Katherine of Alexandria (2014)

As a huge fan of historical dramas, both book and movie, I was so looking forward to this movie. I've never written a review on here before but my disappointment with this movie was so intense that I felt it needed airing. This was perhaps the worst acting I have ever seen in my life (55 yrs). The drugged stares into space, the stilted line delivery, the over dramatic acting by lesser actors in bit parts, the choppy scene transitions. The whole thing was tragically sad and I finally, after multiple attempts, shelved it, never to be finished.It's a great story I would love to see it done properly and given it's due diligence. This just wasn't it.

Luckily I went into this film with low expectations, not because of reviews on IMDb (I never trust amateur reviews), but because I'd never even heard of it before...I love to put an independent film in the DVD player without any anticipation, sit back with a cup of Earl Grey and let the screenplay lift me out of the mediocrity of todays films into a brave new world.This film did exactly that.To be honest, I haven't watched too many Peter O'Toole films, even though everyone raves on about him. I didn't expect anything from him either, but boy did he blow me away with his dialogue. Katherine was exceptional and many of the other big names played nice roles too.Impressive for a very niche Brit production.After watching it today I came straight on here to read reviews from other fans. I've never shared a review online before myself, but after seeing some of the crushingly negative reviews, I felt I needed to share my thoughts to add some balance.Firstly, it is blindingly obvious to me that the 1 star reviews here are by a generation completely spoilt by the cheap wizardry of Hollywood, where stories are created sheerly for profit, history is re-written and every story has the same predictable ending fit for an imbecile....And so, when a film like Decline of an Empire comes along with an unusual style of storytelling (dangerous), an original cast (what were they thinking), with real actors who are famous for something other than their body parts (oh my god), and an ending that leaves you with a sense of spiritual growth (!!!), instead of the predictable happily-ever-after-brain-mushing-gunk, people loose their minds!... They just can't take it! I am too young to reminisce the times of Hitchcock or Orson Welles, but I am well aware that era is truly dead... albeit for a few unique gems that come my way unexpectedly, but I feel for those who do reminisce a truly lost art.Thank you for bringing a sweet taste of originality and depth to my screen, it's rare! Very, very rare...

Like too many recent 'epics,' the film is a good choice for most viewers. This could work in some cases, like this one for example seeing scenes where a dozen or so men constitute a major Roman battle is genius. This can also be said of scenes involving cities like Rome and Alexandria– places consisting of thriving metropolises. There is a golden epic about this film i loved it.You must take the family to see this film. O'Toole great performance as well as the other fine older actors Edward Fox and Joss Ackland–so there's a lot to see in this movie. Their presence was very enjoyable and they often seemed a like Oscar winning performances in the film. And, even for nostalgia value, it was very enjoyable.

If we are to make a comment about this film it will certainly help if we compare it to a similar one, namely "Agora" Hypatia of Alexandria which was a fantastic epic and extremely well crafted which I can not say for this DECLINE in English cinema. What were the producers thinking when they gave the go-ahead for this over acted and under-scripted sprawling and incoherent diatribe? It is astonishing how low a quality of acting this film contained and that includes the late O'Toole. Sorry pal, it was not your finest hour but I do not blame you for this because the director must accept full responsibility for allowing daily rushes like this to be regarded as "IN THE CAN". Absolutely amateurish and low quality. As to the theme and plot of this tired film. If we take another comparison and this time of a writer named Garry Jennings who wrote a giant of a novel about this same period we see what serious research brings against the off the cuff thinking used by these scriptwriters. It almost made me feel like a sorry excuse for the actions of the lowly Wall Street morons under the banner of being the 99 percent people. PATHETIC! The only redeeming aspect of this film was that due to its scope we actually got a feeling for the decline. OK Great to see something actually worked and that was why I gave it 3 points but really I am being seriously generous.