The Agony and the Ecstasy 1965

The Agony and the Ecstasy

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86%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 7

78%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 3,562

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Movie Info

During the Italian Renaissance, Pope Julius II (Rex Harrison) contracts the influential artist Michelangelo (Charlton Heston) to sculpt 40 statues for his tomb. When the pope changes his mind and asks the sculptor to paint a mural in the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo doubts his painting skills and abandons the project. Divine inspiration returns Michelangelo to the mural, but his artistic vision clashes with the pope's demanding personality and threatens the success of the historic painting.
  • Genre:
    history, drama
  • Original Language:
    English
  • Director:
    Carol Reed
  • Producer:
    Carol Reed
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Runtime:
  • Production Co:
    Twentieth Century Fox, Cinecittà, Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica

Cast

Rex Harrison
as Pope Julius II
Charlton Heston
as Michelangelo
Diane Cilento
as Contessina de' Medici
Adolfo Celi
as Giovanni de Medici
Harry Andrews
as Bramante
Alberto Lupo
as Duke of Urbino
Venantino Venantini
as Paris De Grassis
John Stacy
as Sangallo
Fausto Tozzi
as Foreman
Maxine Audley
as Woman
Tomás Milian
as Raphael
Alec McCowen
Richard Pearson
as Cardinal
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Critic Reviews for The Agony and the Ecstasy

All Critics (7) | Fresh (6) | Rotten (1)

View All Critic Reviews (7)

Audience Reviews for The Agony and the Ecstasy

  • Apr 02, 2018
    What makes this film fascinating is the conflict between the two characters, which is centered mostly on a great dialogue that explores the motivations and creative process of a genius, with Charlton Heston delivering his typical overacting and Rex Harrison as magnetic as always.
    Carlos M Super Reviewer
  • Feb 18, 2011
    Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison portray two of the Renaissance's most colorful figures in this brilliant historical epic drama based on Irving Stone's best selling novel. When Pope Julius II(Harrison)commissions Michelangelo(Heston) to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel,the artist initially refuses. Virtually forced to do the job by Julius,Michelangelo later destroys his own work of art and therefore flees Rome. Nominated for three Oscars including Best Supporting Actor(Harrison),Best Director(Carol Reed),and Best Cinematopgraphy and was named of the year's best films by the National Board of Review,"The Agony and the Ecstasy" is a fascinating dramatization behind one of the world's artistic masterpieces. Filmed on location in Italy and Spain and shot in brilliant Todd-AO and Color and directed by the great British director Carol Reed,Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison(in their first and only film together)give two of the screen's best performances.
    Mister C Super Reviewer
  • Jan 25, 2010
    The film is about 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 {Charlton Heston} life when he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel...
    Arianeta L Super Reviewer
  • Apr 12, 2009
    The battle of wills between Pope Julius II and Michaelangelo that culminated in the painting of The Sistine Chapel. Worth a watch.
    Marcus W Super Reviewer
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