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Poster for The Agony and the Ecstasy

The Agony and the Ecstasy

1965 · 138 min

A stately, earnest historical drama that immerses you in Renaissance artistry and the clash of two strong wills, rewarding patience with visual grandeur.

Tagline
From the age of magnificence comes a new magnificence in motion pictures.
Overview
During the Italian Renaissance, Pope Julius II contracts the influential artist Michelangelo to sculpt 40 statues for his tomb. When the pope changes his mind and asks the sculptor to paint a mural in the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo doubts his painting skills and abandons the project. Divine inspiration returns Michelangelo to the mural, but his artistic vision clashes with the pope's demanding personality and threatens the success of the historic painting.

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Rent in the UK
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  • YouTube
More options Data from JustWatch
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • earneststrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • warmstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • art
  • faith
  • power
  • obsession
  • ambition
Places
  • big city
  • countryside
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • true story
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language none
  • Violence mild
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror0
Humour2
Realism8
Romance1
Tension5
Darkness3
Complexity6
Emotional weight7

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Where to watch in the UK

Rent
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video
  • YouTube
Buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video
  • Sky Store
  • YouTube

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, history
Directed by
Carol Reed
Written by
Philip Dunne
Starring
Charlton Heston, Rex Harrison, Diane Cilento, Harry Andrews, Alberto Lupo, Adolfo Celi, Venantino Venantini, Tomas Milian
Music
Alex North
Cinematography
Leon Shamroy
Runtime
138 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English, Latin

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