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.
Yash Wade
Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
Ginger
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
HotToastyRag
If you look the plot synopsis up online, you'll learn The Big Fisherman is a biopic of Peter the disciple, starring Howard Keel. If you watch the movie, you'll be very bored for the first forty-five minutes; it takes that long for Howard to show up on the screen! The entire movie is two and a half hours long, and the vast majority of it has nothing to do with Peter or Jesus or John.Susan Kohner stars as Fara, who, since learning of her true parentage, is going through an identity crisis. She has men interested in her, both for honorable and dishonorable intentions, but until she seeks revenge on Herbert Lom and Martha Hyer, she doesn't feel complete. She dresses as a boy to sneak around undetected, but everyone she meets sees through her disguise instantly, including Howard Keel. At the time, he's just a fisherman, but soon he and Susan listen to the Sermon on the Mount and decide to follow the teachings of Jesus.If someone ever decides to torture you and forces you to watch this movie-because there really isn't any other reason why you'd sit through it-you'll marvel at the differences between it and Ben-Hur, another biblical movie from 1959. It's almost impossible to believe they were made at the same time. The Big Fisherman is of such inferior quality, from the costumes to the set design, wigs, script, story, acting, directing, and music. The only similarity is the choice to never show Jesus's face; in The Big Fisherman, he does speak frequently, which was a poor choice. Thomas Browne Henry's voice sounds similar to Raymond Massey, not at all how anyone would imagine Jesus sounding. You could feel sorry for Howard Keel that he had to lend his name to such a terrible movie, after headlining so many wonderful musicals earlier in the decade. Or, you could just do him a favor and forget he was ever in it, and then watch Seven Brides for Seven Brothers for the tenth time.
tavm
Just watched this long epic movie on YouTube. It stars Howard Keel in the title role as Simon who becomes Peter when converted to Jesus' teachings. Jesus is heard and not seen though we do see his hands whenever possible. There's also Susan Kohner as Princess Fara, John Saxon as her lover Prince Voldi, Herbert Lom as the ruler Herod Antipas, and Martha Hyer as his bitchy lover/eventual wife Herodias. Oh, and in once again citing a player from my favorite movie-It's a Wonderful Life-in another film, Beulah Bondi as Hannah, Simon's mother-in-law. They're all pretty good especially Keel with his familiar baritone voice and Lom with his theatrical readings. And the music score by Albert Hay Malotte was really stirring which complements Frank Borzage's direction to a T. Since the running time is listed as 180 min. on this site, it's possible that the version I saw on YT might have been abridged since that one ran 2 hrs., 20 min. No matter since I was moved just the same. Really, all I'll say is if you stumble into this either there or elsewhere, I highly recommend The Big Fisherman.
John Hayes
The Big Fisherman was certainly not the biggest - or the best - of the
fifties/sixties cycle of 70mm epics. Arriving between Ben-Hur (1959)
and Spartacus (1960), it is not surprising that this rather small-scale
epic became lost in the shuffle. It has no battles, no huge crowd
scenes - in fact the crowds can be numbered in dozens rather than
thousands - and an archaic script that harks back to Bible epics that
were made ten years earlier.That said, Lee Garmes' cinematography is splendid and Albert Hay
Mallotte's score is superb; plus Howard Keel, Herbert Lom, John Saxon
and Martha Hyer deliver exemplary performances, in spite of the leaden
script.Contrary to previous comments, The Big Fisherman was NOT shot in MGM
Camera 65 - only Raintree County and Ben-Hur were. After the process
changed its name to Ultra Panavision, it was used on Mutiny on the
Bounty, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Khartoum and The Fall of the
Roman Empire. The Big Fisherman used Super Panavision - a non
anamorphic 70mm widescreen process.Inferior the film may be to its contemporaries, it still deserves a DVD
release - preferably a Special Edition version, as it is most certainly
a worthy part of the canon of 70mm epics.For further information, go to www.widescreenmovies.org and click on
'Highlights of Previous Issues' then 'The Epic that Disappeared: The
Big Fisherman'.
ldemay
I saw this film as a child with my Mom. What I can remember of it was just so beautiful. Howard Keel had such a wonderful and powerful voice. I could listen to him sing anything. The seen of him singing by his boat is the one that sticks out in my mind the most. The colors were so beautiful and bright as I remember them. I thought this film was a musical, but I see it listed as a drama. Can anyone tell me why? I wish I could get a copy of this fine film for my Mom who is now in her mid seventies. So we could watch it again. I think it would be so great to see this movie with my daughter, who loves all kinds of movies, and some of my granddaughters. This is a real family film for the whole family.
