• Bible Films Blog

    Looking at film interpretations of the stories in the Bible - past, present and future, as well as preparation for a future work on Straub/Huillet's Moses und Aron and a few bits and pieces on biblical studies.


    Name:
    Matt Page

    Location:
    U.K.












    Tuesday, January 16, 2007

    New Bible Films Released on DVD

    Just before Christmas, I mentioned that the "definitive edition" of The Passion of the Christ was to be released on DVD. For those who weren't yet aware, it will be released on the 30th Jan 2007.

    Also released to DVD on the same day is last year's film about Esther, One Night With The King. There's some info about the DVD on the FoxFaith website. From the information presented there won't be any extras to speak of, other than English / Spanish subtitle options. The aspect ratio will be 1.78:1 (widescreen). I must admit I'm a little surprised that the film is being released to DVD so soon after its cinema run. I suppose it will mean it is available in the run up to Purim.

    Even more surprising is the news that Jean Claude La Marre's black Jesus film Color of the Cross has already been released on DVD. There's no info about it on the FoxFaith site, but it's available to buy through Amazon and all the usual outlets. In terms of extras again there are English / Spanish subtitles (as well as French), but there is also a behind-the-scenes featurette. I'm hoping to review this film shortly.

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    Friday, October 20, 2006

    One Night with the King – Scene Analysis

    One Night with the King has been out for a week now, so, having already reviewed the film, I thought it was about time I did a comparison between it and the biblical text. First however, there are tons of reviews for the film, so I’d just like to highlight a few of the ones I’ve appreciated. Steven D Greydanus (Decent Films), G.M.Gretna (LMLK Blog), and Russ Breimeier, (Christianity Today). CT’s Film Forum also summarises 9 other reviews (including mine). If you’re wanting a full range of reviews, then I suggest you check out Rotten Tomatoes where, sadly, the film currently has only scored 19% on the tomatometer.

    Since I’m doing this scene analysis so soon after the release date, I should stress that it will contain SPOILERS throughout, and is really aimed at those who have already seen the movie. If you haven’t I suggest you stick with my review for now. The episodes work out as follows:
    Saul's disobedience - (1 Sam 15)
    [Extra-Biblical Episode(s)]
    Haman's ancestry - (Esther 3:1)
    [Extra-Biblical Episode(s)]
    Vashti refuses to attend - (Esther 1:1-22)
    Hadassah to Esther - (Esther 2:10)
    Esther Seized - (Esther 2:1-8)
    [Extra-Biblical Episode(s)]
    Esther gains Hegai's favour - (Esther 2:9)
    Esther's preparation - (Esther 2:12-14)
    [Extra-Biblical Episode(s)]
    Esther takes Hegai's suggestion - (Esther 2:15)
    [Extra-Biblical Episode(s)]
    Story of Jacob and Rachel - (Gen 29:9-20, )
    [Extra-Biblical Episode(s)]
    Esther chosen - (Esther 2:16-18)
    Mordecai uncovers a plot to kill the king - (Esther 2:19-23)
    [Extra-Biblical Episode(s)]
    Haman plan to kill the Jews - (Esther 3:7-15)
    [Extra-Biblical Episode(s)]
    Esther and Mordecai hear of Haman's plot - (Esther 4:1-10)
    Reading of - (Is 40)
    Mordecai refuses to bow - (Esther 3:1-6/5:9)
    Mordecai honoured - (Esther 6:1-14)
    Mordecai persuades Esther - (Esther 4:11-17)
    Esther's request - (Esther 5:1-8)
    Haman's plot revealed - (Esther 7:1-10)
    Xerses' edict for the Jews - (Esther 8:1-17)
    Mordecai initiates Purim - (Esther 9:18-32)
    Notes
    The film contains almost all of the episodes recorded in the biblical book of Esther although it compresses some, and greatly expands others. Consider for example the events of Chapter 2. These form only a tenth of the book, but almost half of the film. This means that there us a clear emphasis on the romance aspect of the story. Yet, the romantic aspect of the story may be entirely fictional. We are told Esther is attractive (Est. 2:7), and more attractive to Xerses than the others (2:17) but this alone is not sufficient evidence to support a 21st century notion of romantic love.

    The episodes the film leaves out are significant. The most notable omission is the first half of chapter 9 where Esther asks Xerses for a second day for the Jews to defeat their enemies, leading to 75,000 deaths. The film implies that (nearly) all of the enemies of the Jews are dissuaded from attacking them, whereas this was not the case. Esther’s second banquet is also excluded presumably to simplify the story and make it flow better as a film.

    The order of the events is also changed. In the biblical text Haman initially just wants to kill Mordecai, because of his refusal to bow before him. It is only once he realises that Mordecai is a Jew that he decides to kill them all. Whilst this suggests anti-Semtism in Haman prior to this incident, it also suggests that he was not primarily motivated by his purported Amalekite ancestry.

    There is also a large amount of material added to this story, and particularly the first two-thirds intersperse one biblical episode with one or more extra-biblical incidents. This allows for a heavy degree of interpretation, but it also applies historical background, rounds out the various sub-plots and fleshes out some of the minor characters. It also cleverly weaves the minor figures from the book into larger roles, so Admatha, Memucan (both ch.1) and Hathach (Ch.4) have their roles expanded, and Esther’s reliance on Hathach is put down to their friendship before they were seized. It’s all speculation of course, but is artistically valid even if it is not historically sound.

