The Work and the Glory (2004)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

I loved the movie! The church history in it was awesome! I loved the guy who played Joseph. The guy who played Nathan was my favorite character. I loved him in the books and i love the actor who plays him. He is a very hot guy. that's why i formed the NLA! Nathan Lovers Assosiation. Anyway the actors/actress's were really good. I am glad that they chose such great people. I would totally recommend this movie. I probably have the record of how many times people have watched it. Let's just say the number is close to 20 times. I know you guys probably think i'm crazy, but oh well. Indeed this is a good movie. One of the best i've ever seen. I'm so excited for the second movie to come out i'm going to be jumping off of the walls. Thanks for listening to me blabbing on and on. Thanks for listening to my comment. Goodbye

I have seen this movie twice and added the DVD to my personal collection. I also read the complete book series. The screen play is one of the most remarkable re-creations of a novel into a movie that I have yet to experience in my 66 years. Mr. Larry H. Miller, Executive Producer has gone on record and saying he loves the series and that's why he was pay rolling it. I have met and talked with the author Gerald N. Lund, a remarkable writer, historian, and marvelous Christian. His work combines both accurate history and an exciting and unique way to present, what could be boring history. I find his work, not only rewarding, but truly remarkable. This film had to be made. It will go a long way to dismiss erroneous "myths" about Joseph Smith and the "Mormon" Church in particular. I highly recommend it to both LDS member and non-LDS audience member patrons alike. This movie is highly entertaining as well as educational. I have never given a move 10 out of 10 until I saw this movie.

First this movie was great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I think we could all learn something from it. I am not a Morman. I was raised a Catholic however in Highschool became a Baptist than went to no church Now I am a Presbyterian. I purchased the movie because I have gotten the book and i was turned on to the book by a Morman friend. Funny how things work I remember renting a movie about Brigham Young it caught my eye because of it being an old movie at the time I rented it I have no idea who the man was. I knew the Osmonds were Morman I do recommend this movie to all it really shows something about accepting people and what our forefathers came to this country for. It is not freedom from religion it is freedom of religion. I am beginning to have a new eye in regards to the Mormans and all the things I have heard in the past. Good movie

My wife and I had just completed reading all nine volumes of TW&TG just a month or so previous to our taking in the motion picture. We are fortunate that we live in one of the few areas outside the Wasatch Front that is privileged to get these films for short engagements at one single Mega-plex here in west Houston.I had read reviews here and elsewhere that had led me to believe the quality of the acting would be "below average," but I have to say that I cannot agree. No one is bucking for an "Oscar" here but the acting is at least on the level of your typical made-for-TV miniseries, the like of which were popular in the late-70s and 80s. Even some of the minor characters like that of "Will Murdock" were played quite believably; I did not note much in the way of "hammy" quality even in those scenes where you might expect it (crowd scenes e.g.) With minor changes the story was faithful to the first volume of Lund's "nonology," and although I thought the part of Joseph Smith Jr. was ably played the focus really was on the Steed family and friends and the reactions of those protagonists to what was transpiring.They spent a good amount of script-time on the conflict between the family members--especially Joshua and his father--and I thought did a good job of efficiently moving the story along without the benefit of "backstory" that the novel affords.I think I enjoyed most of all the seemingly accurate depiction of American frontier life in the 1830s (even though like the book, the dialog is glaringly "modern"), and the score.The music's effectiveness was accompanied by a very good audio track that allowed a clear understanding of what was being said (even asides by "extras" during crowd scenes). The sound quality overall was just superb.The camera work was likewise. I am amazed at how well-lighted even a low-budget film like this can be given current technology. There were a few scenes that were rather dim, but I thought this actually contributed to the feeling of being there at a time when coal-lamps were the source of light after dark. One scene of this type that comes to mind was that of Mary Ann Steed reading the concluding verses of the Gospel of John early on an Easter Sunday.All in all, I quite enjoyed this film and will be sure to pick it up on DVD when it is released. I am quite critical of independent LDS films because I think too many of them fail to measure up to the standards set by the BYU Film Department/LDS Film Studios' official releases for the Church, most of which are about as good as they come.I thought The Work and the Glory set the bar a little higher, and hope that the production company is able to realize a profit on the release so that we might possibly look forward to a continuation of the Steed saga in future releases based on the Lund series of books.