Cheap Shoes of the Fisherman (Video) (Michael Anderson) Price

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Customer Reviews of Shoes of the Fisherman

Lavish, sincere, not always convincing but still engaging epic
As Pope operas go, The Shoes of the Fisherman is pretty enjoyable. Dated but shot on a lavish scale in the days when doorstop novels were turned into star-studded epics rather than TV miniseries, it skirts close to guilty pleasure territory without ever providing any unintentional laughs as Anthony Quinn's political prisoner is freed to act as a mediator between the Church and Russia only to find himself elected Pope. Laurence Olivier delivers the bacon as the Russian premier in one of the first of his hammy blockbuster supporting turns he took to supplement his meagre £150 a week salary at the National Theatre, with John Gielgud turning up for one scene as an ailing pontiff while Oskar Werner, Leo McKern and Vittorio De Sica get the more substantial roles. Too much screen time is wasted on David Jansenn and Barbara Jefford's marital problems, an irrelevant subplot that simply gets discarded entirely in the last third, and the political crisis in the background with a starving China threatening world war isn't entirely convincing. Yet there is some substance there even if the politics, both theological and secular, are somewhat confused - how many roadshow pictures feature a philosopher-priest (Werner) under investigation for developing the theories of Teillhard de Chardin? There's even one surprisingly touching scene between Leo McKern and Quinn near the end of the film about loneliness, and Alex North's grandiose score, incorporating as its main theme part of his rejected score for 2001, is quite magnificent. And if you've ever wanted to see Zorba the Pope reciting the Shema Yisrael, this is the movie for you. <
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>It's just a shame that the recent DVD runs into synch problems in the last third and that the making-of featurette has been cropped from 1.33:1 to 1.85:1, meaning that the extracts from the film in it are cropped both horizontally and vertically!

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The Anti-Da Vinci Code
Without being pro-Catholic or artificially spiritual, this film is a wonderful exploration of what it means to be "useful" in a very profound way. It's not a tract or an introduction to Catholicism; it could have been about any faith. It just "happens" to be about popes and priests. <
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>Anthony Quinn gives an incredibly subtle performance of a man who has spent his life as an outsider. As an archbishop, a 20-year political prisoner, and as an occupant of Vatican City, there is something lost and concerned about him that is - at first - lost on everyone. <
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>Unlike "The Da Vinci Code," this film does not assume that religion is a thrilling conspiracy theory. No one is troubled over the "truth" of faith, and yet questioning the details is shown as a constant dilemma, as if 2,000 years have passed and there is still debate over what to do as the world changes. The nuclear war subplot in the film is a bit dated but it is there to bring out the fact that in the world outside the Vatican, a pope is some sort of moral authority but, in the end, can't really DO anything. With no industrial clout, no military, etc., he's like a fancy-dress version of the Dalai Lama. <
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>What stunned me throughout this film was how much trust the film-makers put in a film with little action and a lot of dialog. There are two tense confrontations in which a priest is calmly asked to explain his writings. I was drawn in by a dramatic discussion of . . . theology? People talk, they pause, reflect, and respond. <
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>The film has weaknesses. There is an occasional travelogue/Rick Steves feeling to the film that seems like it's showing off the size of the film's settings. Alex North's score hits and misses. When it hits, it's wonderful; when it doesn't you can really tell. The acting is quiet and intelligent throughout but David Janssen seems to know he's there to explain what you can plainly see happening. The plot-line involving his marriage is disposable except for a scene in which Quinn offers generic and yet surprisingly intelligent advice to Janssen's wife. This scene justified the otherwise negligible subplot. Mostly. <
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>The film unrolls slowly. Until you get to the intermission, you enjoy the exposition but might wonder when the real film is going to kick in. By the time you hit the 90-minute mark, you're there. You don't need to be patient for this film to work but being a good listener might help. <
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>My "Da Vinci Code" references aren't made to slam that film. It just stuck me that a film like "The Shoes of the Fisherman" would have a hard time getting made today. Not because of the subject matter but because of it's steady pacing and complete lack of what studios need in a story before they'll pay to have it filmed. In 1968, a film like "The Shoes of the Fisherman" delivered the goods. These days, it wouldn't. As a DVD, yes. As a theatrical release, nope. <
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>Today, we need a murder in the Louvre, Tom Hanks and a killer albino.

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A great restoration
The restoration is even better than i thought it would be. Perfect picture and wonderful 5.1 sound. It was just like seeing this film for the first time at the Cinerama Theatre. <
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>When i first saw the film i was a teen. Even thought i loved the film i don't think i grasped the total meaning of it as i do now being in my 50's. I was raised Catholic but am no longer a Catholic because of the political believes that the Catholic Church has. Bible teachings are secondary to the teaching of Catholic history and tradition which i do not believe in. Knowing how i feel about the church and the riches that the church has only made me feel more like buying another DVD and sending it to Rome just for the last scene of this film. <
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>I guess that's why this film could be non fiction but the conclusion is really fiction. Could you really see the Pope today giving up it's riches? <
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>For this film and what it represents is wonderful. There is also great music, scenery, acting and directed in such a way that the film never becomes boring. This is truly at the top of my list. (for those interested, i'm now in the learning stages of being a Jehovah Witness.)