Black Robe (DVD, 2001)

Kind of a slow beginning. It goes back and forth to the time that Black Robe, the Jesuit Priest of the title was in France before coming to northern Canada in the early 1600's. Seemed Very Authentic in costumes and Native Indians. Showed how cruel life could be in the ministry of converting the Natives. It's best to watch this one with the English subtitles upon viewing the DVD.

I loved the scenery. A good depiction of the sometime costs of strong beliefs and idealism. A good mix of human emotions and the difficulties of crossing cultures. Also a good contrast of the popular notions that all evils are the result of white Europeans and that the "Indian" cultures were peace loving in a pristine existence. A good example that human characteristics encompass all cultures.

This movie is amazing on so many different levels.

What can I say, have you ever asked these questions, "Did the missionaries do a good thing in crossing the sea for the Natives", "Did the natives need to be evangelized" "Why did the Natives ever convert in the first place", "What was it like for the first missionaries"

and many many more,

the movie will answer all of them in an intelligently profound way.

I have been looking for this DVD to replace my VHS copy for years! Awesome movie as far as the scenery, authenticity in respect to Native American lifestyle of the period, and a story that captures your attention and sets your heart pounding. If you liked Last of the Mohicans (Daniel Day Lewis version) and The Mission (Robert DeNiro) you will enjoy this one!

A very underrated film about the French push west in the 1600s in Canada. It is very sympathetic to the Indian tribes they encounter. Beautiful photography as well. Just misses being an excellent film.

A historical piece, it did a great job of showing the hardship and solitude of the early explorers as they encountered the tribes of the upper mid west. There didn't seem to suger coat much, if any, of the facts and filmed this in a backdrop that was truly breathtaking in it's beauty and granduer!

A very engrossing, harrowing, and historically accurate 19th century tale of a Jesuit missionary and his guide as they persevere into the wilderness in their efforts to bring Christianity to the Hurons. A very powerful tale of a collision of faiths and cultures and staying the course despite personal dangers and doubts. The final outcome (based on the summation in the final crawl) bring into doubt the real winners and losers in this epic. Beautiful outdoor scenery throughout. Real people drawn into a heroic existence. Admirable no matter the consequences.

It's a little confusing, in order to get English sub-titles you have to make corrections at the beginning of the movie, otherwise, it's in French. Also, I paid extra for shipping insurance and the disk arrived in an unpaded envelope with the plastic DVD case broken.

This is a movie I have been looking for a long time. It arrived quickly and was in excellant condition. A big Thank You

A true picture of native life.Very well done.Special effects and country side extremely well done.Follows the book remarkably well.

this is a gift and I will not be watching it. Forcing me to write a review is lame. Whats with the 100 character minimum, again, lame.

A superb film set in 17th century "New France" (Quebec) following a Jesuit Missionary through his efforts to convert Huron Indians to Christianity. This film is a first rate study of the contrast between North American Indians and the European culture of the 1600's. I found no politically correct politics in the film. Very accurate, very sobering. If you are a history buff,(as I am)and especially a student of American Indian studies, then you will enjoy this film. It shows the unromantic, non-idealized sides of both cultures and brings home the good and bad of the meeting of two very different ways of thinking, and ways of life. The cinematography and acting is as good as it gets. The film was well researched in terms of language and clothing, weapons and geography. I saw the English version, there is, apparently, a French version as well. Indian languages were sub-titled. Highly recommended.

This is a great story about a part of the "unknown" history of North America. There are some scenes with nudity and sex, but they are portrayed in the normality of the times of the Aboriginal Peoples in the same way we portray scenes and snapshots of life on Discovery, and National Geographic etc. The courage of the Christian Missionaries is recorded well. This film truly shows the beginning of the end of the native aboriginal cultures and the fervour of European society and culture to impose itself on them.

I like true to life movies about Indians. This one ranks up there with Dances With Wolves. This will be the last reveiw I write because I don't have 100 words to say about it.