Rating: 
Summary: Does not get much better than this!
Review: I had the pleasure of watching this again last night. What a wonderful film. Richard Burton stars as Marcellous, a Roman centurian who oversaw the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazereth. He becomes deeply affected by this and basically looses his mind saying "were you out there," to anyone who mentions the event in the stangest tone. Meanwhile he has fallen in love with Diana,(Jean Simmons), and partakes on a journey to destroy the robe in order to lift the curse he thinks he is under. Don't want to spoil the story for anyone here, but this is one entertaining and inspiring movie. Look out especially for Jay Robinson's performance as the evil Caligula, it's a riot. Also check out the sequal "demetrius and the gladiators", with Victor Mature reprising his role as Demetrius.
Rating: 
Summary: my rating refers to the DVD, not the actual film
Review: The first film ever made in cinemascope deserves much much more than the shoddy treament it's been given here. Regardless of what you think of the movie, and it has dated in places, the technical achievement needs to be admired, and that simply cannot happen with this release. Though there is an attempt to enhance the brightness, contrast and vivid color, the image is not crisp, and is nowhere near clean. In places there are snow storms of dust and scratches. The film is clearly warped in places and no attempt has been made to rectify the pitch changes in the soundtrack. Together with few extras and a cheap looking cover this is the sort of miserly release I'd expect from Paramount, not Fox. This films deserves the full restoration treatment.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful nostalgia piece
Review: The Robe was the first Fox Widescreen film with many good things to look out for. As a whole it has too much of Victor Mature to make it totally likeable, but then it has Jean Simmons, one of the truly great actresses of that period or this. (She was and still is considered the greatest Ophelia on film and on the stage.)See her in Spartacus with Olivier, and compare thsoe scenes with the Kirk Douglas ones..how she raises the standard so that Douglas does not look good at all.
Anyway, she makes the lines she must say in The Robe sound like Shakespeare, and her final words to Caligula with Richard Burton at her side are memorable. The scenes before this are quite nice; Simmons and Burton have wonderful chemistry, and their love making is romantic and rich, unlike today, where everything is TV inspired, TV acted, everyhting with a view to DVD..minimaland not believable. (Nicole Kidman is great and she owes much to Jean Simmons and Bette Davis so she states.) Richard Burton does good things with his role as Marcellus, from madness to conversion he draws the viewer into the non-complexity, as if it were complex. Jay Robinson as Claigula is sui generis..not to be missed,. and Mature's scenes of anguish are so over the top one forgets everything he's saying or doing and just laughs. You wish the whole cast were up to Simmons and Burton"s standard..there were many who could have played Demetrius, but Mature was so popular, and he did go on to do the sequel, Demetrius and the Gladiators with Susan Hayward..a must!! and, The Egyptian, a must as well. The soundtrack to The Robe is very lush and beautiful, expertly used, but on the DVD it is out of synch, not very clear. Hang on to that Widescreen clamshell- boxed set if you have it..the film is like new, with beautiful sound and crisp clarity. Buy this in any case, and find out what great sceen acting is all about from Jean Simmons and Richard Burton. She absolutely shines.
Rating: 
Summary: What is this?
Review: Is this really The Robe? This movie strays so far from the novel that I would barely be able to guess it was based upon it if it weren't for using some of the same character names. THIS IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY!!!
From the very first scene, the movie had strayed from the story. I watched 45 minutes of the 135 minutes and couldn't bear to see anymore. THE WHOLE STORY HAS BEEN ALTERED OR REMOVED!!!
