Product Details

• Actors: Lothaire Bluteau, Aden Young, Sandrine Holt, August Schellenberg, Tantoo Cardinal
• Directors: Bruce Beresford
• Writers: Brian Moore
• Producers: Brian Moore, Denis Héroux, Eric Norlen, Jake Eberts, Robert Lantos
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: July 10, 2001
• Run Time: 101 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005BKZS
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #28,668 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Black Robe" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Forget about Kevin Costner's sun-kissed, water-colored, Oscar-winning Dances with Wolves. Black Robe, which was directed by Bruce Beresford, a director who gave the world the finest film of the early '80s Australian new wave, Breaker Morant, and who continually collides cultures and ethnicity in his films (Mister Johnson, Driving Miss Daisy), matches and surpasses the Costner epic as an expertly crafted, brutal saga of redemption and salvation. In 1634 a young French Jesuit missionary is assigned to trek 1,500 miles through the New France wilderness to a mission settled in Huron Indian country. Black Robe chronicles the journey of Father Laforgue (Lothaire Blutheau) as he leaves his Jesuit brothers and, with the aid of a young translator and guide, Daniel (Aden Young), and eight canoes of Algonquin Indians, moves into the uncompromising Canadian northern territory on a die-hard mission to convert the natives. Mixing elements of Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans and Roland Joffé's The Mission, Beresford offers a restless tale of Laforgue's conflicted faith juxtaposed against the sublime spiritual harmony with the land that the Huron and Algonquin already hold. Black Robe dances to its own drummer and is tuned into the precarious balance between nature's mystery and spirit and the strident, unyielding religious ethic. The cinematography by Peter James is relentlessly cruel and bleak, but it absolutely conveys the obstacles that face the idealistic and blind young priest, who by the end, has faced his own awakening. The film also features one of the late, great composer Georges Delerue's most noble scores. --Paula Nechak

Product Description

From acclaimed director Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Tender Mercies) and adapted by screenwriter Brian Moore from his novel of the same name, Black Robe is "amazing an adventure film that is as intelligent as it is enthralling" (US)! French Jesuit missionary Father Laforgue travels to the magnificently austere Canadian wilderness to save the souls of a "savage and godless" peoplethe native tribes of the Huron and Algonquin. But the natives, who have their own spiritual value system that differs drastically from Christianity, are immediately suspicious, resentful and openly hostile toward the intrusive "Black Robe." And when Laforgue hires a reluctant group of Algonquin to escort him on a harrowing 1500-mile journey up the broad and sinuous St. Lawrence River, a devastating chain of events not only causes him to question his deeply held beliefs but also forever changes the course of history for the natives' way of life.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A balanced view of a complex subject., August 11, 2000

By	Frank Gibbons (Seekonk, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Robe [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a very moving film about the clash of two radically different cultures. The young Jesuit priest, Father LaForgue, although very rigid in his belief system, sincerely wants to help the Native Americans by bringing them the Truth. But his message of paradise has no meaning for the Alogonquins, Hurons, and other tribes that he comes into contact with. They cannot understand why he has no woman. They fear him as a demon because he reads from books and makes strange signs (of the cross). He, in turn, believes they are living in darkness and must be saved. He is fearful of the vast forests where the devil reigns. There is a great deal of complexity in the character of Chomina, the Algonquin leader who fears the Black Robe but who feels honor bound to assist him. Father LaForgue is a tragic figure, so lonely and confused in the vast expanses of 'New France'. Why is he here, so far from his mother's comfortable drawing rooms? What does he hope to accomplish? The film is beautifully shot on location. A warning to the faint-hearted: there are some gruesome scenes in the film. Black Robe is a moving, balanced film with a profound spirituality.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one that should have won "best picture", March 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Black Robe [VHS] (VHS Tape)

An outstanding look at what happens when cultures collide. "Black Robe" tells the story of a 17th century French Jesuit missionary sent to the Canadian wilds to proselytize among the Huron Indians. Unfolding artfully and slowly, the film explores both the questionning of and committment to his faith encountered by the priest as he gets to know his Indian guides, their culture, and their spiritual beliefs. In the film, the priest's character is juxtaposed to his young apprentice who falls in love with the daughter of their Algonquin guide and comes to a deep understanding and appreciation of their culture. Far from romanticizing and idealizing it's Native American characters, however, "Black Robe" presents them fully as rich, varied, multi-faceted individuals capable of pettiness, wisdom, loyalty, kindness, atrocity, humor, close-mindedness, and love. Likewise, the priest retains his committment to Roman Catholicism and his confusion over Native American spiritual beliefs, while coming to a profound love and respect for the individuals and the tribes he has come to serve. It is a truly remarkable film, magnificently photographed, with rich, memorable characters. It speaks clearly about the conflicting values and world views held by these two cultures without denegrating or idealizing either one. There is violence and sexual situations -- similar to what you might expect in "Braveheart." A great film!

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gives a feeling of 'this is how it really was', September 24, 2005

By	Mark Snegg (Boone, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There are remarkably few historical movies which give you the feeling of actually being in another time and place. In almost all costume dramas, however accurate the costumes and sets may be, the characters think, speak and act like people of the present day. The issues are modern issues, and the movies are colored by modern political correctness, and by romanticized and simplified views of the past.

Black Robe is a movie that makes you feel "this is how things really were." It shows both Native Americans and European settlers honestly in all their humanity and complexity. But the issues are 17th century issues, not 21st century issues. The movie is not self-concious, or preachy, or pushing a particular agenda. It's just telling a good story, and telling it very well.

This is perhaps the best and most accurate portrayal of Native Americans in any movie ever. They are shown neither as noble, politically correct, ecologically sound, wise heroes, nor as racist caricatures. They are shown as real people, and as individuals with their own personal concerns and opinions. There is no glossing over harsh living conditions, violence, brutality, torture, and superstition. But honor, loyalty, love, and closeness to nature are just as vividly present - as are doubt, deception, self-interest, and cruelty.

The French are likewise shown in a real, accurate and believable way. The narrow-mindedness of the Jesuits and their perverse desire for martyrdom are shown along with their deep sincerity and courage. Colonial attitudes and the overwhelming role of religion in 17th century culture are there, but the characters are never caricatures. Neither European nor Native American religions are denigrated, but both are shown to have their flaws as well as their values.

The role of solemn ceremony in both cultures is vividly shown in some of the opening scenes - an aspect of life which has almost disappeared in today's world. There is a feeling of vast distances, and slow, hard travel into the unknown which is likewise missing in our modern world of fast transportation and globalization. We get a sense of the smallness of human beings compared to the vast forests, mountains, and rivers of 17th century North America.

Highly recommended.