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highlandermatt
Reviews
Pilgrim's Progress (2008)
Good Concept, Poor Execution
The concept for this adaptation, namely re-imagining "The Pilgrim's Progress" in a contemporary setting, is intriguing and has the potential to be a good film. What was presumably the movie's selling point is actually its main weakness.
This isn't so much a modern pilgrim's progress, it's a modern pilgrim in a medieval/fantasy setting. If they had excelled in every other area of production I might cut them some slack but they simply did not compensate. So, how did they fail to execute the concept?
For one thing, clothing. I'm not sure which 21st century these people live in but no one in the 21st century that I live in and that I know go walking through the woods in dress khakis and a button down dress shirt, albeit un-tucked. Visuals, including wardrobe, are important aspects of any movie but especially here. If the point is "It's a modern pilgrim's progress" then the visuals have to tell me this. You can get a cheap pair of blue jeans at Wal- Mart for nine bucks. The budget was clearly not the issue, but a simple lack of thinking things through.
Another area is the awkward and failed attempt at blending modern and medieval. Go all the way- make the world of the journey match the character.
There are other complaints I have, but that's my main one. I'm still waiting for a good cinematic version of Bunyan's famous story.
Pilgrim's Progress (1978)
An Epic Fail
Bunyan's work contains so much potential for a fantastic film- and this attempt just misses it. Where is the fight with Apollyon? This story is action packed, and in the hands of good director would be a visual masterpiece with a riveting story. This? It's garbage. It's slow, unexciting and visually appalling even for a late 70's production. Good grief, even the 50's animated version outdoes Anderson! Of course, all my fellow Christians will adore it because they like the message while completely missing the utter lack of artistic imagination.The actors are not inspiring- we need a protagonist who displays the variety of emotion described by Bunyan. I really wish a capable director had made this movie a few decades earlier and cast Jimmy Stewart as the main character. The choice of George Beverly Shea as the narrator doesn't help at all. Seriously, was there no one else willing to do this? The sets are equally uninspiring- the story is basically a walk in a lush green, tame countryside that never changes. This story begins with a man going stir-crazy and this garbage has him sounding apparently confused with a lovely English countryside behind him. They needed grit, drama, emotion and beauty. They delivered none of these.