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Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9780790746135
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered, Special Edition, NTSC
ISBN: 0790746131
Label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Release Date: March 07, 2000
Running Time: 162 minutes
Sales Rank: 11164
Studio: Warner Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: November 14, 1968
Editorial Review:
Description:
All eyes are focused on the Vatican, hoping to see the traditional puffs of white smoke that signal the selection of the next Pope. But this time, much more is at stake. The new pontiff may be the only person who can bring peace to a world hovering on the edge of nuclear nightmare. Year: 1968 Director: Michael Anderson Starring: Anthony Quinn, Oskar Werner, David Janssen, Vittorio De Sica, Leo McKern, Sir John Gielgud
Amazon.com:
If you find during the 160-minute running time of The Shoes of the Fisherman that you don't like the plot, wait 10 minutes. It will surely change and there will be another story thread to entice you. The screenplay is literally all over the map: Siberia, where Archbishop Kiril Lakota, played splendidly by Anthony Quinn, has been exiled to a work camp in the oppressive Soviet regime; Moscow, where a genially scene-chewing Laurence Olivier plays a Soviet ruler with history with Lakota; China, where famine threatens to bring the world of the late '60s to the brink of World War III; and Rome, where Lakota travels after being freed (and where dissolute reporter David Janssen does his best to groove on the Swinging Sixties). Yet despite its flaws, the movie's central drama is riveting: the current Pope dies suddenly, and for a good bit of the film, viewers are treated to the Vatican's inner workings on the election of a new Pope. The events unfold at a leisurely pace, which allows you to drink in the spectacle and wonder of the ancient traditions. The Alex North Oscar-nominated score is lovely, and Quinn's performance is the somber-with-a-humble-twinkle glue that holds the film together. Anyone interested in the traditions and rituals of the Vatican will find plenty to savor. --A.T. Hurley
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A Film Classic
Although some of this film is quite dated. It still is quite an enteraining work of fiction that on many levels is an MGM Classic.
Many folks think this film was prophetic in a few ways. Anthony Quinn as usual delivers a brilliant performace, The rest of the cast including
Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir John Gielgud, and Leo McKern of the "Rumpole of the Bailey" fame all shine in their parts. It is a little wierd to hear
Laurence Olivier trying to sound like a Russian Preimer, but he ... Read More
Rating: - Good lesson on having faith
Great story about searching for one's personal faith and connection to God in a vastly difficult world. Great lesson on graciously remaining strong in your faith, while still respecting others' faiths and beliefs, and learning how to work together to help others in need.
Rating:  - First-rate presentation of a classic
Not much I can add to the many reviews here already. It's a very good movie, superbly acted and directed. If some of the plot elements seem a bit forced, hang in there -- they bring it all together before the end.
A few notes for the technically inclined:
The disc contains all of the original "roadshow" elements, including the overture, intermission and entre' act music.
The anamorphic picture preserves the full 2.4:1 aspect ratio of the original 35mm Panavision ... Read More
Rating:  - Laudable but long
On the plus side, this film presents thoughtful characters in an understatedly epic scenario. It also has several very nice moments. However, the film is released at an epic length (with intermission provided on the disc) that doesn't necessarily add to its impact. Many details are included about the Vatican lifestyle being portrayed, and yet although these details are not without interest, I wonder whether they really needed such emphasis to be able to serve the story's themes.
(spoiler alert) ... Read More
Rating: - Movie predicts John-Paul's election
I saw "The Shoes of the Fisherman when it first came out in 1968 / 69. It didn't receive that much acclaim at the time, and there are places in the film where the storyline stalls a little. What has renewed interest in this movie about the election of a Russian Pope is the fact that it came out just ten years before the election of Pope John-Paul II. Who could have guessed in 1968 that a bishop from a communist country would be elected the supreme pontiff of the Universal Church?
The cast reads like ... Read More
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