Good concept, poorly executed.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Both my Grandfather and Great-Grandfather were circuit-riding preachers in Pioneer Florida and Georgia. This film was produced at Bob Jones University just before I became a student there. Many of the people in the film were students and faculty members, and several are my friends. What an encouraging and inspiring story of prayer and ministry. Watching it again with my youngest son. Great memories! :)

Bob Jones is a small, Christian fundamentalist university in Greenville, SC. It holds many stout and fervent beliefs about many things in the world and in the church. Their film department is very interesting, in that they only have the budget to produce a film about every 4 years, and for the first 20 of them, the movies were dominated by Bob Jones, Jr. and his son, Robert III. (They are "okay," but were mostly vehicles for Jr. to show off his acting chops, seeing as how he turned down a professional contract in his youth to stay with the college.)Many of the BJU films have serious pacing problems. The editors apparently were so committed to their film process, they couldn't bear to see the scenes truncated or sped up.Sheffey is the only movie where that actually works - and the pacing is very on-point and useful in the telling of this very excellent biography of a 19th century circuit-riding preacher.It is the masterpiece of their film department. It is a truly wholesome and educational movie that looks at the background, conversion, and ultimate life story of a very unusual man in the 1800's. It absolutely fits in BJU's wheelhouse, and comes off nearly perfect.The climax is perfect. Robert Sheffey leaves his life, while another repentant sinner gains hers in Christ. (If you are Born Again, you will know what this means.)Very meaningful, and very touching, and they cover an exceptional amount of ground in this movie. Definitely does not come across as junior league, (although it does not have a high production look and feel.)Highly recommended if you are a Christian, and recommended if you are not. (Who knows. You might get saved like Robert Sheffey, and what a life you might have!)

This is a truly wonderful movie. It really tells me how my great,great,great grandfather was and how he helped people. But I only wished that it had a little more to do with his first wife. There is a lot of descendants from his first wife out here and we just wished it had some of our heritage in it also. But besides that it was a very good movie. He was a spectacular man. I just wished there were still good people out there in the world today. He was a very honorable man in my part of the woods, and I am very proud to be kin to him. I also went to a school that is named after him, if that doesn't tell you he was a good man I don't know what will.

If you are an evangelical Christian, and you don't expect professional cinematography from a Christian movie, you may like this one.This film chronicles the life of circuit-rider Robert Sheffey, who travelled in West Virginia, Virginia, etc. preaching the gospel.It takes you back to the "good" old days, wishing that you were alive then, and thinking that Christianity has gone straight to hell now.It's neat to watch, and an interesting story. Evangelicals will like it; progressives will not.A few problems I do have with the movie: 1. Since he couldn't get licensed to preach the gospel due to lack of training, why didn't he go to school or study theology on his own? Isn't this just an example of "zeal without knowledge"?2. Is alcohol really sinful in and of itself? Does the Bible say so?3. Why does the fading away of the camp meeting necessarily a bad thing? Camp meetings were popular in the day when there were no radio/TV broadcasts of preachers, and many rural folks only heard a sermon once a month or so. As automobiles became affordable and radio took off, the _necessity_ of the camp meeting subsided. Just because less and less people come to it does not mean that the whole of Christendom is sliding into liberalism.4. Why did they not identify him as a Methodist? He was.Anyhow, there are some anacrhonisms and hokey things if you're a history buff, but overall a fun family film. Just don't walk away convinced that the Church is not still a bastian of truth.