Goya's Ghosts

Name: Goya's Ghosts
Genre: Biography, Drama, War
Released: July 20, 2007
Duration: 113 min
Rating: 52
Cast: Javier Bardem, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgård

2007

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 25 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 37 Ratings

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6.8

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6.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 37 Ratings

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GOYA'S GHOSTS

Movie Details & Credits

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The | Release Date: July 20, 2007

Starring: Javier Bardem, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgård

Summary: Goya’s Ghosts is a sweeping historical epic told through the eyes of celebrated Spanish painter Francisco Goya. Set against the backdrop of political turmoil at the end of the Spanish Inquisition and start of the invasion of Spain by Napoleon’s army, the film captures the essence of beauty of Goya’s work which is best known for both theGoya’s Ghosts is a sweeping historical epic told through the eyes of celebrated Spanish painter Francisco Goya. Set against the backdrop of political turmoil at the end of the Spanish Inquisition and start of the invasion of Spain by Napoleon’s army, the film captures the essence of beauty of Goya’s work which is best known for both the colorful depictions of the royal court and its people, and his grim depictions of the brutality of war and life in 18th century Spain. Brother Lorenzo, an enigmatic, cunning member of the Inquisition’s inner circle who becomes infatuated with Goya’s teenage muse, Ines when she is falsely accused of heresy and sent to prison. (Samuel Goldwyn Films)… Expand

Director: Milos Forman

Genre(s): Biography, Drama, War

Rating: R

Runtime: 113 min

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Critic Reviews

Premiere - Glenn Kenny

Ghosts is one of Forman's most ambitious and daring films; would that all of its ambitions were fulfilled. Read full review

Philadelphia Inquirer - Carrie Rickey

There is so little emotionally or intellectually at stake in most popular entertainment that Goya's Ghosts, Milos Forman's challenging, compelling and wildly uneven film, shoots like a cannonball into the solar plexus. I can't remember when I've been so physically and mentally shattered. Read full review

Austin Chronicle - Marjorie Baumgarten

Though not nearly as perfect as Amadeus and The People vs. Larry Flynt (to cite two of Forman's previous semibiographical efforts), Goya's Ghosts uses the lives of artists and historical figures to show us the best and the worst of our human impulses. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine - Maitland McDonagh

The film's seriousness of intent is unimpeachable – Forman and Carriere see disturbing echoes of the modern world in 18th-century Spain -- but the execution borders on farce. Read full review

ReelViews - James Berardinelli

The movie is uneven in the extreme, to the extent that it feels like two imperfectly wed pictures. The first, while not extraordinary, at least contains some interesting ideas. The second borders on embarrassing: an overblown melodrama complete with coincidence building upon coincidence and plot threads that are left unresolved. Read full review

Washington Post - Stephen Hunter

Handsome but stilted. Read full review

New York Post - Lou Lumenick

The Spanish Inquisition was better summed up in an eight-minute musical number by Mel Brooks than in the entirety of Goya's Ghosts, an across-the-board disaster from one of my favorite directors, Milos Forman. Read full review

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User Reviews

AdamM.

Dec 18, 2007

Very good film! It's really great, I remember it still, and I cannot forget about it.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Daniel

Sep 8, 2007

One of the most underrated movies so far this year.. This is Forman at his best. Wonderful cinematography, superb acting. A must seen.

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TonyTony

Oct 24, 2008

Superb acting From Skarsgard and Bardem. Some of the best so far from Portman. A very nice period piece.

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SteveT.

Oct 31, 2007

The film doesn't deserve some of the negative reviews. The production design and sound design are Oscar-worthy, and Randy Quaid is delightful as the King.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Phenor

Jul 30, 2013

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A beautiful, unusual film. The real protagonist is the world around Goya, represented in a masterly way. Some characters are anachronistic, but the message is strong: fanaticism exists also behind great ideals. Behind "Libertè, égalitè, fraternitè" are mere men, not so different than their enemies. There are two scenes I liked particularly: one when the hen raise its head after the cannon shot. It's a brilliant idea, I think. And another when three bloody scenes are shown while the narrator says"Libertè, égalitè, fraternitè", to communicate the message I told before. The plot itself is nothing special: Goya is mainly an observer, Ines is always a victim. Lorenzo represents fanaticism and hypocrisy: although he seems a new good man, he doesn't help Ines, in a worse way than how he didn't help her before. Not simply by inaction as before: this communicates that the new man is perhaps worse than before, and strengthens the conviction that people can't change, but only get worse. The plot may seem inconsistent, but it's actually very important: representing the history wouldn't be enough without someone close to the observer. It would be like explaining something without an example. A inattentive observer could look at the mere plot and consider this a bad-done film. But behind a simple plot there's an important message that makes you reflect.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

RegOz

Apr 5, 2012

A pretty decent film! Not without flaws, but I have had a great time watching this movie! Perhaps, what doesn't help for people to enjoy it as much as they could is reading too many negative reviews. Personally, I don't think this film was particularly messy, but I do think some people areA pretty decent film! Not without flaws, but I have had a great time watching this movie! Perhaps, what doesn't help for people to enjoy it as much as they could is reading too many negative reviews. Personally, I don't think this film was particularly messy, but I do think some people are just unable to follow movies which plot is a bit more complex than the average..(sorry the honesty). Well done!...could have been better, but it was well done! Moreover, this film gives you a different perspective of both Napoleon Invasion and the Spanish Inquisition...which one do you think Spaniards thought was worse? (not only what they thought back then, but what they think about those days in present times? This movie, subtlely, brings this question to the surface, although I believe it was always there...) not an easy answer, I bet! Watch the movie and you will understand what I mean!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ypomoni

Jul 5, 2013

Oh no...not what I expected from Forman. This film was DULL. The acting was good, but there is so much an actor can do when the character they are given to play is not developed properly the characters were more like caricatures, very 2D. You really could not fell for any of them! NoOh no...not what I expected from Forman. This film was DULL. The acting was good, but there is so much an actor can do when the character they are given to play is not developed properly the characters were more like caricatures, very 2D. You really could not fell for any of them! No feelings of empathy for the tortured innocent, no sense of anger for the evil egomaniac who always gets away with it. Nothing. The only "feeling" you get from this film is from it's ending it's the felling of relief that the film is finally over… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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