The Apocalypse

While banished to the island of Patmos, "St. John" (played by Richard Harris) receives visions from the Lord which results in his writing the "Book of Revelation". However, this is not a movie about "the Apocalypse". Rather, this film is more about his life on Patmos and his visions than anything else. I say this for several reasons. First, the event called "the Apocalypse" isn't constrained to just the "Book of Revelation". The fact is that much of what we know about this subject also comes from the "Book of Daniel" and the "Gospel of Matthew" along with various passages from other books in the Bible as well. Because of this, there were many passages about the Apocalypse which were left out of the film. Along with that, those passages that were included weren't explained well at all. Further, like so many other Biblical movies, there are some non-Biblical elements thrown in for dramatic effect. In this particular case it involves a beautiful Christian woman named "Irene" (Vittoria Belvedere) and a Roman spy by the name of "Valerius" (Benjamin Sadler). So basically, if you're looking for a film about the Apocalypse then it might be better to look elsewhere. However, thanks to a very fine performance by Richard Harris, this movie is still somewhat enjoyable all the same and can safely be recommended to anybody of any faith. That said, I rate it as slightly above average.

Not the worst movie. Not the greatest movie ever. A good movie. It has a an okay story line. It has great acting. This is a good movie. 10 out of 10 is overrating it. But still will say it is 6 out of 10.

I was blown away when I happened upon this film while channel surfing on TV. Richard Harris is tremendous. The story captured my attention immediately.

The biblical and historical underpinning of this account seems as solid as a rock. The account of what happened to John on Patmos is engrossing and whether based wholly on historical research or or embellished by the author's imagination, I believe it is close to what actually occurred. I highly recommend this film to all believers. I hope to find it on DVD.

I also found the other actors in this film to be outstanding, especially the actress playing Irene and the actor playing Valerius.

Apocalypse is inspiring. Don't miss it.

Without the addition to Richard Harris to the movie, the movie would never have been made. With that, San Giovanni would still be trying to sell his script to a religious market. Still, without Harris, the movie is very good. The production value and story are worthy of a straight to video release. One of Richard Harris' last movies, you can tell it was since he dies at the end of the movie. Gladiator, Caesar, and about 5 other films all have Richard Harris dying during the movie. The same goes for his role as John the Apostle. A brilliant performance like much of his work, Harris carries the film as he speaks of his visions in Revelations. Not too much is said of Titus in 90 AD. This is the story of John and his journey in the last years of his life.

Richard Harris's moving performance is the centerpiece of this film, in which members of the early church, struggling for faith and reassurance in the face of violent persecution, are searching for John the Beloved, last of the living apostles, who is "hiding in plain sight" on the prison island of Patmos. However, don't ignore some very good performances by several of the others. The visions of John are depicted judiciously, considering the CGI available in 2000 and the budget (that is, they don't scream "made-for-TV"); the montages do not try to show every detail but give a general idea of the visions. To watch this is a good adjunct to reading Revelation, to remind one that these fantastic visions came to a real person in a very chaotic time.