Product Description

This movie captures the Capuchin friar's intense faith and devotion, and deep spiritual concern for others, as well as his great compassion for the sick and suffering. It reveals the amazing details and events in Padre Pio's life as a boy and throughout his 50 years as a monk, dramatizing the frequent attacks of the Devil on him, as well as the persecution he suffered at the hands of people, including those in the church. Starring Italian actor Sergio Castellitto, and directed by Carlo Carlei, this is an outstanding feature film on the amazing life of this great saint. This DVD contains the following language options: dubbed in English, Italian with English subtitles, and Spanish language. Also includes a special 16 page Collector's booklet.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5764 in DVD
• Published on: 2006
• Released on: 2006-10-01
• Format: NTSC
• Original language: Spanish, English, Italian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 214 minutes

Customer Reviews

An outstanding film
Carlo Carlei has made a captivating and deeply spiritual film spanning the entire life of this towering 20th-century saint. I've watched it several times now and find it more and more engrossing with each viewing. Sergio Castellitto's performance is outstanding -- he reveals so much of Padre Pio's spiritual depth, his very Southern Italian sense of humor and gruffness, his sensitivity, and above all his intense faith. His battles with Satan are chillingly portrayed, without a hint of any sort of psycho-spiritual mumbo jumbo as usually dominates Hollywood treatments of these subjects. The music and cinematography are first-rate. I recommend watching this film in Italian with English subtitles because the dubbed English is very distracting. This is an extremely fine film that goes a very long way toward revealing why Padre Pio is one of the most beloved and fascinating saints of all time. Very highly recommended.

Stellar
A brilliant film by any standards; has become one of my top ten films ever. Performances are stellar, and even flaws in the script become meaningless within the overall scope of both spirituality and an amazingly compelling and rich story. Castellitto can not be praised highly enough. This is not a film about Catholicism, quite the contrary, but about a man intrinsically surrendered to the sacred Spirit, to Truth and to Jesus on the most intimate level we can imagine. It is a profound meditation I watch over and over.

A Visual and Spiritual Masterpiece
It's somewhat inadequate to call this a movie; at close to four hours in length it is more of an "experience" than most of the cinematographic fare we are used to. It is also more profound and spiritual than most typical fare. Yet it is truly a piece of art worth experiencing. This film is an adaptation of the life of one of our greatest contemporary saints. There was certainly some minor artistic license, but given what I have read about the life of Padre Pio, the writers and director stayed true to the biographical data. They honestly depicted his struggles, the depth of his relationship with God, and the impact Padre Pio had in the lives of all he encountered. In particular, I think the film does a masterful job of depicting the various crosses that Padre Pio was called to carry, his physical sufferings, as well and his spiritual ones. This movie beautiful portrays the life of this man who lived in total abandonment to God.