The Work and the Glory (2004)

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Based on Book One of a nine-book series, this is one of the most touching movies I have ever seen. The Steed family is fictional, but it provides real historical background. The story of Joseph Smith, the vision, the Book of Mormon, all of that is true.\ The character of Nathan is portrayed wonderfully. His brother Jon, doesn't accept Joseph Smith and his stories, so he turns against his family, and joins some evil men, attempting to steal the Gold Plates. Of course, they are not successful, and the plates are translated.After reading The Book of Mormon, Nathan is baptized. His father objects to this, but he doesn't do anything violent.This is a great movie. Even if you're not LDS, I'm sure you'll find this movie well worth your time.My Score: 9/10.

Adapted from Gerald N. Lund's best-selling series, "The Work and the Glory" is a moving love story set against the backdrop of religious intolerance on the American frontier of the early 1800's.Recently moved to upstate New York from the comfort of their Vermont homestead the Benjamin Steed family makes their way into the established social structure of Palmyra. In their attempt to settle peace-fully into the new community they find that the help they have hired to clear their land is at the center of a religious controversy - a controversy that threatens to tear the family apart.Two of the Steed brothers contend for the favor of a wealthy merchant's daughter, and the find themselves on opposite sides of the religious question. As the family struggles to smooth the contention, they find themselves twisted into deeper issues of family loyalty and the pursuit of truth.I really enjoyed this movie. It was entertaining, historically accurate, well written, great actors, costumes, soundtrack, production and directors. I can't think of anything I would change, even if I could. Highly recommended!

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.

I've read the books and I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so I'm hopelessly biased. But I thought the movie was great! The acting was, for the most part, very believable; the issues were realistic; the scenery was beautiful. I thought Jonathan Scarfe did a very convincing portrayal of Joseph Smith. It was a surprise to me to learn he is not a member of the Church. I believe his ability to carry off the role says a lot about the excellence of his acting skills. This is the first film (with the possible exception of Other Side of Heaven) that I have seen that deals with Mormonism and hasn't left me feeling like, "Well, they gave it a good try." I was really caught up in the story and enjoyed it very much.