La grande missione

As another LDS viewer, I also like the film and find its hollywoodization of facts far less disturbing than say those of Stone's JFK. That said, I feel inclined to re-correct three facts that another LDS viewer pointed out. 1) While Joseph Smith was falsely imprisoned many times during his life, at the time of his murder he was under arrest, pending trial, for an offense he DID commit -- namely his ordering the destruction of the press of an opposition newspaper in Nauvoo. 2) While the slender 2/3rds majority of Nauvoo mormons did side with Brigham after Joseph's murder, roughly a third did not and scattered to the winds. And the issue of succession was by no means decided upon Joseph's death. It was nip and tuck, with several contenders vying for the crown, until Brigham's legendary 'immaculate impersonation' speech at conference. 3) I thought Vincent Price's portrayal of Joseph Smith was pretty good -- charismatic and visionary, somewhat other-worldly, but what do you expect.

I noticed that a few of the comments above mentioned that Vincent Price was a strange pick, or "over the top," or whatever, as Joseph Smith.

Before seeing the film, I also thought that seeing Vincent Price as Joseph Smith was a bit odd, but as others have said, this is because of the many *later* horror/thriller films he appeared in.

"Brigham Young," by IMDb's count, was only Price's *seventh* film, and at the time, I'm confident that he had not yet cemented his "creepy" persona.

Generally, though, I echo what has been written-- not completely accurate (what historical film is?) but characters are portrayed fairly and the film was entertaining.

Fox's epic telling of one a America's greatest pioneering efforts comes to DVD with some truly outstanding "Extras". BRIGHAM YOUNG (The "Frontiersman" was added for the European release), telling the story the great pioneer leader, who under inspiration brought members of the Mormon faith (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)out to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, after mobs murdered their prophet/leader, Joseph Smith (played by Vincent Price), was brought to the screen in 1940, just as America was about to enter World War II. It was a daring move on Fox chief, Darryl F. Zanuck and it was a breath of fresh air to the Mormon people, as this was the first film attempt to favorably show their faith on the screen. Now Fox, working with James D'Arc, curator of the excellent Motion Picture Archives at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, has brought this film to the DVD format in an outstading edition. Mr. D'Arc, who some years ago did his doctoral dissertation on the film, has provided one of the most in depth commentary tracks ever done for a DVD. He seperates the fact from the fiction and lets listeners understand why this films was so much appreciated by Church Leaders even though embellishments to the truth run throughout the film. One of the fun bits of information deals with Dean Jagger, the actor who plays the title role. Many years after the film he married a Latter-saint woman and was eventually converted to the LDS faith. There is much to be learned from D'Arc's knowledge and it is great to have this as part of the DVD! There are over 100 pictures from the Fox & BYU Archives included on the disc, plus newsreel footage of the incredible premiere at seven theatres in Salt Lake City. Thanks FOX for another outstanding DVD -- and thank you, James D'Arc for your great commentary!

Hollywood cannot do justice to History, but this was not a bad attempt. As a Mormon, I found it tastefully done and essentially accurate. The cast was great. Of course, many details were missing or changed, but that is the nature of history and this movie did a good job of portraying the emotions that bring history alive.

Mormons like myself generally love this movie for three reasons: 1) It does not persecute us; 2) It shows the historic significance of the Mormon movement; 3) The film itself is superbly acted and directed.

HOWEVER, there are some major historical inaccuracies. For one thing, Joseph Smith never got a trial. He was murdered in jail by a mob of nearly 200. He turned himself in, despite false charges, in order to prevent a battle between the persecuting mobs and the persecuted Mormons. The young (pre-ghoulish)Vincent Price does a good job portraying the humble and kind Joseph Smith. For the most part, Dean Jagger portrays Brigham Young wonderfully. However, he was not in Illinois when Joseph and Hyrum Smith were martyred. He was serving a mission in Boston. But he and Joseph had long discussed that they would one day go to the Rockies, and that Brigham (an Apostle) would one day replace Joseph as Prophet.

The film, for dramatic purposes, portrays Brigham as struggling for inspiration and revelation. All historic accounts of him reveal that he was one of the most inspired religious and social leaders of all time, and that he had perfect confidence in what he was doing.

There is also an overemphasis on desenters within the thousands of Mormons who went west to Utah. There were some, but the majority loved Brother Brigham and felt inspired in what they were doing, which was leaving to build a home for peace and religious freedom.

Also, the Mormons did not flee the day Joseph Smith was killed, nor did they leave in a hail of bullets. It was nearly two years before they actually left Illinois for Utah. They were also not a scruffy bunch as portrayed by a few of the actors, but for the most part were refined and benevolent people, not given to rowdiness.

Despite all this, you still find the film on sale in Mormon bookstores.This is because it is overall a well-made film about an important part of America's make-up. By the way, Dean Jagger became a Mormon later in life. Actor Moroni Olson was a Mormon all his life, born in Utah, appearing in 100 feature films.