Customer Reviews

Stigmata

5 star:		(145)
4 star:		(71)
3 star:		(39)
2 star:		(25)
1 star:		(48)

 

 

O.K., so in the past year or so I have found that I don't enjoy the movies that get "Thumbs up". If I want to see "real life", I'll look out the window. When I pay to see a movie I want to be entertained. So I was expecting to like this movie (since critics didn't). But what I saw was a movie that was extremely well acted by ALL involved, a movie that was beautifully photographed (with some amazing shots throughout)and a truly brave story line that was sure to alienate a HUGE market share.

I can't possibly imagine what the critics did not like about this well paced, well acted thriller.

At the least it is the most underrated movie of the year.

One note...Inside the booklet that comes in the DVD case, there is a letter from the Director. It explains that the DVD comes with an alternate ending, and to please watch the entire movie WITH the alternate ending (as opposed to watching the alternate ending as a seperate scene after viewing the theatrical version). And sure enough, when you click "play movie" from the main menu, you must make a choice. Go with the directors cut. I viewed the theatrical ending after I watched the directors cut, and the film lost it's impact.

The transfer to DVD is excellent, and the sound is fine. There is nothing muddy or muddled about this movie. And although the subject of stigmata has been handled before,I guarantee that you have never seen it handled like this. I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish by this fine movie. If you are on the fence about buying stigmata, go for it. It's the best thriller I have seen in a while.

This DVD features a gorgeous 2.35:1 widescreen transfer, capturing all of the films beauty. STIGMATA is probably the most gorgeously filmed movie EVER, and the DVD edition is great. The added scenes are great, the alternate ending is VERY interesting, and the Natalie Imbruglia music video, for the truly haunting "Identify", is moody and luscious. For open-minded viewers, Stigmata is a great pick. And for the record, it does NOT rip off The Exorcist, as the Exorcist did not INVENT "possession signals", such as talking in a strange deeper voice, speaking different languages, or facial contortions; these have been documented phenomena in MANY TRUE POSSESSION CASES. Just wanted to clear that up. Patricia Arquette is brilliant.

Stigmata is a delicate movie to the extent that it provokes emotions and opinions along the two extremes of the scale. One thing is for sure: your feelings are bound to be strong about this movie. As far as context and message are concerned, the base topic about faith and church is old enough; the conclusion is somewhat more fresh, though far from being as radical as intended. Anyway, if you do not look too deep into the theoretical side of it, the message is viable and elegantly presented.

What IS outstanding about Stigmata is acting. Indeed, Patricia Arquette gives one of her best performances as fate-struck Frankie; Jonathan Pryce excels at the role of the smooth-mannered evil cardinal; and... yes, my favourite Irishman... Gabriel Byrne is just dazzling as self-denying Father Kiernan. No doubt, he is the spiritual and emotional centre of the whole story, and he suggests that in a gentle, elegant way throughout the film. Paradoxically, Byrne calls the viewer to root for his character even more than Arquette does for her own victim figure. Director Rupert Wainwright also deserves applause for tactful storyhandling, beautiful imaging, and, very importantly, for leaving space for his actors to play out their characters in their full complexity. I think, to finish with, that this movie is a fine one and well worth seeing on DVD, but certainly not for the weak.

"Stigmata" is a great movie. Patricia Arquette stars as a young woman in the U.S. who shows signs of stigmata. A priest from the Vatican links up with her and cares for her as she is increasingly afflicted by the stigmata. Her ranting and raving finally begins to make sense to the priest who starts to question what his religion has stood for. This movie is good on its own account, but I love it because it introduced me to "The Gospel of Thomas," the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Nag Hammadi Bible.

