Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

richard-tomkins Nice cinematography. Weak script, Weak special effects. some dark scenes that didn't have to be.The music, oh my horror, what can I say about the music. The swelling crescendos,everywhere, the loud volume, drowning out the dialog, and the most inappropriate music at the most inappropriate times, oh my horror, the most horrible music. After a half hour, I was left to myself to watch the thing, the music chased all the others away. Did I mention the music, oh my horror, the miserable horrible music, wrecking what could have been.In the last half of the movie, I could see the actors were all tired of this, their efforts were drawn and tired, they had succumbed, they had had enough, long before the audience collapsed.I'm sure the cutting room floor was littered with performances that were absolutely horrible, the actors were sick of this project and just wanted, no needed, to run away.In Blu-Ray, at a cost of $2.99, cheaper than a bad movie at the theatre and I could at least drown myself in beer.

jadesshadow The dark, ominous themes of the shots reflect on the gruesome war setting and emotionally charged events that shape the story. Dramatic wide angles and poignant close ups convey the story's mood in its vivid cinematography. As the director of cinematography, Gabriel Beristain creates a stunningly accurate visual representation of the character's emotional turmoil. Each shot portrays an expertise at visual storytelling that takes years of experience to develop.Both technically and artistically, There Be Dragons is harmonious and excellent. Characters were not unnecessarily sexualized nor were there extensive uses of vulgarity. Director, Producer and writer Roland Joffe invested his entire self into this film. Critics assert Joffe infused too much of himself into the film, but many viewers argue that this aspect is what makes There Be Dragons so impactful. The prevalent concern of critics, however, is the weaknesses of the script, which they consider too long and busy. I agree with this, as the many layers and details in the film made it difficult to summarize and retell. Actors Charlie Cox and Wes Bentley, who portrayed José Maria and Manelo respectively, were outstanding in their roles. The entire cast was professional and talented, portraying a genuine connection to the story and their characters. Amy Hubbard, John Hubbard, Ros Hubbard and Cathy Sandrich cast the film. Vibrant and stirring, the There Be Dragons soundtrack was thoughtfully composed by Robert Folk with special attention paid to the underlying moods of each scene. Music and picture meld flawlessly. An epic score with a Spanish feel, listeners are told a story of bravery and drama with their ears alone. Folk's use of choir and orchestra translates the theme of the movie exquisitely.

Pizza_hut_delivery_guy Truly one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I appreciated the pacing and the strong story line - really, the plot is the star here. Not an epic film, but really well done and tremendously over rated. The acting is decent and the characters are believable, albeit not all are truly likable (but hey, I don't watch movies expecting to like the characters).The Spanish Civil War isn't a common setting for movies and I think it makes for an excellent backdrop. The bit about Opus Dei is also interesting. I was afraid the film was going to get a bit too religious for me, but fortunately it maintained the right balance. Definitely a must see!

meitschi I have read many terrible reviews of this film and expected something bland and convoluted, but after a few minutes, the visuals and storytelling really drew me in. Yes, some parts of the dialog are quite cheesy or too obvious, and the combination of the stories of Manolo and Josemaria is far from perfect. But Joffé is a very visual filmmaker, and so he was able to achieve with his beautiful images (kudos to Gabriel Beristain for his stunning visuals!) what he wasn't perfectly able to do with his dialog: to impress and inspire.It was especially interesting how delicately and plausibly Joffé handled many real-life events from St Josemaria's life - scenes that could have gone terribly wrong in less expert hands. He also payed a lot of attention to visual detail - for example, in the end titles, the photos of the actors that portrayed real-life people are combined with real photos of these people.The less interesting storyline was that of Manolo, though the final revelations were nevertheless disturbing enough. (At the same time, the movie has an astonishing lack of both gore and even the slightest touch of sensuality in it - surprising for a film about war and a destructive passion... They probably didn't want to lose the PG-13 rating, did they? ;-))I guess, it's a movie for open-minded people with a taste for old-school movie-making, grand drama and big moral questions.