The Scarlet and the Black

An amazing movie about one of the worst times in history and the people who tried to create positive changes.

The DVD and case arrived in great shape. Not dented or broken, which is good considering DVD sometimes don’t fair well when shipped. The movie is a fantastic film and I recommend it to all people as it sheds light on the truth of what the Vatican did in WW2 to save people.

For a movie that is over 2 hours, I stayed interested and held in suspense for the entire time!The acting is excellent. The location, ambiance, and the quality of the experience translate well onto the screen. Especially in today's world, it is difficult to find a patriotic, religious, uncynical, and true story told with first rate writing, direction, budget, and acting talent.Gregory Peck has the strange quality to have somebody completely believe in his role, despite his subtle adjustments.My only criticisms revolve around the portrayal of Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli). Whereas in modern scholarship, we find Pius XII having been the center of the underground from all over Europe, having directly countered the Nazi Party since its inception, and that the SS and Gestapo had plans for his assassination drawn up by Hitler's orders, none of this is present in the film. In fact, while Gregory Peck's character is seen as the mastermind in the Vatican for the underground efforts around Rome, Pius XII's position in the film was that of a stubborn yet quiet old man, committed to waiting it out.This was not the case. One excellent resource for modern scholarship on this is the book "The Myth of Hitler's Pope" by Rabbi David Dalin. Please read this work for an excellent survey of the topic and the relevant work in the field.The film is suspenseful and delightful, managing not to tire one out because of the excellent pace and tempo, facilitated with occasional humor and serendipity. The story is hopeful and uplifting, without being rose-colored.I cannot recommend it strongly enough.

You'll have heard of Monsignor O'Flaherty of course. No? Well, whisper here now 'till I tell you. He was real and not one of them "Barry Fitzgerald" made-up priests. He was called "The Vatican Pimpernel" because he managed to save over six thousand Jews and escaped allied POW's from the Nazi sharks during the second world war. Gregory Peck plays him in THE SCARLET AND THE BLACK, a made-for-TV mini-series in 1983. Now the mini-series has been put together into one. By the way, the title, THE SCARLET AND THE BLACK, comes from two sources: a monsignor was entitled to wear a scarlet band at the waist of his black robe, and and as you'll recall surely, they were the same colours as those of the Nazi flag.Now our own Christopher Plummer - a darlin' fellow - plays the nasty Nazi who has a white line painted across St. Peter's Square to mark the boundary of the Vatican State. Now with Plummer on one side and Peck on the other, why you can see that the battle is drawn. And by the by, Plummer gives a strong performance as SS-Obergruppenfuhrer,(don't worry now if you can't pronouce it, the war is over), and not one of his show-offy turns as he did at other times. The same is true of Gregory Peck, seen here in his later - and better - years.THE SCARLET AND THE BLACK has great shots of Rome and the Vatican, and the story is suspensefully told - lots of scary parts - with the duel to the death between between the priest and the Nazi its centrepiece.The cast of THE SCARLET AND THE BLACK is strong - watch for the fine Italian actor, Raf Vallone, always worth watching, and of course in those days you couldn't have Pope Pius XII in your movie unless you had John Geilgud (now Sir John I'll have you know).THE SCARLETT AND THE BLACK also has a nice surprise waiting for you at the end. It's an important history lesson that goes down well.Peace,P the G

Gregory Peck plays a priest working in the Vatican at the time of the NAZI occupation of Italy. He risks his life on numerous occasions to save lives. The intrigue and suspense are intense.

