The Apocalypse

Rating:
Summary: Richard Harris shines in one of his last film appearances.
Review: "The Apocalypse" was one of Richard Harris' last films in his brilliant career. Harris plays the Apostle John, the last surviving witness of the Passion of Jesus Christ. In the year 90 A.D., John is now living in exile on the island of Patmos. The Roman Emperor Domitian declares himself to be God and issues an ultimatum to all Christians living within the Empire: They must renounce their true God and worship Domitian, or die. During this time, John begins to have the Apocalyptic visions which become the basis for the Bible's book of Revelation. Harris turns in a great performance as John during the last years of his life. He is also backed by a fine supporting cast which includes Vittoria Belvedere, Benjamin Sadler, Erol Sander, Ian Duncan and Christian Kohlund. "The Apocalypse" gives us an interesting look at the Apostle John toward the end of his life, and an equally interesting look at the kind of persecution the early Christians went through. This is a great movie, which I would recommend for Christians and non-Christians alike.

Rating:
Summary: So much wasted potential
Review: I have always been fascinated by the story of St. John, Jesus' beloved disciple who managed to outlive his contemporaries only to suffer exile on the island of Patmos, so I was understandably thrilled to discover that there was a movie made about the last years of his life. Unfortunately, this film doesn't do justice to this pillar of the church and to the legends that have proliferated about him throughout the centuries.

John the Apostle, "the disciple whom Jesus loved," was made guardian of Mary, the mother of Christ. After she died, he allegedly preached in Parthia and areas of Asia Minor, settling with St. Timothy in Ephesus after the deaths of Peter and Paul. Here is where the story gets interesting. While he was an elderly man, about 89 or 90 years old and peacefully living out the end of his life in Ephesus, John was summoned to Rome to stand trial before the emperor Domitian, a violent sociopath who wanted nothing more than to eliminate the followers of Christianity. According to legend, Domitian had John beaten, tortured, and thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil from which he escaped unscathed. Domitian also ordered John to drink poison, which he did happily, thereby fulfilling Christ's prophecy that he also would drink of Christ's cup. Again John remained unharmed. Fearing that John was a sorcerer, Domitian banished him to the island of Patmos. It was there that John wrote the Book of Revelation, and after Domitian's death he returned to Ephesus, raised a friend from the dead, wrote his Gospel, and died around the year 100.

Fascinating stuff, right? It has everything -- adventure, intrigue, divine intervention, unshakable faith, human suffering and triumph. I didn't think it was possible to screw up a movie about St. John, but The Apocalypse proved me wrong.

The movie opens with John already exiled on Patmos. No good reason is given for his being there except that he's hiding from Domitian, who wants to believe that John is dead and vows to kill him if he is not. Patmos is apparently some kind of jail or slave camp where criminals and outlaws are sent to dig mines and copy documents or something. Everyone's looking for John but no one can find him in spite of the fact that he doesn't seem to be hiding. Despite the invasive presence of Roman soldiers (who even build traps to keep people from escaping), a woman from Ephesus manages to walk on and off the island to pick up letters from John as if she's walking in and out of her own house. Then we've got some average plot diversions -- an anti-Christian Roman spy who discovers that his dead parents were really Christians, a bunch of murdered Christian refugees (whom we don't care about due to the lack of character development), a romantic subplot, an escape plot.

In the midst of this are John's drawn out visions of how the world is going to end. They're downright hokey. While one has to give the director credit for trying to visually depict John's opaque and sometimes disturbing prophesies, the special effects were poorly done. They looked as if they were ripped right out of The Neverending Story. The attempt to instill emotion, sincerity, and a sense of urgency into John's visions falls short, and the movie employs a fundamentalist reading of the Book of Revelation typical of the views espoused by the 700 Club and the likes of John Hagee.

The acting is good -- if your idea of good acting is that of a high school play. Someone should tell the guy who plays Domitian that screaming every other line does not a Shakespearean actor make. With the exception of Richard Harris, the other actors cry on cue, shout on cue, and look like they're trying too hard to be sincere. When Richard Harris is given a chance to act, he does so with a sweet gentleness that is never feeble or condescending, and he gives us some arresting moments. When an earnest disciple asks him to recount the story of Jesus' death, he cries and speaks as if he's tearing the words from the depths of his memory -- interesting considering that he must have told the story hundreds of times. During another moment, he has a small crisis of faith and wonders why Jesus has left his only living apostle to suffer in such backwater. However, these moments are cut short for more apocalyptic corniness. That's the central problem of The Apocalypse: the movie is concerned with everything except its most human thread: the faith and trials of John.

