Antigone/Rites of Passion (1990) User Reviews

God Awful, to put it softly.

[jehartman2 · 1/10 · 8 March 2012]

I was subjected to this cacophony of sight and sound as part of a literature course in ancient civilizations, and will most probably never recover. At the risk of dwelling too long upon a terrible event of my life, I will attempt to get straight to the point. The play of Antigone is rewritten. Incorrect people die, some people never enter into the play, some who do enter the play show up so late that their impact is entirely marginalized, Oedipus dies and then comes back with his eyes in tact for no reason, and a prehumous promise is made to Polynices to bury him should be die.

Visually, the sets are immediately obvious to anyone who has lived in the Northeast United States, simply put - not Greece. Colors and clarity start off in the forest scenes as nearly unwatchable, but do become bearable later on, despite being VHS. Music is presented as layered noise, and I use the word noise in as denigrating a way as possible. The most embarrassing, self-indulgent wailing, banging, slamming and scratching illustrates the tensions of each scene so oppressively overt that any critical thinking on the part of the viewer can safely be stored away - the horrific sounds will tell you who is good, bad - and what they are feeling.

The acting is mostly intolerable, with laughable costuming. Early on Polynices appears in rags, despite being an heir to the throne of Thebes. Later, Creon appears wearing a bizarre modern outfit of pure black with a huge upturned collar and cheap black cowboy boots. And just in case you can't figure out he is irredeemably evil in this particular presentation (because Greek Tragedies just love one dimensional characters... /sarcasm) the noises that play while he is on screen are, basically, a low and sinister growling. This is a perfect illustration of what role sound plays in this film - to be as obvious as possible.

From early in the film to the end, you will see men and women caress, fondle, and rub each other in what appears to be a super soft-core porn - no nudity beyond dangerously low male pant-lines yet strangely just as uncomfortable as watching a sex scene in a movie with your preteen daughter in the room. The overall effect is unnerving and uncomfortable in the worst way but then add on the soundtrack which can only be described as 'pure and horrible discordance'.

If you should purchase this video, I recommend a gallon of bleach as well. Trust me, your eyes and ears will need it.

Disgusting

[spazmatron88 · 22 March 2009]

"Antigone: Rites of Passion" truly is a Greek tragedy. And by that I mean that it is tragic how transvestite director Amy Greenfield butchered this Greek legend. I am pretty sure my nine year old nephew could've directed this "movie" better than Greenfield. The plot was supposed to deal with the controversy started when Antigone attempts to bury her brother against Creon's wishes. He then sentences her to be killed, but a blind oracle tells him to right his wrongs or death would follow. But, of course, Greenfield decides to follow no plot, therefore, destroying a Greek myth. Greenfield's cast choices were iffy at best. It decided to play the part of Antigone. The budget must've been blown on steroids because Greenfield couldn't afford to hire two different actors for the parts of Oedipus and Creon. Now, the acting itself was horrendous. It hurt my eyes so much that I had to watch it in parts, spanning four days. My colleagues could be seen stabbing their own eyes with writing utensils, then using the blood smeared pens to write the review. This "movie" is an abomination and all its copies should be burned by the fires of Hell.

Brilliant and Life Changing

[taylorwilliams5791 · 10/10 · 22 May 2007]

This is the most inspiring and brilliantly made movie of all time. This ranks next to Jaws, Forest Gump, and Gone With the Wind. This first time director rivals the work of the legendary Stephen Spielberg. If you do not see this movie, a part of your soul is missing. The interpretive dance was a brilliant resource for artistic ability. The incestuous groping really authenticates the Greek lifestyle and times. The leaving of Anigone's blind father in the barren forest really pulls at your heartstrings. I absolutely loved the fight between the two Greek warriors. This scene shows the internal conflict and sexual confusion through the aggressive and passionate fight/dance motions. I loved this movie!!! The music was also absolutely astounding! Buy this soundtrack!!!!

A travesty!

[jrphelan · 1/10 · 4 October 2002]

I could not stand more than 20 minutes of this travesty. The movie reminded me of a high school modern dance recital. After watching the movie for five minutes you realize that the dancers, yes dancers, go through the same movements over and over again. They aren't even good dancers. There are no actors, there is a voice-over telling what is going on as the `dancers' writhe. Sophocle's poetry is jettisoned for the voice over. Maybe the movie gets better, but I could not stand any more.

I'm disturbed and a little uncomfortable after viewing this monstrosity

[roscoesturgis · 1/10 · 24 November 2004]

I viewed this film with my freshman theatre arts class and after taking a vote they all rated it a 1 on a scale of 10. These students have been studying Antigone extensively for 8 weeks and had nothing positive to say about it. They found the choreography to be poor, the use of voice over confusing and the music disturbing. They had trouble following the story, even though they have been dissecting Sophocles' words for weeks. To quote my students, "It was a poor excuse for an adaptation of a great play." "The director is apparently on crack" For viewers that are trying to understand the story of Antigone, this film only served to confuse them rather than clarify.

Worst adaptation ever

[FainneRoisin · 1/10 · 24 April 2008]

This movie was possibly the worst thing I've ever seen. I showed it in my 10th grade English class because we were studying Antigone and this was the only film version the library had. I will never show this again! I am a big fan of "artsy" movies, but I couldn't take this crap. The "acting" was minimal, the actors just flailed around and touched each other sensually a lot. The soundtrack was hideous: a lot of pseudo-opera screeching. Oedipus and Creon were the played by the same person, which was confusing at the end when Creon took his shirt off for no reason. It really turned into a joke. They could have cut this movie in half and not had to lose any of the story.

Laughably Bad

[evil_lsk · 2/10 · 11 December 2003]

We watched this film in English class as a joke. This is one of the worst "films" I have ever seen and is so bad that you can watch the entire thing in fast-forward mode and not miss a single detail. The dancers are writhing. The dancers are rolling around in the dirt. The dancers are groping each other histrionically. Repeat.

Absolutely disgusted

[nessathetyrant06 · 1/10 · 16 September 2004]

I was forced to watch this movie in my English class after reading the play Antigone, and while the story itself is a classic, the movie is by far the most horrifying thing in the world. I'm a highly opinionated and talkative person, this movie left me absolutely speechless. I can't describe how horrible it is, just that it's enough to make anyone who dares watch it have nightmares for years to come. The effects are horrible, there was blood when there shouldn't have been, and there was no acting--just a bunch of monkeys moving around to a narration that held no emotion. The costuming is atrocious as well, because there was black leather and a Rolex on one character while the others wore colorful tunics and togas.

In short: don't waste your time with this abomination if you can help it.