Product ReviewsThe Agony and the Ecstasy (DVD, 2005, Bilingual)

Gay Artist Michelangelo Paints the Sistine Chapel

Charlton Heston plays one of the world's most famous gay artists of the Renaissance, Michelangelo (1475-1564). That casting of a modern day gay basher into a gay artist and sculpture in and of itself is ironic and amusing, especially since this is supposed to be a Catholic focused film!

Irving Stone composed the pseudo-biography of Michelangelo's entire life (of course, leaving out the gay history involved) with the film focusing instead upon Michelangelo's famous 5 years of painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling and nearly going blind for doing upside down painting on a scaffolding; the toxic ceiling and paint stuff falling in his eyes. Scenes that are world renowned like that of Adam and God nearly touching fingers is Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling creation and timeless religious interpretive art.

Pope Julius II is played by none other than Rex Harrison. He is an impatient pope who begs to know of Michelangelo, "when will you make a finish?," repeatedly throughout the show. The aging pope doesn't want to die before the Chapel ceiling is done and credited to him! The tension between the two men is played with artful finesse by both marvelous actors in their prime.

Of course, Pope Julius II has commissioned Michelangelo to do the Sistine Chapel ceiling in order to make a long lasting name for himself, quite self-centeredly. Michelangelo is a genuine artist who is being mused by spirituality. This fact is also quite amusing: a pope being self-centered, and an artist being spiritually-centered. That back-fired, as history has shown, since Michelangelo made his own name doing the Sistine masterpiece, which is still visited today by the many as one of the most historical religious relics. The hidden gay history is lost as it was left entirely out of the film.

When you know Michelangelo's true life history, Heston breaks all gay stereotypes while Pope Julius II (Harrison) tends to play them out in queerly queenly fashion! That underlying subtopic is rather amusing to consider while viewing the old film, turned now into DVD format.Read full review...

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