San Pietro

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.

After seeing the 1981 made for TV film PETER AND PAUL, I wondered if any one could match or remake the story of early Christianity as adequately as SAINT PETER. Omar Sharif wasn't as bad as Peter like in the other biblical films he was been in in recent years. Johannes Brandhupp's Christ was OK after a fine performance in the resurrection scenes.The background and music was great.They should of shown a little bit more about Peter's relationship with Jesus much before his crucifixion.If you liked this film, you should watch PAUL THE APOSTLE and also THE APOCALPYSIS(Richard Harris). RAI LUX-VIDE really knows how to do biblicals.

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.

I really enjoyed San Pieter. Omar Shariff is excellent and for me it's one of his best performances! Although not the best of movies technically, however this movie does portray the important aspects of St Peter and who this man was. Omar, although playing a Peter much older than the Peter in the Gospels, shows the passion and love he had for Jesus. And his desire to evangelize to the world. I saw the 2 hour version of Santa Pietro versus the 4 1/2 version but it covers the high pets of Peters journey from denier to evangelize. The other actors do a great job also. I think you will enjoy this movie.