For the life of me, I can't understand why the director and writer wouldn't want to explore some of the captivating legends about John. The only reason I can come up with is that these legends seem far-fetched and incredible, and that depicting them might distract from John's visions of the end times. Well, I can't think of anything more far-fetched or distracting than John's having a vision of September 11th, but I guess that's just me.

So, here's to hoping that a better filmmaker sees the potential for greatness in the story of John the Apostle. With the resurgence of Christianity and the recent influx of historical and religious movies, it's surprising that a mainstream director hasn't picked up on the appeal of the legends of this incredible man.

Rating:
Summary: A excellent glimpse of what Christians faced back then
Review: I really liked this movie because it shows what the believers who received the book of Revelation were going through when the messages and visions of Revelation were given to them. These believers try to maintain their faith in Christ when Emperor Domitian proclaims himself to be God and gives an ultimatum for Christians to worship him or die. The believers in Ephesus send one of their female members to seek out John (played by Richard Harris) at the island of Patmos to receive messages from God and to bring them back to the church. John receives several visions which comfort the believers. You will see truncated visions from the book of Revelation (the Lamb opening the scroll, the seven seals, the great multitude, the seven trumpet blasts, and the woman fleeing from the dragon), with a little bit of explanation thrown with it.

Don't expect a full-blown picture of the Apocalypse, but for what it is, a historical fictionalized account of what the believers were going through when Revelation is written to them, it is really good. Richard Harris does a great job of portraying the apostle John. If you like Richard Harris, you'll also enjoy his portrayal of Abraham in the Bible collection series (which this movie is a part of). It is comforting, thought-provoking, and faithful for the most part to the Bible.

Rating:
Summary: The Apocalypse
Review: I saw it on the christian channel and i love it and i think it has a great message about what will happen in the years to come and i belive that is one of the finest perfomance by his royal actor name mr. Richard Harris he did it in the bible with John Huston Also in the Gladitor And His work on The Count Of Monte Cristo Is Excuiseted . They all did a tremedous job the whole cast I give it 100% for this movie Thank You And May You be safe in heaven And God Bless Your soul Great Actor Mr. Harris

Rating:
Summary: The Apocalypse
Review: I saw it on the christian channel and i love it and i think it has a great message about what will happen in the years to come and i belive that is one of the finest perfomance by his royal actor name mr. Richard Harris he did it in the bible with John Huston Also in the Gladitor And His work on The Count Of Monte Cristo Is Excuiseted . They all did a tremedous job the whole cast I give it 100% for this movie Thank You And May You be safe in heaven And God Bless Your soul Great Actor Mr. Harris

Rating:
Summary: a feast for the eyes and food for the soul
Review: Set in 90 AD, this film gives us insight into the lives of Christians who lived under the domination of Roman rule. Emperor Domitian (played with ample dementia by Bruce Payne) is in power, and his goal is to kill every living Christian who does not denounce God and give allegiance to Domitian alone, who has claimed himself god over all things.
The imagery in this film is fantastic; Giovanni Galasso's cinematography is full of rich color, and a feast for the eyes; there are portions that are like liquid works of art, and I never tire of watching them, in fact, several viewings are needed to fully appreciate the creative magic of the photography. The brilliance of the palette reminds me of the heyday of Technicolor, with its opulent reds, greens and blues.

The great Richard Harris is the apostle John, and it is one of his last appearances on film. Harris, who was so terrific starring in the cable television Bible Series production of "Abraham" in 1994, has less to do in this film, but with his weathered face and fabulous voice is wonderful. The attractive cast that surrounds him is excellent, with Vittoria Belvedere, Benjamin Sadler and Ian Duncan in the leads. Christian Kohlund is also impressive as Quintus Maximus.
The lavish sets and authentic looking costumes lend credibility to a film that is largely about John's visions, and are a good contrast to the "New heaven and new earth" of the beautiful, light-filled revelations given to the apostle.

Kudos to director Raffaele Mertes who directs with the eye of an artist (he was cinematographer for seven of the other Bible Series productions and director for "Esther"), and another great talent from the same series of films is the award-winning composer Monsignor Marco Frisina, who for this production was also Biblical Consultant, as well as giving us an atmospheric, lovely soundtrack.
Total running time is 96 minutes, for this marvelous telling of the apostle John's final days on the island of Patmos.

