The Body
|
List Price: Our Price: $7.96 You Save: $2.03 (20%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $1.43 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Body
Movie Review: excellent service
Summary: 5 Stars
moviemars had a great price for this dvd, and their delivery was very prompt. what more can a consumer ask for?Movie Review: The Body - Antonio Banderas - Review
Summary: 5 Stars
Good Movie, delivered promply, in good condition. Movie is new.
five stars for provider
Movie Review: What if Christ Were Just an Ordinary man?
Summary: 4 Stars
I have passed this DVD on the shelves at my local video store countless times. I thought it was a thriller and well, Antonio Banderas in a lead role? I continued to pass it over. Finally, I read a review on this movie and got some insight into the plot (thanks to top reviewer Carol Irvin). The movie is a great big "What-If" concerning the vailidity of Christ. Now I must say up front...I do study different religions, but as a Christian myself, this movie was more than just thought provoking, it stirred some really scary emotions within me. I feel it necessary to warn those out there who get nervous about religious artifacts and the scandals over gene testing such things...this movie can be a really difficult to watch. Be cautious. The premise of the movie begins with a young archeologist, played by Olivia Williams opening a tomb in Jersalem, which appears at first glance to be the tomb of the risen Christ. (gotta be up on your Bible to follow what is going on here). The tomb is that of a rich man, and the bed lay empty as dipicted the way it should be from scriptures. A coin is found on the floor that is dated to 32 A.D. - the exact date of Christ's burial. At first glance, this seems to be the holy tomb of Christ himself...a most miraculous discovery for the Christian Faith. There is just one major problem. The back wall of the tomb is not original to the outer tomb. The wall is removed and there lies the skeletal remains of a man who has been crucified, and laid to rest.
From this point on, the movie changes beat. The Vatican and other politicians get involved. Tests are done and it seems the closer they come to figuring out if it is the unrisen body of Christ, Holy wars begin to break out. The basic question to this movie is to ask yourself (no matter what your religion or faith)...what happens to all if this is found to be the bones of Jesus Christ? If Christ and God were one, what will all of humanity feel at the expense of determining the identity of the body. Antonio Banderas is believable and gives a surprising performance as the Vatican's undercover priest sent to investigate the tomb. The movie moves more quickly than I imagined and has a great shock ending. I can see this movie being an exceptional, emotional ride for someone of any faith. Be prepared to be shaken up by this movie...it was definitely worth my time.
Movie Review: Surprised by treatment of religious material
Summary: 4 Stars
First, let me say in response to some of the other reviews here that the movie does come to a resolution on whether "the body" is actually Christ. You have to pay close attention near the end, but the resolution is there, and it is quite definite.
As a Christian and deeply religious man, I came to this movie with rather low expectations. Most of the time such movies treat religion and faith rather superficially. Maybe it was because of my low expectations, but I came away from this movie quite surprised. It treats the Christian faith with a great deal of respect, even in the midst of posing a difficult question. It is amazing to me that someone in Hollywood understood faith enough to create the character Antonio Banderas plays. Of course, a great deal of this comes from Antonio himself. His emotions and responses were truly authentic and genuine. At least, when I imagine myself in his place, I believe I would have responded similarly.
Because this movie is set in Israel, it had to wade through much more than Christian faith. Movies set in the Middle East tend to either become one dimensional or gloss over the many complicated issues. Now, I am not familiar with life in Israel these days - except for what I see in the media, which I suspect does not portray life there with much accuracy - so I cannot know if the movie handled all these other issues with as much respect as it handled the issue of faith. Of course, no movie could go into such complicated conflicts with much detail, there just isn't time - so, in my mind, the key is not so much depth, but respect of the subject. However, it did seem to me that the movie avoided stereotyping the main characters. By this I mean it didn't make all Jews the same, all Arabs the same, and all Christians the same. The main characters were each their own person. You see this near the end when the shopkeeper gives his life to defend the archeologist.
I give this movie 4 stars because it was thought provoking to me, and I was pleasantly surprised by the content. I cannot give it 5 stars as the technical quality of the film does not warrant it. At times it has the feel of a low budget film.
Movie Review: CRISP FILM ABOUT FAITH & SCIENCE
Summary: 4 Stars
I'd take issue with the reviewers here who have said that The Body was just a fuzzy muddle of religion and theology. There is nothing quite shimmering about any ONE element of the movie, not Banderas, not Olivia Williams. It is the whole premise, and the thought-provoking + sensibly handled storyline that carries the movie. It is not a doozy spin. Everything from archaelogical science to the Gospels to the Bible to Talmud (Orthodox) makes into the intelligent dialog, and there are points where you can savor some pithy but patient debate.
At one point in the movie, a publisher of a theological journal says "Religion is not based on a rational system of facts. It is driven by human needs." Such is unfortunately the nature of the beast, this is why movies with textured topical themes (such as The Life of David Gale) do not ring at the boxoffice.
It is easy to see why this did not do well with ordinary international audiences -- it braces difficult questions. To add to its woes, it was released around the touchy times of 2001 when Israel/Palestine/Christianity was the last thing that the world was interested in.
Overall, although the movie meanders a little in the second half, it does a fantastic job of illustrating the fear and loathing that is rife in our world today, and how very trivial some of these issues really are. Still, millions hang by these simple notions. Maybe open-mindedness is what is needed to appreciate this movie for what it was intended to be.
The only minor grouse I have was the rushed, half-baked denouement. Kind of killed the beauty of the movie as a whole.
Oh, and it is also an action movie. Action against breath-taking backdrops of Jerusalem.
Highly recommended!