SYNOPSICS
Katherine of Alexandria (2014) is a English movie. Michael Redwood has directed this movie. Nicole Cernat,Peter O'Toole,Joss Ackland,Steven Berkoff are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2014. Katherine of Alexandria (2014) is considered one of the best Biography,Drama,History,War movie in India and around the world.
Katherine of Alexandria, brought up as a nomad and living in the desert, was aged just 11 when Emperor Maxentius saw her whilst out on patrol. Consumed by her beauty, impudence and uncanny talent for languages, he abducted the child, killing her family. The slaughter was witnessed by her young friend, Constantine, who would later become Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. He never lost hope of finding Katherine. As a young woman, Katherine refused to submit to Maxentius' offers of marriage and she continually denounced his brutal enforcement of pagan religion upon the masses. Still obsessed with her beauty, Maxentius brought Katherine before 50 of Rome's finest scholars in an open court in Alexandria, where she eloquently demolished their arguments. When Constantine learned of Katherine's whereabouts and imprisonment at the hands of Maxentius, he led his army from York in a desperate bid to save her.
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Katherine of Alexandria (2014) Reviews
A Blight on the UK Movie Industry
Katherine of Alexandria also titled Decline of an Empire...is definitely in line for the title of one of the worst movies ever. Do not be drawn in by the big name stars, Peter O'Toole and Edward Fox, as it becomes obvious very quickly that they are there to lure the unsuspecting movie goer into a false sense of expectation. As great as they are as actors, even their abilities cannot save this disgraceful offering. In fact I am surprised that Peter O'Toole did not take his payment and then get his lawyers to obtain an injunction to prevent the release of this so called movie on the grounds that it will be a blot on a distinguished career. The story,-for the want of a better word- is all over the place. It feels as if the director had numerous different versions in his head and got them all mixed up. The way it jumps from scene to scene is mind boggling, be prepared to be very confused. The acting is non-existent,,,the dialogue is atrocious...the use of the shaky cam for the action scenes confirms that this Hollywood disease has arrived in the UK. The little pieces of the action scenes which you can actually see are unbelievably bad. Indeed a bunch of kids playing at war would have done a more realistic job. The props are rubbish and the constant music score in the background will have your teeth on edge. The very sad part of this disaster is that it could have been a great movie with the right director and script writers. I hope that director Michael Redwood will take up a different career for his own sake and for our sakes. The one redeeming factor in this debacle is the exceptional performance by Nicole Keniheart in the title role. She made the part her own and despite all the obstacles gave a really wonderful rendering. I hope we see a lot more of her. Unless you have two hours to spare and feel the need to punish yourself for past sins...I strongly recommend that you stay far away from this offering.
Good movie
In my opinion I think that there is some unintentional misleading by the movie moguls. I bought the DVD and found out for myself that this movie is clearly the story of Katherine of Alexandria and not an 'Epic battle'. I have heard from friends in Germany and the UK and the focus there is where it should be, on the life story of Katherine. I didn't take this as a religious story, I don't claim to be a religious expert and therefore cannot comment on any 'inaccuracies'. I just wanted to watch a movie, hopefully enjoy it--which I did--and see Peter O'Toole's last performance. A big story on a small budget always gets my attention. For anyone wanting Hollywood hype and glamor, this educational story is probably not for you.
I wanted to love Peter O'Toole's final film....
