The Agony and the Ecstasy
In his 1995 autobiography "In the Arena" Charlton Heston denied that Michelangelo Buonarotti was a homosexual. He also refused permission to use scenes from "The Agony and the Ecstasy" in the 1995 documentary "The Celluloid Closet" because he told the filmmakers he had done a lot of research for his role and could assure them that Michelangelo was not gay.,Giovanni de' Medici (Pope Leo X) is portrayed in this movie as an older man in this film, however he was only in his 30s when the Sistine Chapel ceiling was painted and only 37 when elected Pope.,[repeated exchange]
Pope Julius II: When will you make an end?
Michelangelo: When I am finished!,Edited from Prologue: The Artist Who Did Not Want to Paint (1965),I would be more generous than Maltin was with this one. I watched it again recently on tape and my impression improved over my first viewing. The production values are sumptuous, and the construction of a 1:1 mockup of the Sistine Chapel by Dino deLaurentis is a story in itself, evidently. Heston is pretty good as Michelangelo but is, I think, overshadowed by Harrison, who is just marvelous as Pope Julius (a previous commenter remarked on the historically inauthentic absence of his beard; in addition, Julius was too old & inform too ride a horse into battle, but insisted on leading while carried on a litter). The conflicted interplay between Julius & Michelangelo is the core of the film, of course, and the script does its job well in this regard, particularly in the closing dialogue. It is interesting, though, to see how the movie dances around the issue of Michelangelo's purported homosexuality. We are so much more frank today (not necessarily for the better), and one shudders to consider how a contemporary movie would treat this subject (not that there's a chance in hell of a major movie being made today on the subject of the creation of one of the masterworks of West's artistic inheritance). If any movie definitely needs the letterbox format to show it off at its best, it is this one, so watch for it on AMC where it is often shown that way.,