The Robe

......dipped 'O' level Latin as a result and never got to university as in 1953 you needed 'O' level Latin or Greek to get accepted in even the the most modest Redbrick.My Divinity master was not placated when I offered slipping away to the "Odeon"as an excuse for my miserable failure to get my name on the school Honours Board alongside several of my more smug chums who were not movie fans.Ah for the road not taken.... It was not,perhaps,the wisest decision I ever made.Mr R.Burton,with his pretty curls and petulant mouth was nobody's idea of a Roman Tribune.His every line full of studied pauses as befits a young man who,try as he might,never entirely shook off his classical training. Miss J.Simmons seems lost as his sweetheart Diana,never bringing any authority to her role.Mr.V.Mature with a face like one of those very expensive Japanese dogs,is hopelessly at sea as Burton's slave,but suffers stoically with very little change of expression. The movie is long and very slow,suitably reverent,but,sadly dull as dishwater. "The Robe" is the sort of epic that gave epics a bad name.Leaving religious sensibilities aside the sub - plots are not exactly riveting and the actors seem overawed by the subject matter.Nobody looks even remotely natural wearing their costumes which all scream "Hollywood wardrobe dept."at you from their first appearance. I was disappointed in 1953 and I hated Latin so I daresay I would have skipped it anyway to listen to the Test Match on the school wireless,but then the Games Master wouldn't have been happy and he was not the sort of bloke you'd want to upset unless you wanted to do 100 sit - ups.I'd sooner have missed University I reckon.

I had mixed feelings watching the Robe. By all means it isn't a bad film, but it isn't great either. While there are some good things, there is a lot wrong with it as well. PROS: The plot about a Roman officer winning Christ's robe in a game of dice during the Crucifixion is a nice idea to work with and comes off decently on screen. The film for its time has nice production values, with lovely costumes and sets. The Robe is best known for the first film to be shot in CinemaScope, which was put to effective use here. The music is very good, and the acting is decent. There have been times when I have found Richard Burton wooden, but there have also been films like Nineteen Eighty Four where he has been remarkably good. Here, he does look handsome in Roman garb. Jean Simmons, rest in peace, has been better, but she looks lovely as Diana and does a decent job acting. Torin Thatcher is a marvellous Senator Gallio, while Jay Robinson is unforgettably melodramatic as Caligula. CONS: There are things wrong with this film, and unfortunately pacing comes at the top of this list. This is not the first film to suffer from this problem, but The Robe seems to move at only one speed which is slow and ponderous. The film is also very awkwardly directed by Henry Koster, and the dialogue ranges from adequate to laughable, as if the writer was being very careful in order not to offend. Victor Mature has a tendency to take it TOO seriously as Demetrius, and in a rather uneven performance it shows. There are also parts where the action and romantic subplot are a little unconvincing and where some scenes are overlong. Overall, worth watching in general but I don't necessarily recommend it. 5/10 Bethany Cox

This is a classic. I mean a real classic. If you seek logic then you will be disappointed beyond belief. Marclellus( a fictional character) is in love with Diana(another fictional character). Do you know who wants to marry Diana? Caligula himself. Now Marcellus as he is the hero of the film angers Caligula and so Caligula sends him to Jerusalem as Jerusalem is Iraq of that time. Now Marcellus is the one who is in charge of the crucifixion of Jesus. Marcellus wins Jesus's robe in gambling but when he wears it light strikes and so his Greek slave who is a new convert takes it and run away. Marcellus sees nightmares hence he has to find the robe and burn it to break the spell. He tries to find his Greek slave in Palestine and in turn meets new converts who now speak slowly and philosophically and do good deeds at the drop of a hat. He meets Peter and converts in to a Christian. Meanwhile Caligula like a true villain torments Diana. Diana finally meets now Christian Marcellus in Rome. Then of course it becomes a love story. It's pathetic religious film. Absolutely nothing is historical. I thought I will get to learn from this film but half an hour down the line I realized its just another feel good Christian love story. Just keep away. There's absolutely nothing in it. 4/10 for the effort of the technicians and extras.

