IMDb RATING
7.2/10
8.3K
YOUR RATING
The biographical story of Michelangelo's troubles while painting the Sistine Chapel at the urging of Pope Julius II.The biographical story of Michelangelo's troubles while painting the Sistine Chapel at the urging of Pope Julius II.The biographical story of Michelangelo's troubles while painting the Sistine Chapel at the urging of Pope Julius II.
- Nominated for 5 Oscars
- 3 wins & 9 nominations total
Fortunato Arena
- Pope's Bodyguard
- (uncredited)
Lars Bloch
- Baron Von Silenen
- (uncredited)
Angelo Boscariol
- Papal Guard
- (uncredited)
Calisto Calisti
- Physician
- (uncredited)
Amerigo Castrighella
- Quarry cart assistant
- (uncredited)
Anita Ceccotti
- Woman Under the Chapel
- (uncredited)
Enrico Chiappafreddo
- Tavern Customer
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe book on which this movie is based covers the entire life of Michelangelo Buonarroti. This movie based on a single chapter. One of the shortest, if not the shortest, in the entire book.
- GoofsAs shown in the movie, Michelangelo created a flat wooden platform on brackets built out from holes in the wall, high up near the top of the windows. But contrary to what is depicted in the film, he did not lie on this scaffolding while he painted, but painted from a standing position.
- ConnectionsEdited from Prologue: The Artist Who Did Not Want to Paint (1965)
Featured review
I would be more generous than Maltin was with this one. I watched it again recently on tape and my impression improved over my first viewing. The production values are sumptuous, and the construction of a 1:1 mockup of the Sistine Chapel by Dino deLaurentis is a story in itself, evidently. Heston is pretty good as Michelangelo but is, I think, overshadowed by Harrison, who is just marvelous as Pope Julius (a previous commenter remarked on the historically inauthentic absence of his beard; in addition, Julius was too old & infirm too ride a horse into battle, but insisted on leading while carried on a litter). The conflicted interplay between Julius & Michelangelo is the core of the film, of course, and the script does its job well in this regard, particularly in the closing dialogue. It is interesting, though, to see how the movie dances around the issue of Michelangelo's purported homosexuality. We are so much more frank today (not necessarily for the better), and one shudders to consider how a contemporary movie would treat this subject (not that there's a chance in hell of a major movie being made today on the subject of the creation of one of the masterworks of the West's artistic inheritance). If any movie definitely needs the letterbox format to show it off at its best, it is this one, so watch for it on TMC where it is often shown that way.
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Irving Stone's The Agony and the Ecstasy
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $10,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 18 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.20 : 1
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