The movie might be okay for someone who hasn't read the book, but the acting isn't that great either. I would really like to see a modern filming of The Robe that at least attempts to follow the novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Redemption Enrobed in Staid Script
Review: In a film slowly becoming dated and due for a remake, we are told the story of a man's struggle to reconcile his guilt with his doubt, and his doubt with the persuasive faith of those he meets. Can a broken man be redeemed? With Jesus Christ's death and resurrection in the backdrop, with a Roman Catholic-esque tone, Marcellus grapples with the reality of spiritual power. He believes it is in the robe Christ wore, but he quickly learns the robe is nothing. He feels angst and anguish when he touches it. As guilty as any man could be of Christ's crucifixion, he knows the passion of his emptiness. He sets to find out what it is that is freeing Christians from circumstances beyond reason, like the joy one woman has despite her paralysis. Why do the Christians continue on, even though they face persecution? He meets Judas Iscariot, Simon Peter, Miriam and unnamed disciples. Like "The Mission," this movie is filled with complex characters, less wooden than first glance might lead a viewer to believe. The messages in the movie are more than Judeo-Christian. Hollywood blacklists come to mind as people are commanded under duress to give up names of followers. Living life with and for a purpose, and knowing what we really believe is encouraged. We are shown humility, desire for freedom and messages against bigotry and greed. As a concept, the story has potential. The plot is strong, but falters in script form. Even the great Richard Burton is denied the opportunity to win an Oscar with dramatic sequences that only whisper could've been more boldly written. The sets may be award winning in their day, but now, we can see the painted stage walls that are meant to seem like a city. I recommend "The Robe," with hopes that it will inspire a great filmmaker to pick up the script, rewrite it and show us what could be. Anthony Trendl
Rating:
Summary: Treadment of the 1st CinemaScope feature
Review: Regardless of what you think of the story, the acting, or the script, this was an important film in motion picture history. It was the first film released in CinemaScope. The DVD format should present the absolute finest quality in picture and sound. Although the sound element is ok, the picture elemt used for this DVD is very poor (scratchy, full of film dirt). There have geen several processes developed in the last decade to "clean up" physically dirty negatives. Why didn't Fox do that with this transfer? Or why didn't they then wait to get a much better picture element? Also, this DVD presents no"extras" outside of an original trailer (why are the trailer elements used in so many DVD's of such poor quality?). There isn't even one of the newsreels that both AMC and Fox Movie Channel run concerning the development of the CinemaScope process. I would love to own a widescreen copy of this film, but will have to wait until Fox decides to redo it using a much better element to present this landmark film.
Rating:
Summary: In Cinemascope but still 2-Dimensional
Review: Roman tribune Marcellus Gallio (Richard Burton) is assigned to Jerusalem and happens to attend the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He wins the robe Jesus wore to the crucifixion in a game but is later convinced that the robe is cursed. He suffers hallucinations and seeks to destroy it. His slave Demetrius (Victor Mature) runs off with the robe and Marcellus follows him back to Judea. When he arrives, he converts to Christianity but is persecuted upon his return to Rome. It is evident that those who made the movie chose only the Bible as a reference to classical studies. As a result, the depiction of Roman civilization and culture is shallow and 2-dimensional: a sharp contrast to the wonderful work done for "Ben-Hur." Caligula is presented as an ignorant retard in a cartoonish manner instead of the debauced psychopath he really was. Tiberius is shown as some form of paternal sympathetic figure instead of the paranoid, avarious, and perverse man he really was. The script is equally poor and the acting rigid. Richard Burton's performance is the only saving grace to this movie. A good movie for the very young attending Sunday school but I wouldn't waste my money buying it.
Rating:
Summary: Sweeeeet Story.
Review: It exciting! Not a boring story.Richard Burton is somewhat more happy by the end than say"The Spy Who Came In From The Cold"
People will be suprised by the ending.Jesus never shows his face.reminded me of Ben Hur Charleton Heston.He has a wonderfull presense still.Jesus is the impact bihind the film.You don't see him but he is alive after death.Watch it!
Rating:
Summary: A crash course in Born Again Christianity.
Review: If one maintains an open mind, during the course of this film, it will be easy to see that the basics of Christianity are imparted to the viewer. For instance, the young, paralyzed woman, a convert, explained the two commands that the Messiah Jesus gave to His followers. The following is the quote, referred to in the movie (I transcribed it from the Gospel According to Luke) : "`You must love the Lord your God with
all your heart, all your soul, all your
strength, and all your mind.' And, `Love
your neighbor as yourself.' " Additionally, the movie contains a touching
story of romance, between a Roman Tribune,
and an aristocratic lady. I can say, with
all honesty, that I have yet to see any movie that
contains a more profound story of romantic love,
between a man and a woman. "The Robe" also
includes impressive shows of swordplay. Essentially, this film holds something for
everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: A veiwer who has read the book
Review: There are not enough bible movies to let me give this a bad review. As a movie, its pretty good. But, if you've read and love the book, you're in for a dissapointment. My bigest complaint is Demetrius. He's too passionate, too dramatic, too rebellious, too old, and, forgive me, too big. But even so, he's still my favorite character. Diana is my next complaint. She's too sweet and too demure. She needs more sparkle.
Marcellus is okay. Caligula is good, but too stupid and he yells too much.
It just dosen't follow the book. But, it is DEFFINETLY worth watching. The acting may be bad, but hey, I was intertained and I even watched it again!
| 
