The Cross and the Switchblade

The.Cross.And.The.Switchblade.1970.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

The Cross and the Switchblade was a huge, total disappointment. Whoever directed it should have been shot, sigh. The crazy people put the setting in the LATE 60's and made the kids all look like chubby little hippies with flowers in their hair. WRONG!!! they should have looked more like "West Side Story" hoodlums of the early 60's and late 50's. Pat Boone kept saying, "Would you shake the hand of a skinny preacher?" But when he turns sideways, his derrière looks anything but skinny. The casting is just poor, so poor. The movie follows the book, but just barely. The absolute worst scene was Nicky's conversion to Christianity. It would remind you of a toothpaste advertisement. Whoever made this movie surely couldn't have been a Christian and doesn't have a clue. Read the book, don't waste your time with the movie

I thought Erik Estrada did an excellant job, Once more I feel the movie has a great impact on one who is willing to watch it and see it for what it is. It's an inspiration to us all. Especially in this day when things are dark in the world. This movie tells of a light. This light is salvation

This movie is very spiritual and moving. For a low budget movie this comes across as very professional and mostly well acted. It goes on to show that belief in Jesus takes more guts than having cowardly self interest and hate in us. Great to see a movie that is not only a real positive message, but a fact, as I have met the real Nicky Cruise and know it is true.

All I want to say is that the message in this movie has changed many peoples lives,it is not the movie that has changed people in desperate situations,but the life changing Power of what happened on the cross on calvary 2000 years ago with a Man called Jesus Christ,Jesus Christ saves,can deliver a man from any bondage,heals and continues to.He can make the impossible possible... and that message is seen in this movie. Romans:3:23-24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans:4:25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

Let's face it: the screenplay, acting, et al, is horrendous. This was Erik Estrada's first foray into the big screen, and it's not as if the height of his work was exactly Oscar worthy! Having said that, the common criticism of this movie (that this movie is the product of some middle class suburbanite Christian fantasy) is just as horrendous as the movie itself. The movie, as bad as it is, is based on the true story of how fate brought together the unlikeliest pair of men. For those who don't know, both Wilkerson (played by Pat Boone) & Cruz (played by Estrada) have for the past 30-40 years made a very positive impact on the rich & poor alike in New York City, and all over the world. These are two men that in real life have used the power of faith & religion for good to help countless thousands that were previously hopeless. It's a great story of a clean cut & unworldly young white man from a small town in Pennsylvania that cuts through cultural barriers to reach a lost but gifted Latino from the barrios; it deserves a movie that re-tells it more worthily. However, it's just a shame that the movie was preachy, sure of itself, and terribly executed!

It may be wrong for me to comment on this film, because I've never actually seen it. However, my parents (for some strange reason) owned the soundtrack album. As a youngster I remember listening to it, and seeing the pictures on the album cover... and they scared me. I remember not wanting to grow up and be faced with drugs and gang fights (I had the childish notion that that's what the grown-up world must be like). In an era that tended to glamorize "free love", drugs and "doing your own thing", the frightening images from this album kept me from wanting anything to do with that lifestyle. I've heard that the film is very dated and poorly made (again, I haven't seen it, so I don't know...), but I'm grateful that it helped me to make some wise decisions growing up.

This is the best made amateur Christian film of all time! It is the true story of preacher David Wilkerson who felt called by God to go into the city to help the troubled gang members. The acting can be uneven at times but the direction was very well done. Eric Estrada is excellent as Nicky Cruz. The biggest problem with this production is the musical soundtrack. The story is very good even if the dialog is somewhat hokey. All in all a good solid entertaining film that should convert even the toughest of skeptics. It realistically deals with what life on the streets is all about. See this movie, you'll be glad you did!

This movie is based on a true story and based on the original book with same title. Niki Cruz is a living testimony of what he went through before, during and after the events on this film. David Wilkerson received a vision that he would end up in the slums of New York reaching out to gangsters and the like with the Jesus message and thats exactly where he ended up. The movie tries to show exactly what occurred back that day as written in the book. Yet the film is rather watered down. The movie doesn't seem to carry an intense dialog so it may prove hard to win over audiences. It does have some weak scenes and looks as though it may have been due a poor budget. Don't forget though the movie is simply an illustration of what really went on so you would watch it to grab a picture of the real events. By watching it this way it would prove to be an inspiring film, watch it any other way and you'd fall asleep.

One of the criteria by which I measure the quality of a movie is the ability for me to watch it again and again without the "you've seen it once, you've seen it" attitude. This is just such a movie... I can watch it and then a year later see it again and enjoy it just as much. This is an entertaining film that if it were not a true story, would seem contrived, but the fact that it is a true story only adds to the appeal of this film. Perhaps the only negative one might have to about this movie is the very dated style and soundtrack. Personally, I enjoy the "datedness" of this movie... kind of like aged fine wine, it just makes it better! If you see the movie then be sure to read the book "The cross and the switchblade" and to also read the book by Nicky Cruz called "Run baby run". Both can be found on Amazon.com and are even better than the movie.

I must say, this film really did amuse me for the 2 weeks it took to watch. We were shown it in our Religious Education lessons and it passed the time. With me not being overly religious, this film was more of a comedy than an educational film. For the religious among us, this contains some serious religious messages. However lines such as quoted above and the, "I'm gonna cut you preacher!", quote were just comical. It is really supposed to show the 70s culture well and quite frankly, I'm rather upset I wasn't around in that decade. My overall score of 4/10 is because personally it didn't do anything for me (apart from make me giggle), but does contain religious messages that are meaningful. There are also some good direction and action pieces involving extras.