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Reviews158
trevorwomble's rating
This is better than I was expecting. I thought it would be dull drama about the inner workings of the papacy but instead there was a touch of a classic thriller in this too. When Dean Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is asked by a dying pope to oversee the Conclave (the procedure to elect the next pope), little does he know the skulduggery that will follow. What should be a straightforward process gets very complicated and he uncovers some revealing secrets. He even finds himself dragged onto the shortlist much to his displeasure.
The film has its twists and turns and many of the pious candidates turn out to be harbouring deep secrets. Yet this is also a fascinating look at the inner processes of the Catholic church. As others have said, perhaps there is one twist too many in the story yet ironically it isn't entirely without precedent in the history of the papacy.
Good solid performances all round, especially Stanley Tucci as an earnest character who seems strangely reluctant to be nominated and Isabella Rosselin in a small but important i as a nun who helps shed light on the corruption Lawrence starts to uncover.
Quite gripping in places and whilst a bit slow in parts it's running time is about right, not outstaying it's welcome but you don't feel short-changed either.
The film has its twists and turns and many of the pious candidates turn out to be harbouring deep secrets. Yet this is also a fascinating look at the inner processes of the Catholic church. As others have said, perhaps there is one twist too many in the story yet ironically it isn't entirely without precedent in the history of the papacy.
Good solid performances all round, especially Stanley Tucci as an earnest character who seems strangely reluctant to be nominated and Isabella Rosselin in a small but important i as a nun who helps shed light on the corruption Lawrence starts to uncover.
Quite gripping in places and whilst a bit slow in parts it's running time is about right, not outstaying it's welcome but you don't feel short-changed either.
I have to admit that I went into the cinema (Everyman in Crystal Palace) not really knowing what to expect. It had been hard for me to track this film down as I'd never heard of it and it had only selected showings in arthouse cinemas.
As someone who grew up in the 70s and 80s I was familiar with Wings and Band on the Run is one of my favourite albums from that era and this shortish film, originally released in 1975, hit the spot, with it's terrific music.
Macca does a modern introduction to the film, explains how it came about and soberly reminds us that three of the band have now passed away (Denny Laine being the most recent in 2023). Then once you realise you are looking at a time capsule, the music kicks in fairly quickly and are transported back to simpler times, before streaming and when rock music ruled the radio and vinyl was king. To me it was like being a kid again seeing all the terrible fashions and haircuts and people smoking before it all became terribly unfashionable.
As others have pointed out, the video quality of the era was a bit rough but the songs more than make up for it. And then the 82 year old Paul comes on to ask us to stay for a few minutes more whilst the 'backyard session' is played...ten minutes of him on acoustic guitar playing Buddy Holly and other early rock and roll songs.
Maybe not everyone's cup of tea but I thought it was well worth the effort.
As someone who grew up in the 70s and 80s I was familiar with Wings and Band on the Run is one of my favourite albums from that era and this shortish film, originally released in 1975, hit the spot, with it's terrific music.
Macca does a modern introduction to the film, explains how it came about and soberly reminds us that three of the band have now passed away (Denny Laine being the most recent in 2023). Then once you realise you are looking at a time capsule, the music kicks in fairly quickly and are transported back to simpler times, before streaming and when rock music ruled the radio and vinyl was king. To me it was like being a kid again seeing all the terrible fashions and haircuts and people smoking before it all became terribly unfashionable.
As others have pointed out, the video quality of the era was a bit rough but the songs more than make up for it. And then the 82 year old Paul comes on to ask us to stay for a few minutes more whilst the 'backyard session' is played...ten minutes of him on acoustic guitar playing Buddy Holly and other early rock and roll songs.
Maybe not everyone's cup of tea but I thought it was well worth the effort.
This is a way better film than its reputation gives it. It is a fun, if slightly silly premise but there's some real entertainment here. It's well cast, with the late Richard Jordan looking the part of the suave Dirk Pitt, David Selby as Dr Seagram, the ever reliable Jason Robards and an early film appearance for Anne Archer. Alec Guinness really has only a cameo role, appearing in just two scenes but I guess he was cast in order to give the film a famous name to attract interest it.
The underwater scenes, especially the scenes involving the search and locating of the wreck are well done and might have been an inspiration for James Cameron nearly a decade later when he was making The Abyss. There's also a stirring soundtrack by John Barry that helps to add atmosphere and the film is actually pretty well directed by Jerry Jameson, who directed Airport 77.
The film does have its problems I admit in that it does drag in places (something which should have been sorted within the screenplay before filming began). The quality of the model work is also uneven throughout the film (sometimes it is convincing and sometimes it just looks like a model) and some of the dialogue is a little clunky. But on the whole I found it quite watchable family movie and undeserving of its reputation as a terrible film. There are a lot worse films that have been successful so I feel this particular movie has been harshly treated since its release 44 years ago. It deserves a little more appreciation in my view. So sure, it's no Lawrence of Arabia or even as good as The Towering Inferno but it's reputation as a total turkey is undeserved either. It's just two hours of solid entertainment that has some flaws.
The underwater scenes, especially the scenes involving the search and locating of the wreck are well done and might have been an inspiration for James Cameron nearly a decade later when he was making The Abyss. There's also a stirring soundtrack by John Barry that helps to add atmosphere and the film is actually pretty well directed by Jerry Jameson, who directed Airport 77.
The film does have its problems I admit in that it does drag in places (something which should have been sorted within the screenplay before filming began). The quality of the model work is also uneven throughout the film (sometimes it is convincing and sometimes it just looks like a model) and some of the dialogue is a little clunky. But on the whole I found it quite watchable family movie and undeserving of its reputation as a terrible film. There are a lot worse films that have been successful so I feel this particular movie has been harshly treated since its release 44 years ago. It deserves a little more appreciation in my view. So sure, it's no Lawrence of Arabia or even as good as The Towering Inferno but it's reputation as a total turkey is undeserved either. It's just two hours of solid entertainment that has some flaws.