CheerupSilver
Very Cool!!!
Majorthebys
Charming and brutal
Teringer
An Exercise In Nonsense
Motompa
Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.
RealLiveClaude
This movie was a cult favourite in a repertory movie house in Montreal in the 70s. I understood why when I saw it on DVD format.As we know Franco Zeffirelli, he did great with either Shakespeare flicks (Romeo and Juliet among others) or Jesus of Nazareth, nor he did not so with Endless Love.This time he succeeded with the rendering of Francis of Assisi's life.Back from the war, wounded emotionally, Francisco found peace by seeing a lark on the roof, and rejecting the luxuries of his father's business. He abandoned all this to a life of poverty and sacrifice, rebuilding a sanctuary with some friends who joined him on the way, including Clare, a former love interest of his. However, the higher clergy jealousy takes over him and his new order, Francis must ask for forgiveness to the leader of Christianity: Pope Innocent III.With songs by Donovan and strong interpretation, beautiful photography and well written script, this is one of the best Christian stories ever told.Now I understood why it was such a cult favourite.
madcardinal
Vastly superior to "Francis of Assisi," a movie which is as dry as dust. I watched the two movies one after the other with my Catholic mother-in-law, and she strongly preferred "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" to "Francis of Assisi." This film conveys real emotion and reminds us that those who feel called by God are different from most workaday folk. For those of you who have a strong aversion to the sight of the human body, be advised that there is a nude scene in "Brother Sun, Sister Moon." It has symbolic significance and is quite beautiful. Some reviewers on the internet thought the Francis and Clare characters seemed stoned. I did not see it that way at all. To me, they were conscious of being illuminated by the Holy Spirit. In other words, they were atypical and in a tiny minority of humans on earth; of course they're not going to act like your next-door neighbor or some concocted role model from a religious textbook. The acting is competent without being great. The soundtrack is written and performed by Donovan - think "Atlantis," "Jennifer Juniper," and "Hurdy Gurdy Man" - so you will either like or dislike the soundtrack because of this, depending on your musical taste. For those who strongly dislike the culture of the late 60s and early 70s, you may not like this film, because it was made in the early 70s and evokes the tone and feel of that period.
zetes
Francis of Assissi depicted as the first hippie. That's not really a ridiculous comparison. After all, Godspell depicts Jesus and the Apostles as hippies, as well, far more annoyingly, I may say, than Zefferelli depicts these characters. I actually started off really enjoying this picture. I thought it was sweet, lovely, and beautiful. It helps a lot if you like Donovan. I know that he's kind of dopey, but I've always found his mellowing tunes quite pleasant. None of his songs here are among his best (in fact, not a one appears on the anthology I own, which contains other work on soundtracks), but they're pretty good. Unfortunately, the film never really goes anywhere. It plateaus early and only reaches a little further in its climax, when Francis and his followers ask the Pope (Alec Guiness, in what amounts to a cameo) to bless their order. The only really good Francis of Assissi movie I've seen is Roberto Rossellini's The Flowers of St. Francis.
crystalart
I don't know what they could have done to make this film any better.Graham Faulkner is perfectly cast, and Judi Bowker is the perfect Clare.It's hard to believe that I walked out on it the first time I saw it on a double bill with "Siddhartha", another of my all time favorites. The opening scenes of warfare were violent and didn't suit my mood.Fortunately for me, I went back into the theatre and watched this film in its entirety.The settings are beautiful, the people are beautiful and the story makes your soul fly! See this film.You'll be glad you did.