Though I understand that Stigmata got a lot of poor and unfair reviews and it is not for everyone, I STILL think it's a wonderful movie! I left the theater with my jaw hanging and eyes gaping at how good it really was. As always, Gabriel Byrne has a way of pulling you into the film and into the feelings of the characters....especially his. Through his character who is a Catholic Preist, I FELT his struggle with love and religion - both common struggles to anyone who has a heart, soul, or brain. I never found any fault with ANYTHING that happened in the movie, like the fact that if Patricia Arquette was posessed by a holy Saint, I don't think he would be trying to seduce Father Kiernan (Byrne). No one who nitpicks EVER enjoys a movie! Some things to enjoy: the artistic direction was beautiful in a creepy, X-files sort of way and they couldn't have picked someone better than Billy Corgan to compose music. (My favorite band is the Smashing Pumpkins, favorite Actor - Gabriel Byrne...you can see how I loved this movie!) Corgan added an extra demension to the film as I kept thinking I heard heartbeats coming from the back of the theater. The main thing that attracted me to this movie (Byrne aside) was all the commotion surrounding the "bad rep" that Catholics were given. I personally found it funny that, as a whole, they spend too much of their time dishing it out to others but they can't take it themselves. This movie is like a government conspiracy only it involves corruption among a sanction of society that undoubtedly has INFINITELY more power than the government - the religious institutions. As with all conspiracy movies, all I have to say is that it really makes you think....

Some people have compared this film to the exorcist, I don't know why as it is totally the opposite, it is not a horror supernatural film ! Basically the plot of the film is that a woman Frankie(Patricia)who is not religous at all gets possesed by an unknown source and starts to get cuts all over her body, speak and write a language that hasn't been spoken for approx 1500 years! Father kearnan(gabriel burne) is then called to invesitigate the mystery. To tell you any more would spoil the movie. If you are religous, not religous, it doesn't matter you can each appreciate the film on different levels. Buy the DVD, superb sound and picture, special features include an alternate ending which was not screened in the cinema and deleted scenes. Good value also.

I'm sorry to say, the critics bashed this movie to the ground. In fact, they did it so blatently hard that Stigmata did horrible in the box office. Many people go by what the critics say and Stigmata is living proof that you shouldn't, this is a very entertaining film so don't listen to everyone. And as you can see, the Amazon readers "for the most part" seem to enjoy the movie more than the big guys do. I've heard comments that "people enjoyed the movie when it came to DVD moreso than they did when they watched it on the big screen. Why is this? I'm not really sure. Maybe it seems more like a made for "TV Movie" but I don't feel that is the case. It doesn't seem to be a "cheaply" made movie by any means and the actors are known. Nonetheless...

It's no Exoricst or Gone with The Wind, but Stigmata is fun and anyone that enjoys a tale about religion/horror movie in general, should give it a chance. Gabriel Burne (Father Andrew Kiernan) plays the role of the slash scientist/priest quite well. I always thought he was a wonderful actor. He also played Satan in End of Days and played a big role in "Point of No Return" with Bridgette Fonda. His wonderful acting skills are very well done. This great popcorn movie puts a stab into religion in general and some might be offended, but remember, it's just a movie!!! Once again, the Catholics are attacked, but it's all believeable and fun at the same time. Patrica Arquette does a substantial job as her role as a self admitting atheist who gets inflicted with the Stygmata. A simple hairdresser brought into the madness.

She kind of looks bored through some her scenes and she needs to show a little more emotion and spunk in my opinion, but "Gabriel" saves most of the scenes when they are both together. The movie takes a lot of it's general ideas from the Exorcist, same idea, just a different time and infliction only now with a twist. I felt the movie is very suspenseful, clever, dramatic and the acting is very well done. This movie won't bring you any closer to God, that's not what it's trying to do, it's just trying to do something different and fun, and I think Stigmata succeeds! Buy it now if you haven't seen it. Good stuff.

When I first saw the commercials back when Stigmata was released, I cringed at the thought of a "Next Exorcist". I avoided the film up until TBS finally broadcasted it earlier this year, and I was amazed by it.

If you go into the movie believing it's the "Next Exorcist" plot-wise, you will be horribly disappointed. The only ties between the two movies are the use and discussion of religion, religious beliefs, and figures, and possession itself. The experiences of both Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette) and the Exorcist's leading character, Reagan (Linda Blair) are drastically different. Whereas Reagan was possessed by a demonic spirit for cruel reasons of it's own, Frankie experiences an extremely different sort of possession. Frankie became possessed by the spirit of a recently deceased priest, Paolo Alameida.

