Desertman84
Omar Sharif stars as devoted disciple Peter in director Guilio Base's TV movie entitled,"St.Peter" - a look at the tension that arose between the Christians and Romans following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.As a dedicated follower of Christ, Peter spreads the message of the Christians across the land, often staying only one step ahead of those determined to persecute him. As the tension between the Christians and the Romans grows, blood runs in the streets and the apostles lose St. Paul to crucifixion. On the road to Damascus,he comes face-to-face with a stranger who shows him the only way wherein he must put himself on the cross in order to bring peace to Rome.It was a great movie despite being more than 3 hours.It tells a story mainly of Peter.Aside from that,it also tells the story of the early Christians particularly the apostles,disciples and the risen Jesus.It may not be a powerful film but it still works as we get to appreciate Peter and his works.Sharif was perfect in the title role.
pharoa2
good things about this movie...Peter's acting is really amazing and believable (most of the time) and scenery, camera action and music are better than mediocre...bad things: ACTING....OMG it is terrible!!! I have never seen a movie with that horrible acting...from Paul, Silvia, Fulvia, Jesus (who looks like a Dracula)...all the extras sucked ...along with the fakest crying and screaming I have ever seen!! Audio-Video Synch....WOW!!! soooo annoying enough said... Acting Voices...some of the actors' voices don't match the way the look, react or behave...or even the way they express their emotions... Direction of movie....it's like the Acts that you never read! really who wrote this script!!! and a love story that I could never find in any documented Christian book or history!!!BOTTOM LINE: ITALIANS SHOULD NOT DIRECT English MOVIES!!!!
tjbrown527
I gave this 1 star...and the real Apostle Peter would have no doubt given it none. It was rarely faithful to the Book of Acts in any specifics, more than not going of on wild tangents.My wife rented this from netflix. The description said it was made for Italian TV, but I didn't do the math...this would appear to be a Roman Catholic based film. Portraying Peter as the "rock" that the Church was built on, mechanical repetition of the Lord's Prayer, the constant recital of the Sermon on the Mount and not the Gospel (which is what was done in Acts).The lip syncing bothered me as did some of the acting and editing, but the content is what really bothers me. As has been mentioned before, this really went wacko when they got to Rome.If this were a BIBLICALLY ACCURATE movie, I could easily sit for three hours, but this was a waste of time.If you want an accurate portrayal of the Apostles, get the Acts series from "The Visual Bible".This was basically a ride through fantasyland.
Marcin Kukuczka
"One heart, one soul" These words that appear many times in the magnificent latest movie by Giulio Base are not just the words that relate to early Christian attitude but they are clearly reflected throughout the film made with honest effort and great faith both from the crew and the cast. I have seen many religious historical epics. Nevertheless, I have to admit that seldom have I seen such a purely faithful movie where almost each moment is an experience. Let me discuss some of the aspects of the film that make it a brilliant piece of film art.CONTENT: Giulio Base's film can be divided into two parts concerning the content. The first part discusses purely historical events from the New Testament, beginning with the death and resurrection of Christ and going on to Apostles' meetings, conversions to the new faith, quarrels who actually has the right to be baptized, persecutions from Jews, the miraculous story of Saul/Paul, and ending with Peter's journey to the heart of the empire, Rome. The events showed in the second part take place primarily in Rome, with some fictitious characters that are contextualized in the whole life stories of Peter and Paul. We see two families whose lives are connected by love and faith. Claudius Maximus (Ettore Basi), the son of a wealthy Roman, Persius (Ennio Caltorti), falls in love with a Christian girl Silvia (Bianca Guaccero). He does not see any benefit in the new faith at first but slowly starts to believe in the Son of God. Will this help him retain good relations with his family? Moreover, a mystery from his family's past is revealed at the moment of the death of Claudius' Grandma... In the other family, David (Flavio Insinna), the masked gladiator called Trachus, fights on arena as a gladiator. However, he hides this truth from his Christian wife, Anna (Claudia Koll). Yet, his life in two worlds cannot last forever and he once has to stand before the choice... earthly or spiritual freedom?... Among these vivid stories, the director shows Peter-Paul relations. Sometimes, they are exaggerated because these two have not met so many times and probably died on the same day not having met in prison before. Yet, it must be treated rather in the symbolic way. The primary fact about them is that they were the two greatest Apostles of Christ's Church. In the end, we see the persecutions of Christians and Peter who leaves Rome and meets the Lord on his way who is going to be crucified again...BEAUTIFUL MOMENTS: The film is filled with a number of magnificent scenes that I deeply experienced to tears. If you decide to see the movie, pay attention to little aspects that are perhaps not so clear at once but noticed after a longer inspection. These aspects, which I noticed at the second viewing, are the real pearls of the film. These are, among many others, the visit at Cornelius' in Caesarea, the Eucharist in prison, the symbolic moment of joy at Christ's resurrection, the conversation with a prostitute ("Is there really such a God who will forgive?") or Paul's miraculous way for Damascus. Except for the above, I will never forget Sylvia-Claudius conversation in his beautiful gardens. "What do you lack? What more is there that can make you happy? asks Claudius. Immediately, the question is answered by a voice coming from the streets of Rome "Jesus is true happiness!" I also loved the moment of retrospection in time. Peter decides to put up his mission in Rome but unintentionally comes back in memory to the words of Christ: "You are the rock and on this rock I shall build my Church". The end is also unbelievably beautiful and touching, which refers to one historical and spiritual fact: Rome has changed forever and the whole world will never be the same since the Redeemer makes all things new...CAST: Among the films about Peter's elderly years in Rome, Omar Sharif portrays the fishermen of people in the most memorable way I have seen so far: better than Dennis Quiley in A.D (1985), more authentic than Franciszek Pieczka in QUO VADIS? (2000), even more appealing than Finlay Currie in Hollywood's monumental production QUO VADIS? (1951) by Mervyn LeRoy. He is great with that blink in his eyes that probably real saint Peter had and at showing love for all men that real saint Peter learned from his Lord. Omar Sharif is magnificent and even if you are not religious, you will love this film thanks to his performance. Other cast are not that famous but they give fine performances, too. I particularly liked Bianca Guaccero in the role of gentle young girl Silvia, so in love with Claudius. Among others, these are Italian cast who very well fit to the roles of the Romans.LOCATIONS: There is one more reason why I like the movie. The landscapes that the film shows are very much like the ones in Palestine. After my journey to the Holy Land, I deeply feel this sense of authenticity. Therefore, some biblical films seemed so unnatural because they were made in wrong locations. Giulio Base's film does a great job throughout, including the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, the reconstruction of the Jerusalem and the Rome of the 1st century. So far, such an authentic film concerning locations was Franco Zeffirelli's production with Robert Powell.I would recommend everyone to see this film, no matter if old or young, Christian, Jew or Muslim, believer or atheist. It is a splendid film which is not a "Christian propaganda" as some cynical people unjustly call such films. It is the film which primarily focuses on the dignity, freedom and love of every human being. 10/10 Excellent movie that I dream to see for the third time!
