The Apostle - Collector's Edition
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Brother Paul Bagget, John Beasley, Lenore Banks, Mary Lynette Braxton, Todd AllenDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 134 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1998-08-19
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Universal Studios
Movie Reviews of The Apostle - Collector's Edition
Movie Review: Grace At Work
Summary: 5 Stars
A lot of people misunderstand this film because the title character is a mess, and they see it as a movie about Christian hypocrisy. But I think there's a deeper point to it. It is about a very flawed preacher, a man who cheats on his wife, who is violent, who blows it in a big way and then tries to reform himself. But as soon as temptation comes, he's right back to his old ways again. Then very subtly, a pattern begins to emerge. Through various circumstances, the man begins to recognize the consequences of his actions, and he begins to have a HEART change that accomplishes in him that reformation he was looking for. He sees a woman he was trying to seduce in the context of her family -- a family that looks very much like his own -- and his response tells us that his womanizing days are over. The first time he encounters an adversary, he beats the man into submission. The second time, he shows compassion, and the results are miraculous. Gradually, the man is led to a place of true repentance, a point of willingness to accept responsibility for his actions, and then, finally, he finds himself in a place where God can REALLY use his gift of ministry. It's subtle, just as God's work in real life is subtle, but those who know how God works will appreciate seeing this portrayal of the way he moves in the lives of men.
The movie was written, funded and produced by Robert Duvall, who as far as I know is not a Christian. He places his story in a Southern-style Pentecostal/Holiness church, so there are a few controversial issues, such as the ongoing ministry of apostles. But it's not trying to sell that particular theology so much as portray it in the context of the story. The movie stars people like June Carter Cash, and many of the extras were real preachers and worshippers in churches across the South.
My favorite scene is one where the man is pacing his bedroom in the middle of the night yelling at God because things aren't going the way he'd like. There's a powerful intimacy in that moment, the guy isn't just folding his hands and saying an "If it be thy will" prayer that he doesn't really feel. He's laying his heart out before God and confessing his anger. That is REAL prayer, the kind that changes lives, because when we stop hiding our hearts and open up to him, that's when he can really begin to work in us.
As a Christian and a movie fan, I rate this movie five out of five. Yes, there are some flaws, but the quality of the writing, the acting, and production are awesome for an independent film, and if the message is a little too subtle for some, well, God's message never does pound people over the head.
Summary of The Apostle - Collector's Edition
Written, directed, and personally financed by Robert Duvall, The Apostle was the culmination of a 14-year effort on the part of its creator, who also stars as the dynamic, God-fearing Texas preacher Euliss "Sonny" Dewey. Vibrantly authentic with its use of real gospel preachers and extras carefully selected from parishes of the deep South, the film treats its complicated characters with the kind of compassion and moral complexity mainstream Hollywood wouldn't dare muster. This is especially true in the case of Sonny, who responds to his wife's infidelity with a crime of passion that sends him on a new and uncharted quest for redemption. Under the assumed identity of "The Apostle E.F.," he settles in a tiny Louisiana town to revive an old church, where he undergoes a transformation of spirit and purpose that enlivens his community. But will the law catch up to him? Does he deserve to be punished? Fueled by Duvall's powerhouse performance, The Apostle refuses to praise or condemn its fascinating central character, leaving the proper degree of forgiveness up to the viewer. Further graced with superb performances by Farrah Fawcett, Miranda Richardson, and Billy Bob Thornton, the film is clearly Duvall's labor of love. The Collector's Edition DVD features a full-length commentary by Duvall and The Journey of the Apostle, a documentary featurette about the making of the film. --Jeff Shannon
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