The Shoes of the Fisherman (film)
The Shoes of the Fisherman | |
---|---|
Directed by | Michael Anderson |
Screenplay by | John Patrick James Kennaway |
Based on | The Shoes of the Fisherman by Morris West |
Produced by | George Englund |
Starring | Anthony Quinn Oskar Werner David Janssen Vittorio De Sica Leo McKern John Gielgud Laurence Olivier |
Cinematography | Erwin Hillier |
Music by | Alex North |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 162 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $6.7 million[1] |
The Shoes of the Fisherman is a 1968 American epic political drama film directed by Michael Anderson, based on Morris West’s 1963 novel of the same name about Vatican and Cold War politics. The film stars Anthony Quinn, Oskar Werner, David Janssen, Vittorio De Sica, Leo McKern, John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier.
The film was released by
Plot
During the height of the
He is sent to Rome, where the elderly
When the
The evening after his election, Pope Kiril, with the help of his valet Gelasio, sneaks out of the Vatican and explores the city of Rome dressed as a simple priest. By chance, he encounters Dr. Ruth Faber, who is in a troubled marriage with Rome-based television journalist George Faber.
A major secondary plot in the film is the Pope's relationship with controversial theologian, philosopher and scientist Father Telemond. The Pope becomes Telemond's close personal friend, but to his deep regret, in his official capacity, he must allow the
Later, the Pope returns to the Soviet Union, dressed in civilian clothing, to meet privately with Kamenev and
Cast
- Anthony Quinn as Cardinal Kiril Pavlovich Lakota, later Pope Kiril I
- Laurence Olivier as Piotr Ilyich Kamenev
- Oskar Werner as Fr. David Telemond
- David Janssen as George Faber
- Barbara Jefford as Dr. Ruth Faber
- Vittorio De Sica as Cardinal Rinaldi
- Leo McKern as Cardinal Leone
- John Gielgud as Pope Pius XIII
- Burt Kwouk as Chairman Peng
- Frank Finlay as Igor Bounin
- Arnoldo Foà as Gelasio
- Rosemary Dexter as Chiara
- Paul Rogers as Augustinian Prelate
- Clive Revill as Vucovich
- Niall MacGinnis as Capuchin Friar
- Marne Maitland as Cardinal Rahamani
- Marchesa
- Gerald Harper as Brian
- Leopoldo Trieste as Dying Man's Friend
- Peter Copley as English Cardinal
Production
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer purchased the film rights in 1964 and the production was assigned to George Englund who was to write the screenplay with Morris West.[2] (Englund was also making Dark of the Sun for the studio.)[3]
Anthony Quinn was announced as the star of the film relatively early. The original director was to be British director Anthony Asquith, but he became ill in November 1967 (and eventually died a few months later) and was replaced by Michael Anderson.[4]
Englund asked for technical advice from the Vatican but received no permission to film there, so places like the Sistine Chapel had to be recreated.[5]
The papal tiara used for the coronation scene in the film is modeled after Pope Paul VI's papal tiara.
The ending of the film was changed from the book. Morris West said:
Structurally speaking I've always thought The Shoes of the Fisherman was one of my weaker books. It wanders too much. The script for the film is tighter, more direct and I think it says in a stronger way part of what I wanted to say in the novel. We've come to a point in history where men – black or white, Marxist or capitalist, Christian or non Christian – are going to have to make a choice. They're either going to have to commit themselves to an act of love for each other or an act of hate for each other. Men on each side have to say: "Look we're all brothers. Why do we kill each other in the streets? Don't let's drop the atomic bomb. Let's talk for one hour more." Today this is the real triumph of good over evil. It's what I've tried to put into the last speech for the film.[6]
Morris West said he spent months working on a scene where Telemond was questioned by the Inquisition. He says eventually the scene worked "but only because I raised hell after finding that it had been altered by the actors with the consent of the director. I argued that it destroyed the theological validity of the plot in violation of contractual obligations between the studio and me." West says that "By the end of the film the accumulation of the variations was such that I took my name off the script." This made him reluctant to sell "anything other than a thriller or a very simple story to the movies again" because of the way Hollywood "tends to distort the underlying philosophy and theology of anything that can't easily be shaped for the screen."[7]
Reception
The film was the sixth most popular movie at the Australian box office in 1969.[8] It was still a notable box-office disappointment.[9] The escalating production costs of this film, along with Ice Station Zebra at the same time, led to the transfer of MGM President Robert O'Brien to chairman of the board, but he resigned this position in early 1969 after both films were released and failed to recoup their costs.
Alex North was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Score and George Davis and Edward Carfagno were nominated for Best Art Direction.[10]
The Shoes of the Fisherman holds a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on seven reviews.[11]
References
- ^ "Metro-Goldwyn Omits Dividend; O' Brien Resigns: Board Cites Possible Loss Of Up to $19 Million in The Current Fiscal Year Bronfman Named Chairman". The Wall Street Journal. May 27, 1969. p. 2.
- ProQuest 115588224.
- ProQuest 155007657.
- ProQuest 118209742.
- ProQuest 155824077.
- ^ La Badie, Don (May 5, 1968). "Pilgrimage to the Set of 'Shoes of a Fisherman': 'Shoes of a Fisherman'". Los Angeles Times. p. q1.
- ^ McDowell, Edwin (July 1, 1981). "PUBLISHING NOTEBOOK; Joseph Heller In Dispute With Simon & Schuster". The New York Times. p. C24.
- ^ "The World's Top Twenty Films". Sunday Times. London. 27 September 1970: 27. Accessed 5 April 2014.
- ^ "MGM Had Loss Of $2.5 Million In First Period: Substantial Write-Offs' Are Taken on Certain Films; Revenue and Rentals Drop Firm Had Year-Earlier Profit". The Wall Street Journal. January 13, 1969. p. 10.
- ^ "The Shoes of the Fisherman". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. June 8, 2011. Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
- ^ "The Shoes of the Fisherman". Rotten Tomatoes.