"Decline of an Empire" (also known as "Katherine of Alexandria") marks the final film for Peter O'Toole. Because of this, I was very anxious to see this film. Now, in hindsight I really regret this. Instead of a last chance to see this wonderful actor, I now remember this as a truly dull and awful film--and O'Toole's legacy deserved better than this. Thankfully, his great films will always overshadow films like "Decline of an Empire". The sooner we forget about it and go on, the better. The story is about a martyred saint, Katherine of Alexandria, a woman who might have lived during the fourth century. I say might because there seems to be little evidence that she actually existed and her life and martyrdom are based on traditions rather than concrete facts. These traditions, interestingly, began about 500 years after her supposed death--further adding weight to the notion that she is a myth. Still, it could make for a very interesting story--especially as it's set during the waning days of the old Roman Empire. Soon, Christianity would become accepted and no longer persecuted--and this is an incredibly interesting period of change and upheaval. As a retired history teacher and film lover, I wanted to love this film and the plot seemed like it was right up my alley. So why did the film go so wrong? Like too many recent 'epics', the film was obviously made on a micro- budget. This could work in some cases, but seeing scenes where a dozen or so men constitute a major Roman battle is laughable. This can also be said of scenes involving cities like Rome and Alexandria--places consisting of a tiny handful of actors instead of thriving metropolises. There is nothing epic about this...it's just sad and cheap. The dialog is also ponderous beyond belief. So much of it seemed to make little sense and my attention span waned throughout the movie. Much of it just boggled my mind at how dull and silly it sounded coming out of real live people. Additionally, it sure sounded as if many of the characters in the film were performed by actors who didn't understand English and were merely delivering their lines phonetically. Too often, bizarre accents and odd annunciations derailed important scenes and left the viewer confused and bored. This combined with the dull dialog mentioned above really made the film difficult to enjoy. The film also kept referring to Egyptians as 'Arabs'. Egyptians might speak a variation on Arabic today, but in the 4th century, when this film is set, the Egyptians had not yet been conquered by the Arabs (which happened several hundred years later) and ethnically they were North Africans. No ancient Roman would have called Egyptians Arabs. I know that this is the history teacher in me talking once again--but this and other historical inaccuracies guarantee that even history teachers won't like this dull film. I could probably go on a bit more why I hated this film. Suffice to say it had little of O'Toole or the other fine older actors Edward Fox and Joss Acklund--so there's little for their fans in this movie. Their presence was very limited and they often seemed a bit lost in the film. And, even for nostalgia value, it wasn't even enjoyable. A sadly awful film. And, incidentally, as I watched it, my older daughter kept begging me to turn it off...and she, like me, usually loves things about the ancient world. I am sorry for putting you through this, Sarah.
Love a barbarian
Today I watched decline of an empire (Katherine of Alexandria as the Brits called it)I don't quite understand why they changed the title even though it shows the fall of the Roman empire its clearly about the life of St. Katherine. The film boasts a colorful cast and and a good script, plus it's Peter o Tooles last film and a great performance as always. Without mentioning too much, I thought the trial scene was superb, and I found the Barbarian women amusing. I thought Nicole Kenniheart was great as Katherine and beautiful too. On the negative side, sometimes it gets a bit confusing and jumps to different scenes that makes you feel something was omitted. Overall, a good film with religion action and fun. If your looking for a film with blood and gore and fight scenes like from Gladiator then this film is not for you.
There's a Great Story To Be Told About Katherine... This Isn't The Film That Tells It
Anyone who gets a film made should be commended, this, unfortunately, is where the compliments end. The main fault in the film lies in the script. There is no narrative, the writer/director has essentially cobbled together a bunch of scenes in the hope that they will connect with each other with no real threat or drive for the characters. It is understandable why actors such as the late Peter O'Toole and Edward Fox would be attracted to such a piece, if they were given free reign they'd be munching at the scenery like a rabbit on a lettuce leaf. Yet, they're not. These actors are restrained and make for a dull viewing experience. Seeing actors of this calibre being given the opportunity letting rip is always a pleasure, the fact that they are not is a wasted opportunity. Nicole Keniheart may look the part, but as a unifying presence for the whole story, she fails. There is nothing of interest to her, and the fate that falls on her doesn't have the emotional wallop that the Director was hoping for as we simply don't care for her. She has no character and as such we never truly connect with her. More could have been made of Katherine's affect on Rome and how she changed the lives of others as such it just feels as if her "followers" blindly accept that she is the second coming and go along with her. On the whole the film is flat and the greatest crime of all: dull. Ridley Scott's latest film "Exodus" suffered from a similar problem, yet at least it had spectacle. Granted this is on a lower budget, but there was potential to do so much with the material but fails miserably. We don't care for the characters, we aren't drawn into the story and the script is risible. There is a great story to be told about this woman and the last days of the Roman Empire, but this is not that film. On the plus side, it's in focus.