Rating:
Summary: a feast for the eyes and food for the soul
Review: Set in 90 AD, this film gives us insight into the lives of Christians who lived under the domination of Roman rule. Emperor Domitian is in power (played with ample dementia by Bruce Payne), and his goal is to kill every living Christian who does not denounce God and give allegiance to Domitian alone, who has claimed himself god over all things.
The imagery in this film is fantastic; Giovanni Galasso's cinematography is full of rich color, and a feast for the eyes; there are portions that are like liquid works of art, and I never tire of watching them, in fact, several viewings are needed to fully appreciate the creative magic of the photography. The brilliance of the palette reminds me of the heyday of Technicolor, with its opulent reds, greens and blues.

The great Richard Harris is the apostle John, and it is one of his last appearances on film. Harris, who was so terrific starring in the cable television Bible Series production of "Abraham" in 1994, has less to do in this film, but with his weathered face and fabulous voice is wonderful. The attractive cast that surrounds him is excellent, with Vittoria Belvedere, Benjamin Sadler and Ian Duncan in the leads. Christian Kohlund is also impressive as Quintus Maximus.
The lavish sets and authentic looking costumes lend credibility to a film that is largely about John's visions, and are a good contrast to the "New heaven and new earth" of the beautiful, light-filled revelations given to the apostle.

Kudos to director Raffaele Mertes who directs with the eye of an artist (he was cinematographer for seven of the other Bible Series productions and director for "Esther"), and another great talent from the same series of films is the award-winning composer Monsignor Marco Frisina, who for this production was also Biblical Consultant, as well as giving us an atmospheric, lovely soundtrack.
Total running time is 96 minutes, for this marvelous telling of the apostle John's final days on the island of Patmos.

Rating:
Summary: Apostle John's Last Days
Review: To be honest, I'm not a devout church goer or any of that, though I do believe in God and a higher power... Now that that is out of the way, I really enjoyed this film, what a blissful feeling it leaves you with at its end! Richard Harris plays the Apostle John in his last days, when he wrote "Revelations." Any Christian faith will appreciate this excellent film! I can't recall all of the actors, but noticed some who have been in very noticeable films and the acting was for the most part very spectacular... To me and a lot of you out there, "Revelations" is very interesting and mysterious at the same time and this film really does it justice; throughout the movie you see John's revelations as he sees them (in the movie) and they have done a great job here. This film would make the Apostle John proud and Jesus (God), very well put together. I'd like to see more movies like this, all of the cliche' Hollywood jive gets old and sometimes leaves you blue, but not this film, I reccomend this film 110 percent! Hope you all enjoy it and all the best...

Rating:
Summary: Apostle John's Last Days
Review: To be honest, I'm not a devout church goer or any of that, though I do believe in God and a higher power... Now that that is out of the way, I really enjoyed this film, what a blissful feeling it leaves you with at its end! Richard Harris plays the Apostle John in his last days, when he wrote "Revelations." Any Christian faith will appreciate this excellent film! I can't recall all of the actors, but noticed some who have been in very noticeable films and the acting was for the most part very spectacular... To me and a lot of you out there, "Revelations" is very interesting and mysterious at the same time and this film really does it justice; throughout the movie you see John's revelations as he sees them (in the movie) and they have done a great job here. This film would make the Apostle John proud and Jesus (God), very well put together. I'd like to see more movies like this, all of the cliche' Hollywood jive gets old and sometimes leaves you blue, but not this film, I reccomend this film 110 percent! Hope you all enjoy it and all the best...

Rating:
Summary: A MASTERPIECE
Review: Words cannot describe my loss for words behind watching the late Richard Harris's portrayal of the Apostle John in the APocalypse. Considering that John is my favorite Disciple/Apostle and New Testament writer, and considering the fact that there are not many films out there that have attempted to portray life in 90 A.D. for Christians under the rule of the Emperor Domitian,during John's exile on Patmos and his writing of the Revelation(the only other such work is St. John in Exile, a live, one-man performance by Dean Martin), to visualize for the 1st time what I've only been able to read for years in the Bible and other historic accounts took my breath away. As far as the details are concerned, I'll only say ditto to the most recent online reviews and will go on to say that it's the 1st movie since the Passion to have me in tears from start to finish as Richard Harris, in my opinion, captured the Apostle's character, zeal, and passion for Christ. A masterpiece and a superb companion to the Passion of the Christ and/or the Gospel of John.