Goya's Ghosts has ambitious goals that it never fully attains. It proves intermittently fascinating but ultimately disappointing.
Comment
08/11/07
Rate this Movie 
Goya's Ghosts (2007)
29
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:83
Fresh:24
Rotten:59
Average Rating:4.8/10
Consensus: Ornate costumes and a talented cast can't make up for Ghosts' glacial pace and confused plot.
Theatrical Release:Jul 20, 2007 Limited
Box Office: $743,451
Synopsis: From two-time Academy AwardŽ winning director Milos Forman and three-time Academy AwardŽ winning producer Saul Zaentz, GOYA'S GHOSTS is a sweeping historical epic, told through the eyes of... [More]
Starring: Natalie Portman, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgaard, Randy Quaid
Director: Milos Forman
Get This Movie
Reviews for Goya's Ghosts
[Forman] merely gives it a high polish, with lots of beautiful costumes, makeup and set designs, hoping that the Academy will remember him once more.
07/20/07
Captures the essence of the period -- an intriguing, backward era in Spain -- but without the emotional impact that such a film requires.
08/24/07
Goya's Ghosts uses the lives of artists and historical figures to show us the best and the worst of our human impulses.
08/10/07
Reminds us of the wisdom behind the title of Goya's most famous etching: 'The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.'
08/24/07
A disjointed oddity.
08/23/07
The movie is uneven in the extreme, to the extent that it feels like two imperfectly wed pictures. The first, while not extraordinary, at least contains some interesting ideas. The second borders on embarrassing.
07/17/07
Top CriticThe idea and presence of Goya himself is somehow off-centre and off-balance throughout this directionless movie.
05/04/07
A storyline that turns so silly, you half-expect Mel Brooks to show up reprising his "Inquisition" musical number from History of the World Part I.
10/10/07
Starts out as a revealing drama about the Inquisition in Spain in 1792 but spins out of control trying to convey the big picture of turmoil in the country 15 years later.
07/13/07
Nobody expects a Spanish Inquisition!
07/19/07
An overstuffed turkey that's entertaining for all the wrong reasons. It may in fact be the comedy of the summer, a melodramatic folly whose ambitions consistently curdle into camp.
07/20/07
Top CriticDespite noteworthy attention to period detail in production and costume design, these are not enough to carry the film's confused plot.
05/04/07
It's a rare misfire for Forman, and it's a doozy of one.
07/19/07
Goya's Ghosts is Milos Forman's first film since 1999, but you sincerely wish it wasn't. A logy, rambling period piece, it feels about as far away from the spirit of Amadeus as it's possible to get with wigs and britches.
07/19/07
Top CriticThe cast is rather too eclectic for its own good. These are superior actors, but thrown together like this they all stick out like sore thumbs.
05/03/07
The film's greatest moments of artistry are in the credits, which feature a breathtaking gallery of the painter's work.
08/02/07
Top CriticCumbersome and often stilted, Goya's Ghosts remains a worthy drama
08/27/09
An extraordinarily beautiful film that plays almost like an excuse to generate its images.
07/20/07
Top CriticWhat Forman doesn't give us is drama of sure coherence or credibility, but the trappings entrance.
08/10/07
Latest News for Goya's Ghosts
June 29, 2007:
The ultimate accidental insight provided by the film is that history may be recorded by the victors, but it is far less amenable to being smoothly scripted or orchestrated, either by foreign empires or filmmakers. 
More...
June 04, 2007:
Trailer & Poster review
More...
March 31, 2007:
european-films.net's preview & trailer
More...
March 23, 2007:
The Weekly Ketchup: "Pirates 3" Trailer, Natalie Portman In The Buff, "300" Sequel Talk, And More!
In this week's Ketchup, the first trailer for "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" appears on RT, Natalie Portman delights many by showing her stuff in... More...
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Best Dozen of the Decade
Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!
Top 50 of 2009
Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.
Santa's Naughty List
Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.
Top 10 Movies of 2009
TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.
Top 20 of the Decade
Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
RSS Feeds