A little background for this extraordinary film. The book is called, "The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican," a reference to the Baroness Orzy book and the 1934 Leslie Howard film. The original Scarlet Pimpernel is set during the French Revolution and our hero acts like a spoiled count but secretly disguises himself in order to help his friends, the French Aristocrats escape the guillotine. His ever-changing methods and inventive disguises enable him to help hundreds leave France and safely come to England, much to the frustration and dismay of the French soldiers and their leaders. This story with Gregory Peck is set in the Vatican and he is Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, a fiery Irishman who uses his strength and ingenuity mixed with his resolve and compassion to help shelter escaped allied prisoners during World War II from the Nazis who are occupying Rome. The actually raise money from wealthy sponsors who support their cause, and rent apartments all through the city of Rome in which they secretly shelter thousands of escaped allies. Christopher Plummer is the Nazi Commander which he drives slowly crazy, because Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty and his team have the Lord on their side and their genius enables them to constantly be one step ahead of the military might of the arrogant illegitimate despot. This is a true story. It's great value lies in the wrestling of action versus inaction--and the thought process that goes into deciding what it is that we need to stand up for-- and what are the ramifications for our lives and the lives of others, if we don't. The Scarlet and the Black is a very thoughtful movie that will inspire you to stand up against evil--but not fight evil on its own terms, using Force. There is a better way with the help of the Lord. There is a genius way of still getting around being captured by the enemy, resulting in Victory!

I've seen dozens of movies, series, miniseries ect. set in Rome during WW2, both italian and international productions, and I wondered why I had never seen this one before: now I 've got the answer. Without taking anything away from the character played by Peck, I've found the whole film not up to the situation it was meant to portrait: Kappler is portraited here as a clown ( do you know how many people died because of him? Have you heard of Via Rasella and the Fosse Ardeatine?), and all the german soldiers as people who could easily be tricked if you wanted to; Gregory Peck, protected by the Vatican, was in a position to defy Kappler and come out of it alive, but always with a humour which I found totally out of place. The soundtrack also made the film look more like a comedy than a tragedy , and no one acting was very good, except John Gielgud's. The raid in the Jewish ghetto, so dramatic in real life, took place while Peck and the 2 disguised British soldiers were talking and arranging their next move, untouched by all the chaos and tragedy going on around them! Overall, very disappointing, because it failed badly in showing the tragic atmosphere of those days.

Once again, history is better than fiction. This 1983, captioned,2 1/4 hour, color re-telling of a Vatican Monsignor's direction of a massive city wide hiding of allied servicemen and escapees from the Nazi's is exciting and truly inspirational. Gregory Peck outwits the German Gestapo officer,Christopher Plummer, at every turn. Despite a lack of battle scenes, this easily makes my list of top twenty W.W.II movies.

I had this recorded on a disc which no longer plays. It's great to have it again. The acting is superb - the quality is fine for its time - the story is powerful and very timely in our troubled world. May I suggest seeing the film and then reading the book 'Hide and Seek' by Stephen Walker which gives you the full story together with all the background.

The story portrayed in this DVD is true tale of a brave Irish Catholic priest, Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty who saved thousands of Jewish people and refugee Allied POW's during the occupation of Rome by the Nazi's. There are some fine actors, Gregory Peck as the Monsignor, Christopher Plummer as the SS Head of Police for Rome, Colonel Kappler, Sir John Gielgud as Pope Pius XII and many more. There is very little bloodshed shown, the cat and mouse game played between the Catholic priest and the Nazi Colonel is the prominent theme. The risks taken and bravery shown by Monsignor O'Flaherty was immense and was cheered on by me, the arrogance of Colonel Kappler (and of all the Nazi's) enough to make one want to throw the television remote at the screen. A good story of a sad time in history.

The role of the Vatican during WWII remains even today somewhat controversial - despite all that has been said and the inevitable confusion caused by none of us actually having been present there during the events portrayed, this film is thankfully sure of foot and has deftly stepped between opposing factions to portry a true story in a credible light.Gregory Peck plays an individual that obeys his conscience over the orders of his Church superiors and the occupying Germans, which at times exposes him to great personal dangers. Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty is shown as a man of great integrity, courage and intelligence. You might not like the Vatican or it's members, the Third Reich, or even Gregory Peck, yet to observe a man of dignity conducting himself so calmly and even-handedly is to my mind precisely where religion was meant to lead us.The ending is emotional and (dare I say it) an example of real love ? It brought to my mind the ending of the battle of Malta and the subsequent position of the Italian Navy. American Police cars used to have 'To Serve And Protect' emblazoned upon the bodywork, I couldn't put it better.