San Pietro

at first sigh- a biblical movie as many others. at the second - a touching story who gives to Omar Sharif the opportunity to build a special character, exploring its nuances, proposing a different Peter, using sensitivity for create not only the image of the Apostle but, more important, powerful silence's slices. a film who not convince but reminds. a film about mission, duty, choice and sacrifice. the delicacy of Peter's portrait is the great virtue of a film who propose a different manner to discover Jesus. a film about purpose of life, it is almost a kind of poem. for its music, for landscapes and for the role of nuances. interesting. and useful. powerful. and seductive. a film who reminds the old art of Omar Sharif in inspired manner.

THE PROS OF THIS MOVIE: All-star cast line-up: Omar Shariff, Flavio Insinna, Lina Sastri, Milena Miconi. The legendary Omar Shariff gives a magnificent performance as Saint Peter, and this is the FIRST film that I ever saw him act. His final scene in the film is extremely touching. Flavio Insinna shines as David, the Roman slave Gladiator fighting for his family's freedom. It's always a joy to see him act in a fatherly role. His interaction with the children is extremely heartwarming, and his scenes with his wife, Anna, are beautiful. Omar and Flavio's scenes together is wonderful. Their interaction has such chemistry which really brings out the best in this film. Lina Sastri and Milena Miconi, who also worked with Flavio respectively in Don Bosco and Don Matteo, played their parts superbly. Lina's performance as the Virgin Mary was impeccable, and Milena Miconi, who I almost didn't recognize, because of her red hair dyed black, beautifully portrayed Mary Magdalene.

THE CONS OF THIS MOVIE: First, the movie's 197 minutes long, and usually I don't have an attention span past 2 hours. Second, Flavio doesn't appear until the second half of the film, and he's like the third person listed in the credits, which is the only reason why I even bothered to watch this film. Third, Flavio, Lina and Milena's voices were all DUBBED!!!!! The whole point of me watching this film was to hear Flavio's NATURAL voice!!!!! They hired some macho voice-over to dub Flavio's voice.

Overall, the movie is wonderful to watch, but some scenes they could've done without. The actor who portrayed Jesus was fantastic. This was an excellent production done by Rai and Lux Vide.

As a fan of Omar Sheriff, I was delighted to find this 2005 film in which he portrays a confused, penitent and endearing Peter. Yes, the film is long. But the length enables us to get to know the early followers of Jesus that are named in the Gospels/Acts. And we meet other imagined followers with whom we can identify in experiencing their fears and frustrations. The vast array of characters can become somewhat confusing since they are intermixed with events depicted in biblical stories through flashbacks into differing time periods. But the whole film succeeds in drawing us into the personal challenges of the earliest Christians.

A remarkable realistic portrayal of the life of St. Peter by the brilliant actor Omar Sharif. Also follows the conversion and ministry of St. Paul. Recounting well the struggles and trials of early Christians in the Roman Empire. The film takes one from the crucifixion of Jesus Christ to the execution of St. Paul and eventual crucifixion of St. Peter. Exceptionally well directed and acted by all characters. Sharif is convert to Islam from having been raised a Coptic Christian. One may only speculate how this deeply moving Christian role has affected him personally. Sadly, some intolerant Muslims are calling for his death for appearing in this religious role. Highly recommended film for people of all faiths and persuasions.

Omar Sharif is excellent in this biblical epic as Saint Peter. He is shown from the beginning as an early follower of Jesus of Nazareth. The script is faithful to the New Testament description of Peter's life as the orignal founder of Christianity. It runs a bit too long at over three and a half hours but EWTN ran it over the span of two Saturdays. The scenery is breathtaking and the acting good throughout. Sharif is perfectly suited for the role. I recommend this film for even lapsed Catholics such as myself.