I still say painting is not my trade!' and, obviously, the Pope response: 'To work, my son!'
And what a huge work Michelangelo left... A breve documentary demonstrates before the beginning of the motion picture: The Pieta of St. Peter's; The Colossal David; and The Moses.
Pope John Paul II led a ceremony December ll, 1999 celebrating the completion of the two-decade restoration of the Sistine Chapel... Speaking haltingly, he said: 'This place dear to the world's faithful not only for the masterpieces it contains but also because of the role it plays in the life of the Church.'