I got this movie from Blockbuster for $5.00 and it's worth it. It is a classic film with great performances by Richard Burton, Victor Mature, and the always fabulous Jean Simmons. If you're really interested in Christian movies, this is a fabulous film with wonderful scenery and acting. It will make you a believer in great film-making. The Robe is about Jesus Christ and his infamous Robe. The writing could be better but the acting is superb with a first rate cast. The costumes are colorful and the scenery is well done to recreate another era in history. I recommend watching if you are a fan of the above listed actors. I wish Jean well and she is always fabulous to watch again and again. I wish Jean became a Dame because she truly is one.

"The Robe" is a Hollywood classic designed in the old pre-60's movie making style. Based on the fictional character of Marcellus Gallio and set in the historical backdrop of first century Rome, The Robe delivers a beautiful story of the early Christian movement. Though certainly not a pure historical or theological work, the film still presents a powerful model of faith and redemption through the protagonist Tribune Marcellus Gallio. In addition the film is well acted and the plot very engaging. Jay Robinson's over-the-top portrayal of Caligula is exagerated, but memorable, and Jean Simmons meets the dramatic performance offered up by her opposite Richard Burton. Some of the reviews turned in on "The Robe" dismiss it as overly soft "fluff", but this is a film that should be given a closer look by it's critics. It's intent is more to inspire the viewer then to tandelize. Yes, it is unlikely that there ever was a Roman officer who carried the robe of Christ to his death, but certainly there were first century Christians (and other groups) who sacrificed everything for a cause others saw as foolish. The film demonstrates the power of faith without being preachy. It provides strong sets and action but doesn't over do itself in it's presentation. "The Robe" is a film that can be enjoyed by a wide age group whether they reap the theological message or not. Fifty years later directors are still unadmittingly trying to recreate the power of "The Robe", but have come up short. (See "Gladiator")

Like another reviewer, I was around 12 when I first saw this and I remember being awed by Cinemascope. But now..... after so much water under the bridge..... I just saw the DVD. It's insufferable. Even Jay Robinson's campy Caligula isn't campy enough, and certainly is in shorter supply than I remembered it. Jean Simmon's luminous beauty and dignified presence is about the only worthwhile thing in this piece of lumbering religiosity. Surely this movie is as good an apologetics for paganism as anything I know. I remembered the Newman score being truly bad..... wordless choir and all.... even at a tender age my music instincts were remarkably good. Somehow Mr. Newman thinks that the more he repeats a minor third, the more "tragic" the music becomes..... fat chance. This is as bad as it gets, including a rather unintentionally hilarious Hallelujah at the end. The Robe is really a Bore. Do not waste your time.

THE ROBE is a reviewer's nightmare: a film whose sum falls substantially short of its parts. Overall, this is a great story, with Burton/Robinson doing a Luke Skywalker/Darth Vader impersonation that will resonate with younger viewers unaquainted with Sophocles or Dante. Unfortunately, Jean Simmons and Victor Mature do their usual convincing impersonations of a glacier, and Richard Burton, after a promising start, over-emotes so much that he appears to be in need of an enema or shock therapy. Throw into the mix the watery Christianity subtext, and you have recipe for cinematic narcolepsy (or the subject of future midnight-showing laugh-fests.) The fact that Hollywood felt it could justify this mess by throwing in the story of the Crucifixion, reverently dipped in requisite shades of scarlet and violet, and sanctimoniously dripped over us like so much visual Holy Water, is more than enough to merit contempt. But there is a saving grace. What sets THE ROBE apart, and keeps the whole creaky contrivance going is Jay Robinson's maniacal performance as the insane Emperor Caligula. Intentionally over-the-top, in a voice like oiled velvet, shreiking his inadequacies, Robinson seizes control of the 3 scenes he's in and never lets go. I'd give this film a 5 out of 10 just to watch Robinson's performance. He's only on screen for about 10 minutes of a two-hour+ film, but as Judi Dench proved, in her Oscar-winning performance as Queen Elizabeth I, 7 or 8 minutes of screen time can make or break a film. Robinson's subsequent hellish descent into drug addiction and anonymity make his performance that much more poignant. It was ironic to see, in his autobiography, that he'd found solace in religion. I agree not at all with his beliefs, but am gratified to see that a great, and neglected actor has, at last, found peace.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS. This movie, based on the book of the same name, is a fictional account of what might have happened to one of the Roman soldiers who crucified Christ and gambled for his robe. Though yielding on occasion to the Hollywoodisms of the time (e.g., the crack of thunder when Judas reveals his name), it nevertheless still evokes a reverence surrounding the Crucifixion that's never been equaled in any other biblical film, aided in part by the majestic music. The next scene in which Victor Mature, as the slave Demetrius, stands in driving rain and curses Marcellus (Richard Burton) and the Roman Empire, is one of the most powerful scenes in film. The "robe," by the way, is not magical, as another user would tell us, but an ordinary garment that wields "power" only because it is too vivid a reminder of the horror and guilt Marcellus carries for crucifying an innocent man. It is his acknowledgement of this act, and the powerful words of forgiveness from the cross, that change his life. DVD widescreen is magnificent.

