It is difficult to say whether this typical Hollywood reconstruction of a literary masterpiece did more harm than good. On the one hand, it is a complete and utter travesty of the book, totally changing not only its plot and characters, but also its thrust and point. The harm is that many viewers will think the film more or less faithful and will wonder idly why such a mediocre historical romance was so critically acclaimed. The good is that more active viewers might be stirred to actually read the book — as I was.
Judged by itself, it's not such a bad film. Lynn Bari is inadequate even by the modest demands of this script, though she does improve as the plot progresses. Oddly enough, the dialogue exchange in which she is most unconvincing — the scene in which Uncle Pio berates her for taking a dramatic speech too fast — is the only dialogue preserved unchanged from the book!
Donald Woods is embarrassingly sanctimonious as Brother Juniper. There would be a point to his cloying sanctity if Brother Juniper ended up being burnt at the stake, as he does in the book. But there's never any chance — or even any hint — of this happening in the film. Brother Juniper remains from first to last a beatific Hollywood do-gooder, beloved by all.
Admittedly, the Hays Office would never have allowed the producers of the film to get away with burning Brother Juniper for heresy, but I'm sure the dead hand of that Office did not insist on laundering all the other characters as well, mangling them into conventional stereotypes. All the vice (and interest) has been rung out of Uncle Pio and the viceroy. Instead, the Marquesa, who is the heroine of the book, has been translated into a potboiler villainess.
With the exception of Bari and Woods, the players do what they can with their mangled parts; while the director occasionally tries for a bit of style by using long takes and fluid camera movement. Some of the sets are quite sumptuous while others are inexcusably tatty. Presumably the movie's budget was blown on the market square and viceregal scenes, leaving little for the rest of the film. Boyle's vivid photography is not seen at its sharpest in the dupey prints at present circulating. These prints have also lost no less than 22 minutes of running time. As there are no obvious gaps in story continuity, it's quite possible that some of these scenes included snips of Bari on the stage.
When the book's plot has been so altered that not even the five characters killed on the bridge are the same, it seems superfluous to complain that the film also misses the novel's atmosphere and philosophy.
Judged by itself, it's not such a bad film. Lynn Bari is inadequate even by the modest demands of this script, though she does improve as the plot progresses. Oddly enough, the dialogue exchange in which she is most unconvincing — the scene in which Uncle Pio berates her for taking a dramatic speech too fast — is the only dialogue preserved unchanged from the book!
Donald Woods is embarrassingly sanctimonious as Brother Juniper. There would be a point to his cloying sanctity if Brother Juniper ended up being burnt at the stake, as he does in the book. But there's never any chance — or even any hint — of this happening in the film. Brother Juniper remains from first to last a beatific Hollywood do-gooder, beloved by all.
Admittedly, the Hays Office would never have allowed the producers of the film to get away with burning Brother Juniper for heresy, but I'm sure the dead hand of that Office did not insist on laundering all the other characters as well, mangling them into conventional stereotypes. All the vice (and interest) has been rung out of Uncle Pio and the viceroy. Instead, the Marquesa, who is the heroine of the book, has been translated into a potboiler villainess.
With the exception of Bari and Woods, the players do what they can with their mangled parts; while the director occasionally tries for a bit of style by using long takes and fluid camera movement. Some of the sets are quite sumptuous while others are inexcusably tatty. Presumably the movie's budget was blown on the market square and viceregal scenes, leaving little for the rest of the film. Boyle's vivid photography is not seen at its sharpest in the dupey prints at present circulating. These prints have also lost no less than 22 minutes of running time. As there are no obvious gaps in story continuity, it's quite possible that some of these scenes included snips of Bari on the stage.
When the book's plot has been so altered that not even the five characters killed on the bridge are the same, it seems superfluous to complain that the film also misses the novel's atmosphere and philosophy.