Father Alameida, along with two other priests, had been working together to translate a document found near the site of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem. The document is entirely in Aramaic - the language believed to be used during the time of Jesus. The three priests begin to believe that the words in this document are actually words spoken by the living Jesus Christ at the time of his last supper, telling his Disciples how to continue his church after his crucifixion.

Once word began to spread in the Catholic church about the gospel (and how damaging it's content would be to the church itself), the three priests were discommunicated and exiled, with Father Alameida relocating to Bel Quinto, Brazil, where he would head a church, and eventually commit suicide before the translation was finished.

After Frankie's mother (on vacation in Brazil at the time), sends her a rosary (that was actually stolen from the body of Father Alameida), Frankie begins experiencing wounds similar to those of Christ at the time of his crucifixion. After a priest witnesses Frankie receiving the wounds of the whip across her back in a subway, Father Andrew Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne) is sent to investigate the possible appearance of the stigmata, the wounds of Christ.

As Andrew's time with Frankie grows, she continues receiving more and more wounds, and finds herself speaking and writing in languages she does not understand - Italian...and Aramaic. Andrew actively works to bring the meanings of the words Frankie is speaking and writing to light, thus strengthening the tension between Andrew and the Catholic church, most notably Cardinal Houseman (Jonathan Pryce), who originally exiled the three priests working on the translation.

The movie shows the negative side of what happens when churches become dictatorships. As the meanings of the words spoken and written by Frankie, as well as the reasons behind (as well as who is responsible for) her possession become clearer to Andrew, the Catholic church tries harder and harder to silence Frankie and to continue making people believe that the church is continuing the faith as Christ wanted, regardless of whether or not a simple exorcism is done to cast out the spirit of Father Alameida to keep him from using Frankie to finish the translation...or by silencing Frankie herself.

The movie is a chilling representation of fanaticism and explores hidden aspects of religion and of possession, separating it from the Exorcist and the like.

Watch the film with an open mind and open eyes and enjoy what you find hidden below the surface.

Stigmata is by far one of the best movies I've seen- it is really incredible in comparison with other movies that try to achieve its success.

This movie is strange, and sometimes even slightly sinister in its portrayal of a woman named Frankie Paige in New York (Patricia Arquette) who is afflicted with the Stigmata, or the wounds of Christ. An open minded priest (Gabriel Byrne) ends up meeting with her, and is extremely surprised to find that this claim of Stigmata occurences is true, despite the fact that Frankie doesn't go to church. In fact, Frankie isn't very religious at all, and lives the shallow, hip life of a partying hairstylist. The contrast between the Church and the life of this young woman is brilliant and stunningly effective.

The rest of the movie is spent discovering more about the situation that Frankie is in, and the possible implications it could have to the church, and to the religion itself. In the end this movie is a deeply thought provoking exploration of religion itself, how everything that is accepted by the church may not be the truth, and how what many of us follow could be completely backwards. It really makes you think.

This already strong movie is further enhanced with the visual effects- so much so that you could buy this movie just for the incredible scenes. All of the wounds of Christ shown in the film are very realistically, enough so that many squeamish people may have to turn away from the screen during these moments. The the way the wounds are shown to occur (chaotically, and in sudden flashses) is incredible, adding to the suspense. Also, in the climax of the film there is one particularly rewarding scene which you might just have to watch over and over (it's too cool!)

This movie is definitely and incredible achievment in filmaking, with a great and intellectual plot expressed with beauty. Some people may not like it as much if they are sensitive to graphic scenes, or if they don't like content that has to do with religion. However, for the majority of people who see it, this movie is a greatly rewarding and enjoyable experience.

This nerve, chilling end of your seat thriller is ranked up there with all the suspenseful movies. This movies is far better because of the concept of deleted scenes and the terrific alternate ending. This movie is a must for everybody even the people who are scared of demon-like people or characters. Try your best to view this terrific film.