The Agony and the Ecstasy

There is a dreadful discrepancy between Michelangelo's works and the words put in the mouth of Charlton Heston, who represents him here, and this picture-which is mostly about a prolonged wrangle between the sculptor and Pope Julius II (Rex Harrison), who keeps sweeping into the Sistine Chapel and barking, "When will you make an end of it?"-isn't believable for an instant. It was a terrible fiasco for all concerned-the financiers as well as the artists.

79.000

Oh Charlton Heston, you're so dreamy. You and your weird name.

The Agony and the Ecstasy serves as a template, through which the public at large can understand everything that is wrong with big market cinema. This rumbling tin man echoes the pragmatic truth of the artistry of statues; technically tight, reflexive and proficient, through the wrong eyes (in this case, Graham Greene's), its just a cold block of stone without a heart.

Great film.