Whether humanity chooses to learn from the past, embrace new ideas and come to a meeting of the minds has yet to be seen. CONSTANTINE'S SWORD is a journey that we all should all take and from which we all should learn.

| Nov 7, 2019

| Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 18, 2011

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 17, 2011

It's a film at once depressing and exhilarating.

| Aug 24, 2009

Absolutely stunning mixture of the personal story of a disillusioned Catholic priest and the sordid Christian history that drove him to cut his ties--all the while remaining deeply committed to the ethical vision of Jesus.

| Sep 8, 2008

Jacoby and Carroll make their case skillfully, carefully excerpting key scenes from Lenny (with Dustin Hoffman doing a Lenny Bruce monologue on anti-Jewish prejudice) and The Robe.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 29, 2008

Less a history lesson than Carroll's personal odyssey through the opposing powers of church and state.

| Original Score: B- | Aug 29, 2008

Not precisely journalistic, as a personal chronicle writ large it is a stirring, richly intellectual work.

| Aug 29, 2008

This exceedingly contemplative work is both topically important -- warning of what happens when military might and religious fervor are mixed -- and intellectually stimulating as all get out.

Full Review | Aug 28, 2008

With so much ground to cover, Carroll's own story must hold everything together. And it just about does, because it's inherently fascinating.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jun 20, 2008

Though Carroll's presentation is unquestionably oversimplified...his points are well-taken and worthy of serious regard.

| Original Score: B+ | Jun 2, 2008

Former priest and author James Carroll is simply pointing out that the use of cover up and propaganda -- whether it's aimed at another religion or another country -- is still represented at the point of a sword. That sword is shaped like a cross.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jun 1, 2008

Constantine's Sword speaks provocatively to history and our moment.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 30, 2008

The breadth of Carroll's scholarship and the depth of his religious understanding strengthen his assertion that our misadventure in Iraq is the beginning of a new holy war.

| May 30, 2008

But I ramble. So does the movie, in an insidiously fascinating way.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | May 30, 2008

Whatever your persuasion, you'll walk out enriched.

| Original Score: B+ | May 23, 2008

James Carroll goes on a crusade of his own, exposing the hypocrisy of politically motivated religion and the violence of the evangelical Jihad in our own Colorado Springs.

| Original Score: 7/10 | May 10, 2008

[I]t was probably inevitable that such an audacious attempt would fail to succeed entirely. Which isn't to say that this bold and fearless film isn't worth a look.

| May 7, 2008

A powerful documentary which makes the case that the faith-based fanaticism that has destabilized the planet has been fueled as much by the West as by radical Islam.

| Original Score: 4/4 | May 2, 2008

Overall, rather disorganized and uneven as a documentary, but always passionate, intriguing and certainly pertinent.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 26, 2008