The Agony and the Ecstasy (film)
Encyclopedia
The Agony and the Ecstasy is a 1965 film directed by Carol Reed
, starring Charlton Heston
as Michelangelo and Rex Harrison
as Pope Julius II
. The film was partly based on Irving Stone
's biographical novel of the same name. This film deals with the conflicts of Michelangelo and Pope Julius II. It also features a soundtrack co-written by prolific composers Alex North
and Jerry Goldsmith
.
The film was shot in Todd-AO
and Cinemascope
versions. The Todd-AO version was used for the DVD
release because of its superior picture quality.
The recreation of the Sistine Chapel ceiling
for the film was largely by the Irish painter Niccolo d'Ardia Caracciolo
.
Carol Reed
Sir Carol Reed was an English film director best known for Odd Man Out , The Fallen Idol , The Third Man and Oliver!...
, starring Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
as Michelangelo and Rex Harrison
Rex Harrison
Sir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...
as Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II , nicknamed "The Fearsome Pope" and "The Warrior Pope" , born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1503 to 1513...
. The film was partly based on Irving Stone
Irving Stone
Irving Stone was an American writer known for his biographical novels of famous historical personalities, including Lust for Life, a biographical novel about the life of Vincent van Gogh, and The Agony and the Ecstasy, a biographical novel about Michelangelo.-Biography:In...
's biographical novel of the same name. This film deals with the conflicts of Michelangelo and Pope Julius II. It also features a soundtrack co-written by prolific composers Alex North
Alex North
Alex North was an American composer who wrote the first jazz-based film score and one of the first modernist scores written in Hollywood ....
and Jerry Goldsmith
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
.
The film was shot in Todd-AO
Todd-AO
Todd-AO is a post-production company founded in 1953, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. The company operates three facilities in the Los Angeles area.-History:...
and Cinemascope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
versions. The Todd-AO version was used for the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release because of its superior picture quality.
The recreation of the Sistine Chapel ceiling
Sistine Chapel ceiling
The Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, at the commission of Pope Julius II, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance art. The ceiling is that of the large Papal Chapel built within the Vatican between 1477 and 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV after whom it is named...
for the film was largely by the Irish painter Niccolo d'Ardia Caracciolo
Niccolo d'Ardia Caracciolo
Niccolo d'Ardia Caracciolo , known as Niccolo Caracciolo, was an Irish painter.Born in Dublin, he was the only son of Ferdinando Caracciolo, Prince of Cursi, a member of an old Italian family originally from Naples...
.
Cast
- Charlton HestonCharlton HestonCharlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
– MichelangeloMichelangeloMichelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art... - Rex HarrisonRex HarrisonSir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...
– Pope Julius IIPope Julius IIPope Julius II , nicknamed "The Fearsome Pope" and "The Warrior Pope" , born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1503 to 1513... - Diane CilentoDiane CilentoDiane Cilento was an Australian theatre and film actress and author.-Biography:Cilento's parents, Sir Raphael Cilento and Lady Phyllis Cilento, were both distinguished medical practitioners....
– Contessina de'Medici - Harry AndrewsHarry AndrewsHarry Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English film actor known for his frequent portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the 1965 National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the...
– Bramante - Alberto LupoAlberto LupoAlberto Lupo was an Italian film and television actor best known for his roles in swash-buckling and actions films of the 1960s....
– Duke of Urbino - Adolfo CeliAdolfo CeliAdolfo Celi was an Italian film actor and director.-Life and career:Born in Messina, Sicily, Celi appeared in nearly 100 movies, specializing in international villains. His most famous role was as Emilio Largo in the 1965 James Bond movie Thunderball...
– Giovanni de' Medici - Venantino VenantiniVenantino VenantiniVenantino Venantini is an Italian film actor. He has appeared in over 140 films since 1954.-Selected filmography:* No Sun in Venice * Les Tontons flingueurs * Le Corniaud...
– Paris De Grassis - John Stacy – Sangallo
- Fausto TozziFausto TozziFausto Tozzi was an Italian film actor and screenwriter. He appeared in 70 films between 1951 and 1978...
– Foreman - Maxine AudleyMaxine AudleyMaxine Audley was an English theatre and film actress. She made her professional stage debut in July 1940 at the Open Air Theatre. Throughout her career, Audley performed with both the Old Vic company and the Royal Shakespeare Company multiple times...
– Woman - Tomas MilianTomas MilianTomás Milián is a Cuban-American actor best known for having worked extensively in Italian films from the late 1950s to the 1980s.-Career in Italy:...
– RaphaelRaphaelRaffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
Awards
The film was nominated for five Academy Awards:- Best Art DirectionAcademy Award for Best Art DirectionThe Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
(John DeCuirJohn DeCuirJohn DeCuir was a Hollywood art director.He studied at the Chouinard Art School, joined Universal in the late 1930s, and by the mid-1940s was designing sets. In 1949, he signed with 20th Century Fox where he worked on productions noted for their elaborate sets...
, Jack Martin SmithJack Martin SmithJack Martin Smith was a highly successful Hollywood art director with over 130 films to his credit and nine Academy Award nominations which ultimately yielded three Oscars.-MGM:...
, Dario SimoniDario SimoniDario Simoni was a set decorator. He won two Academy Awards and was nominated for another two in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:...
) - Best Costume DesignAcademy Award for Costume DesignThe Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in film costume design....
- Best ScoreAcademy Award for Original Music ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
- Best Sound (James CorcoranJames Corcoran (sound engineer)James Corcoran was an American sound engineer. He won an Academy Award for Sound Recording and was nominated for three more in the same category.-Selected filmography:Corcoran won an Academy Award and was nominated for three more:Won...
) - Best CinematographyAcademy Award for Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
External links
- The Agony and the Ecstasy at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...