Antigone/Rites of Passion

I could not stand more than 20 minutes of this travesty. The movie reminded me of a high school modern dance recital. After watching the movie for five minutes you realize that the dancers, yes dancers, go through the same movements over and over again. They aren't even good dancers. There are no actors, there is a voice-over telling what is going on as the `dancers' writhe. Sophocle's poetry is jettisoned for the voice over. Maybe the movie gets better, but I could not stand any more.

I was forced to watch this movie in my English class after reading the play Antigone, and while the story itself is a classic, the movie is by far the most horrifying thing in the world. I'm a highly opinionated and talkative person, this movie left me absolutely speechless. I can't describe how horrible it is, just that it's enough to make anyone who dares watch it have nightmares for years to come. The effects are horrible, there was blood when there shouldn't have been, and there was no acting--just a bunch of monkeys moving around to a narration that held no emotion. The costuming is atrocious as well, because there was black leather and a Rolex on one character while the others wore colorful tunics and togas.

In short: don't waste your time with this abomination if you can help it.

This is the most inspiring and brilliantly made movie of all time. This ranks next to Jaws, Forest Gump, and Gone With the Wind. This first time director rivals the work of the legendary Stephen Spielberg. If you do not see this movie, a part of your soul is missing. The interpretive dance was a brilliant resource for artistic ability. The incestuous groping really authenticates the Greek lifestyle and times. The leaving of Anigone's blind father in the barren forest really pulls at your heartstrings. I absolutely loved the fight between the two Greek warriors. This scene shows the internal conflict and sexual confusion through the aggressive and passionate fight/dance motions. I loved this movie!!! The music was also absolutely astounding! Buy this soundtrack!!!!

I viewed this film with my freshman theatre arts class and after taking a vote they all rated it a 1 on a scale of 10. These students have been studying Antigone extensively for 8 weeks and had nothing positive to say about it. They found the choreography to be poor, the use of voice over confusing and the music disturbing. They had trouble following the story, even though they have been dissecting Sophocles' words for weeks. To quote my students, "It was a poor excuse for an adaptation of a great play." "The director is apparently on crack" For viewers that are trying to understand the story of Antigone, this film only served to confuse them rather than clarify.

We watched this film in English class as a joke. This is one of the worst "films" I have ever seen and is so bad that you can watch the entire thing in fast-forward mode and not miss a single detail. The dancers are writhing. The dancers are rolling around in the dirt. The dancers are groping each other histrionically. Repeat.