This is the type of movie with the in-your-face religious message that thankfully is not made today (unless funded by Mel Gibson). The actual plot, though, is decent enough. A tribune (Richard Burton) who offends the soon-to-be emperor Caligula and is sent to Judea. This offence concerns the purchase of Victor Mature as a slave by Burton. Mature soon becomes a follower of Christ which puts him into opposition with Burton who inevitably must crucify Jesus and finds himself in possession of Christ's robe after gambling for it. In the heavy rain which follows the crucifixion, Burton uses the robe for protection, only it has a peculiar effect on him, making him ill. He is later persuaded that the robe is the source of his illness and to destroy it will save him. Needless to say when he encounters the good Christian folk, he converts himself, which puts him into opposition with Rome. All this is fair enough but this film, the first in cinema scope is far from classic. Plodding action, an unconvincing romantic subplot with Jean Simmons, hammy acting especially from Mature (who seems out of his depth) contribute to the effect that, despite the great length, the movie skims the surface. A waste of talent especially Richard Burton.

I am a big fan of these types of movies. I love movies like Ben-Hur, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Samson and Delilah, and Spartacus. The movies that took place in ancient Rome had so much going for them. They had great actors, directors, cinematography, and music. They also never needed to use computer animation. I was always very pleased. Only I can't say I was pleased with the Romans wearing purple and black in Gladiator. But anyway, this movie has it all. There is nothing I can say that's bad about it. It has a great story that pulls you in. When you watch it you feel as if you are there. You feel everything that the actors are feeling and the music helps to set the mood. Jay Robinson is pretty good as Caligula, but sometimes he is way too over the top. His performance as Caligula was better in Demetrius and the Gladiators. Jean Simmons is a very good actress. I like her a lot in this movie and in Spartacus. I think she deserved some type of recognition. Victor Mature was very good too. Michael Rennie was another good actor in this movie. He seemed so perfect as Peter. The one that stood out was Richard Burton. He did a great job. I could go on and on because the whole cast was great. I read that Tyrone Power was originally approached for the lead. I think he could've pulled it off. He was a very underrated actor. I have many favorite parts. I love the scene when Victor Mature is trying to find Jesus so he can warn him and he runs into to someone. I won't say who. I like the crucifixion scene. It was very well done and Victor Mature shows his great acting in the scene. I love the scene when Richard Burton finds the robe. He was afraid of it, but when he holds it close it has an effect on him. The ending is outstanding. It is well acted and ends happily. Burton without a doubt deserved his Academy Award nomination. Sometimes he overacts in scenes when he is yelling, but other times he really looks like he belongs in the role. This movie probably didn't win much because there was so much competition. Many other great movies were there. From Here To Eternity, a big favorite of mine, and Shane, another big favorite of mine, were nominated. The actors that were up for it were all favorites of mine too. I can't really decide who deserved it. Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift were both great in From Here to Eternity. It's tough for me to choose between those two and Richard Burton. Everything about this movie is great so be sure to check it out. I can watch it over and over and never get sick of it. Check out this classic, this epic. It has it all. The Robe is a timeless classic. You will not be disappointed.