I enjoyed The Robe, it had a very strong first half but was let down by an uneven latter half. Richard Burton's performance was similar: at times highly engaging & magnetic, at others over-the-top & not credible. Overall a worth-watching 6/10.
Now I've also enjoyed Its sequel, but for different reasons: Demetrius and the Gladiators lacks the high points of The Robe, but also lacks the lows. It's a consistent 6/10 throughout. While Victor Mature's presence can't compare to Burton as a leading man, his film does have a more decent pace and goes for action over philosphising. Both film's styles have their place. As a back-to-back viewing (in the manner of a 3-and-a-half hour epic) it's a fair companion to similar pictures like Cleopatra and Quo Vadis. But not close to the likes of a Ben Hur.
DVD-PAL note: in my review of The Robe I mentioned another uneven aspect: Jay Robinson's role as Caligula: praising the actor's body-language but off-put by his grating voice. He gets more prominence in the sequel, and fares better even tho' he plays it the same way. Reason being I watched the PAL-DVD this time with pitch-correction to offset the 4%-pitchup. This really helped Jay's voice sound more natural and suitable! Still 'grating' (he is playing a slimey grating character, after all), but in a good way rather than jarring. As intended.
Note on the classic-era Epic biblical/ancient-history genre: this year I'm meaning to watch most of the notable ones. So far I've done:
Anything from 6/10 is worth watching in my book, so no big disappointments so far. John Huston's The Bible a surprising standout...astonishing movie! More to come: Spartacus, Barabbas, The Message, Fall of the Roman Empire and a few others.
This is a genre of film that has aged well, and one modern efforts often fail to match.
Now I've also enjoyed Its sequel, but for different reasons: Demetrius and the Gladiators lacks the high points of The Robe, but also lacks the lows. It's a consistent 6/10 throughout. While Victor Mature's presence can't compare to Burton as a leading man, his film does have a more decent pace and goes for action over philosphising. Both film's styles have their place. As a back-to-back viewing (in the manner of a 3-and-a-half hour epic) it's a fair companion to similar pictures like Cleopatra and Quo Vadis. But not close to the likes of a Ben Hur.
DVD-PAL note: in my review of The Robe I mentioned another uneven aspect: Jay Robinson's role as Caligula: praising the actor's body-language but off-put by his grating voice. He gets more prominence in the sequel, and fares better even tho' he plays it the same way. Reason being I watched the PAL-DVD this time with pitch-correction to offset the 4%-pitchup. This really helped Jay's voice sound more natural and suitable! Still 'grating' (he is playing a slimey grating character, after all), but in a good way rather than jarring. As intended.
Note on the classic-era Epic biblical/ancient-history genre: this year I'm meaning to watch most of the notable ones. So far I've done:
- Ten Commandments, Cleopatra, Robe/Demetrius: all 6/10.
- Quo Vadis 7/10.
- Ben Hur 8/10.
- The Bible...in the Beginning 9/10.
Anything from 6/10 is worth watching in my book, so no big disappointments so far. John Huston's The Bible a surprising standout...astonishing movie! More to come: Spartacus, Barabbas, The Message, Fall of the Roman Empire and a few others.
This is a genre of film that has aged well, and one modern efforts often fail to match.