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243 of 250 found the following review helpful:
 A beautifully filmed, heartbreaking masterpiece!May 07, 2005
By Dave
Robert De Niro is Rodrigo Mendoza, a wealthy adventurer who makes a fortune as a mid-eighteenth-century slave trader, capturing Guarani Indians in Paraguay and selling them for a huge profit to the local governor. Mendoza's life takes a turn for the worse, however, when he learns that the woman he loves, Carlotta (Cherie Lunghi), has fallen in love with his younger brother, Felipe (Aidan Quinn). And when he discovers them in bed together, he loses control and kills his brother in a swordfight. Afterwards, however, Mendoza is consumed with extreme guilt and he becomes a Jesuit postulant after meeting Father Gabriel (Jeremy Irons). But Father Gabriel, who has always cared for the natives and resented the slave traders, is at first unsure if Mendoza's desire to do penance and achieve redemption is sincere. Mendoza fianlly completes his penance after suffering many hardships, and he helps Gabriel teach the Indians about Christianity. As the years pass, Mendoza and Gabriel become close if somewhat wary companions, running the isolated mission above Iguacu Falls together while allowing each other plenty of personal space.
Everything changes, though, when in 1750 Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Madrid, which redefines their territorial borders in the Americas. The end result of the treaty is that Spain (which has forsaken slavery) delivers the Indian land to Portugal (where slavery remains legal). To avoid the Jesuit order being expulled from Portugal, all Jesuit missions in South America are ordered closed by the Pope, which means the Indians living there will be abandoned to the slave traders. The Guarani Indians are determined to stay and fight for the mission they've come to love, and this deeply troubles Mendoza. Despite his Jesuit vow of practicing nonviolence, he knows that with his past fighting skills as a mercenary he's the only one who can teach the Guaranis to defend themselves. Gabriel also stays, but for a different reason. The end result of the inevitable battle is predictable but nevertheless is devastating to watch.
"The Mission" is without a doubt one of the most breathtaking masterpieces I've ever seen. It is simply stunning, both in a visual and spiritual way that few films can achieve. Robert De Niro, although boldy cast against type, gave one of his finest performances and certainly deserved an oscar. Jeremy Irons was also outstanding, and the supporting cast (including Aidan Quinn and Liam Neeson) was wonderful. The scenery was incredible, as was the cinematography. And who can forget the beautiful music by one of the greatest composers of all time, Ennio Morricone? In short, to call this one of the greatest movies of all time is an understatement. The dvd has an awesome picture and sound quality that even improve the viewing experience, and the in-depth making-of documentary was very informative and entertaining. If you enjoy watching movies at all, then do yourself a favor and add this treasure to your collection!
34 of 35 found the following review helpful:
A mesmerisingly brilliant film experienceJul 15, 1999
This isn't just an excellent movie, it's nothing short of an experience that stirs your very soul. A masterpiece of cinematic art, it's unpretentious in its courage, raw in its rugged beauty and heart-wrenching in its honesty. Jeremy Irons and Robert De Niro looked like two actors who transcended their performances and got enveloped in a real embrace of the movie's theme about courage and redemption whilst making this film. The powerful current of passion in this movie is beautifully directed and surges as the movie progresses, until its climatic ending which leaves the viewer both lifted and drained. A totally underrated movie by Hollywood standards, it ironically redeems tinseltown from the bulk of what it churns out these days. A very brilliant film that demands repeated watchings to further appreciate, not to mention an unearthly film score that's short of a better word, "HEAVENLY"
66 of 75 found the following review helpful:
BreathTaking Tale of Exploration and ColonializationJan 05, 2004
By rodboomboom
This is provocative cinema adventure of priests taking Kingdom of God to a native population yet untouched by advancing culture and technology. DeNiro is powerful in role of changed mercenary/slavetrader who jumps sides, while Irons is just superb in role of spiritual giant with magic oboe who leads this people against all odds only to be overran -- or were they? The storyline develops slowly yet beautifully in this magnificent landscape of South America. What makes it all one moving drama is a great soundtrack by Ennio Morricone.
