<P> Bosley Crowther at The New York Times felt the film was, "not a strong and soaring drama but an illustrated lecture on a slow artist at work ." He sympathized with the Pope and his mounting impatience with Michelangelo, criticizing Heston's acting as lacking any warmth to endear him to the audience . Furthermore, he believed the script suffered from being "wordy ." </P> <P> In a 2013 retrospective review in The Guardian, Alex von Tunzelmann noted that the film's "intent to inform is laudable, but a fictional film should really be able to convey its subject without a lecture," and echoed Crowther's observation that "the screenplay goes heavy on the dialogue, light on the action ." She concluded the film would have been more interesting "if it were told with a lot more humour and a lot less prudishness ." </P> <P> James Plath of Movie Metropolis was more positive, saying that "For some viewers, the agony will be watching Charlton Heston (over) act, and the ecstasy Rex Harrison . But it IS refreshing for a period film to cover such new and (pun intended) artistic ground ." </P> <P> The film was nominated for five Academy Awards: </P>

Where was the agony and the ecstacy filmed