On Q List of Movie Reviews
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Quo Vadis (1951)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
9/12, 10/21
9/12:
Ironically, quo vadis means "whither goest thou," and it's what I had been asking myself while trying to figure out the
film's direction.
Before I yell that Quo Vadis is a rip-off of Ben-Hur, it was actually made eight
years earlier. The Ten Commandments? Not for another five years. So,
Quo Vadis is sort of the originator although there have been a few during the silent era. After the two well-known
darling pictures were made, Quo Vadis had paled in comparison over time. Sadly, it's now outdated.
The acting is awful, most especially Leo Genn who plays Petronius and Marina Berti as his sycophant. The lines...my
goodness, they're so bad! Robert Taylor has the worst of them all. My favorite is when his character will sacrifice a "dozen
of doves" to proclaim his love for Lygia. Yeah, she's a looker...NOT. Even Wayne Campbell of
Wayne's World would've a hard time mustering enough energy to schwing on her. Lygia wears
too much makeup, and there's zero chemistry between her and Marcus Vinicius.
On the other hand, the interior sets are impressive, being one of the fewest saving graces. So is Peter
Ustinov. He's good but not that good enough for me to go crazy about his performance. In fact, Peter Ustinov is the only reason
why I survived this three-hour borefest. Yet I think he could've done better by going a step further to create a defining
movie moment. He has one with the personal note, but the accomplishment of that particular scene is ultimately a letdown.
The final part when Marcus Vinicius and Lygia were thrown into the ring at the Colosseum and, considering the fact that so many
had died, it would be natural for them to suffer the same fate as well. But no...they miraculously survive and go on to change
Rome for better. Well, it's pure Hollywood crap, and not to forget the attempts to rewrite history. Hey thanks...but no thanks.
Finally, going for a massive deduction of points, Quo Vadis is largely a Christian propaganda. One can't have the girl
unless he believes in God and Jesus Christ zzz... People let themselves burn because God and Jesus Christ are worth dying for
zzzzzz... Oh, please...spare me the holy bullshit. People should know better as there's only one life on Earth, so make most
of it.
All in all, Moses didn't put Quo Vadis on his The Ten Commandments
because Ben-Hur had already run over it.
10/21:
My impression of Quo Vadis is now more favorable, giving it a '4' the last time.
Right off the bat, the cinematography is terrific which is in the same league as the colorful old-style epics such as
Ben-Hur, The Ten Commandments, and
Spartacus. Although it has been done in silent pictures,
Quo Vadis is really nice...a spectacle, indeed. Of course, it's easy to see some superimposed images against the traveling
matte.
Despite the occasional showy dialogue, the primary trouble is the running time; it's much, much too long.
Either something dramatic must happen in more than one way or the film has to be cut down by an hour. My patience got tested
plenty of times. Yes, I can listen to all of the dialogue, and the costumes look nice which must have been a world record for
a film: 32,000.
The acting is fine for the time, and it holds up well now. The best performance comes from Peter Ustinov who
steals the movie whenever he appears; it's a brilliant job. I have to mention how good Leo Genn is as Petronius. Happily, both
were nominated for Oscars. Robert Taylor is better than usual, but Deborah Kerr sure finds a way to apply makeup on her face
even in the worst of times. Marina Berti has her beat in the looks department despite her goofy acting.
All in all, Ben-Hur may have replaced Quo Vadis as the Roman film of choice, but
it's nevertheless a fine epic.