21 of 21 found the following review helpful:
 Mission failureDec 22, 2010
By S. Swellander
I saw The Mission when it was first released in the theater and was moved by the drama as well as the lyrical score by Ennio Morricone and the sumptuous visual production and sound. I have purchased this film in every format that it has been released in except laserdisc. As home video technology improves, I guess I am always searching for the ultimate reproduction of the experience I received in the theater upon its original release. I even sold my DVD copy in anticipation of this blu-ray release, and now wish I hadn't.
OK, the movie is still the same--a uniquely serious Hollywood examination of pacifism and war. Screenwriter Robert Bolt's dramatic treatment of two characters who both have critical reasons for following their opposite paths is as sensitive and timely today as it ever was. Robert DeNiro, who never quite manages to convince us that he is not from New York, nontheless delivers a powerful performance as a Spanish warrior and slave trader who seeks redemption by becoming a man of the cloth after killing his own brother. Jeremy Irons is the Jesuit missionary who tries with nonviolent resistance to protect the native people of Paraguay from enslavement and slaughter. Between them is the archbishop who must balance the ideals of the church with the political realities of trying to hold competing elements of Christendom together. The film is a special one with a complex interplay of ideas and deserves the best possible transfer, which unfortunately it does not get in this release.
The picture is reasonably sharp, but the colors are less brilliant than in previous releases. The film has no doubt aged, but the recent DVD release looks more brilliant than the blu-ray. The blu-ray simply doesn't pop like the best HD transfers do. The blacks are grainy and the contrast is mostly dull. A real disappointment.
As for the sound, there are no options but a flat DTS-HD rendering. At first I thought the film had been mastered in monaural--everything seemed to be coming from my center speaker. In fact, it is surround, but I had to roll the center channel way down to hear any separation, and the rears have to be cranked way up to get any appreciable surround effect. Upon its first release, The Mission had a reference quality sound design, and the scene at the beginning when an unfortunate missionary is crucified by the natives and floated over the waterfall sounded stunning and enveloping in both VHS and DVD, giving my subwoofer some work to do. What happened to the blu-ray? It sounds lifeless. If nothing else, Morricone's score deserves much better. Blu-ray viewers have come to expect the best.
I will always give the original film five stars, but not this disappointing blu-ray. Usually Warner Brothers does much better than this. The Mission received a stunning DVD release some years ago in a deluxe package, but the blu-ray package looks like an afterthought. The only real extra is the same documentary that was included in the DVD. It looked bad on DVD and looks even worse on blu-ray. The Mission was never a blockbuster hit, but has a faithful, serious following and deserves better. One day it will undoubtedly be remastered--it certainly should be--and I'll have to buy it again. Maybe that was the point of this release.
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
StunningMar 31, 2007
By Steven R. McEvoy
"MCWPP"
This is a true story and it is a very sad one in the history of the west and of the church.
Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson and many more take us through the history of slavers in South America. Irons, who plays a Spanish Jesuit Priest, goes into the wilderness to build a mission, to convert the Indians. DeNiro plays a slaver who eventually joins Irons' mission and serves the native peoples.
The main question in this film is that of ownership, and the right to make slaves. The mission begins in Spanish territory that is sold to the Portuguese. The Portuguese do not want to accept that the natives are humans - but at best trained monkeys - and that their Christianity does not protect them from becoming slaves. The Cardinal who came to oversee the decision came with a decision already made, and his inner turmoil, as the narrator, draws the viewer into the political side of the decision and the political side of the church's role in the decision, at that time, in a way that few other films ever have.
The film is a cinematographic masterpiece. While watching the movie, pay close attention to light and darkness, the music, and the angles used in filming. This movie is great and a must see because of the story it tells and the way it tells it. It is truly a film and not just a movie.
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