    Finally, the film contains a number of other biblical references. The most obvious is the inclusion of the story of Saul sparing Agag (1 Sam 15), which features the much-vaunted cameo by Peter O-Toole. The inclusion of the story of Jacob and Rachel (Gen 29) is also fairly memorable. More obscure and, thus, less noticeable passages are also included. When first confronted with the news about Haman’s plot, Mordecai recites Isaiah 40, which, curiously, is chosen instead of the Deuterocannonical prayer of Mordecai. Another citation from elsewhere in the bible is the oft-repeated line from Proverbs 25:2: "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; but the honour of kings is to search out a matter". There is also a reference to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, (Dan 3), as well as references to the events leading up to the exile and the fact that some Jews have returned.

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    Friday, October 13, 2006

    Medved Heaps Praise on One Night With the King

    A few more bits on One Night With The King.

    Firstly, Michael Medved is interviewed on the One Night With The King official website after he watched the film. He gushes with praise for it, at one stage calling it "the most pro-Jewish movie I’ve seen in many years".

    Elsewhere, Variety is similarly impressed, there's a mixed review at Las Vegas Weekly, and LA Weekly absolutely slates it saying it "plods across the screen with the thudding portent of an earnest Sunday-school lesson". Personally, I found the pacing to be pretty good, with the filmmakers eschewing the temptation to make it three hours just because it's an epic. That said, I would have preferred less emphasis on the love story and more on the closing chapters (which were kind of skipped by), but that's just personal taste.

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    One Night With The King - Review

    "There’s a temptingly simple definition of the epic film: it’s the easiest kind of picture to make badly." - Charlton Heston

    The challenges of creating an epic film are so demanding that most filmmakers have been put off before they have even started. The rise of CGI has made creating epics a little simpler for those with big budgets at their disposal, but without that amount of cash, few independent filmmakers have managed to create pictures that are truly epic in size, scale and scope as well as in story.

    Michael Sajbel’s One Night With the King, out today, is one such exception. Produced on a shoe string by Matthew Crouch, Richard J. Cook, and the screenplay’s writer Stephan Blinn, it’s a far better effort than anyone who watched their previous effort (The Omega Code) would have expected. This is one of the most visually impressive epics in years. Steven Bernstein’s lush cinematography captures the wonder of Jodhpur, India, and transforms it into a beautiful, distant world of long ago. The sweeping, exterior shots are truly awesome. So many bible films are made in Morocco and Italy at present that those locations have become synonymous with the Holy Land. But this story takes place elsewhere, in Persia, and by switching to a new location, the film captures the otherness of this strange land which would have been so different to the Jews who were first brought into exile there.

    The interior shots are no less impressive. Aradhana Seth’s production design, most notably the palace interiors are so vast and impressive they make DeMille’s The Ten Commandments look like a school play. Multitudes of extras inhabit both the interiors and exteriors filling these shots with a life and vitality that CGI struggles to replicate.

    Ultimately though, even the most impressive visuals in the world cannot compensate for poor acting, and it is here that the movie is a little uneven. Certainly the cast list features an array of impressive stars. One can't blame the publicity team for boasting about how their film reunites Omar Sharif and Peter O'Toole for the first time since Lawrence of Arabia. In the end though it's difficult to decide which is more surprising, that O'Toole's appearance is as short as it is, or that Sharif's is so prominent. As one would expect, Omar Sharif turns in a solid performance, as does John Rhys-Davies as Mordecai. But all this would be largely irrelevant were it not also for an impressive debut performance by Tiffany Dupont. With only television work, and one supporting film role to her credit she effortlessly makes the transition to a lead role.

    Sadly, the acting side of things is let down, badly, by poor performances by Luke Goss and Tommy "Tiny" Lister as Xerses and Hagai respectively. Goss is just plain awful. Unsure of his accent, and unconvincing both as a king, and as a lover he spoils almost every scene he features in.

    Lister, on the other hand, is perhaps less to blame for his problems. One of his biggest attribute is his fearsome size, and the producers have done him no favours by trying to cast him against type in an ultra-sensitive, beauty-treatment-loving, girl’s-best-friend type role. Lister may have been able to pull this off had the dialogue he was given not so patchy. "You think a eunuch cannot know love?" and so on. Throughout the film, the dialogue is inconsistent, often being unsure whether to speak in "epic" language, or to use more every day dialogue. At one point the script has Xerses cram both into the same sentence; "know you how many nights I spent counting the stars to take my mind off of you".

    The script is also at fault with the role of Haman. Whilst it cleverly and creatively links Haman, an Agagite, with King Agag, who Samuel slays in the opening act, it fails to flesh out the meaning of all this to him personally. Haman’s revenge becomes another of those long standing secret society affairs, and his character remains fairly one-dimensional. Ultimately, the bible finds some sympathy for him as he begs Esther for his life once his conspiracy is uncovered. But the film makes Haman’s pleas sarcastic, refusing to allow any ambiguity in the character lest the audience might find some sympathy for him, and question his execution. Haman remains, then, a one-dimensional villain, and the deep, throaty voice that James Callis utilises further renders this, somewhat ironically, as a shrill and shallow depiction.

    All in all, One Night With the King is a mixed affair, visually brilliant, and boasting some impressive acting and creative storytelling. For those points alone it certainly deserves to be seen, particularly on the big screen. Sadly, though, it also has its weaknesses. Whilst they are far from fatal they do detract from the undoubted quality of the film as a whole.

    UPDATE: I have now posted my scene analysis

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    Thursday, October 05, 2006

    One Night With The King - New Website and Trailer

    UPDATE: My review for this film is published here.

    After two years of delays, it finally looks like Esther movie One Night With the King is going to be released on the 13th October. And at last someone has given the official website some much needed care and attention, and they have certainly made up for lost time.

    First up there is the trailer, which makes the sets look vast and impressive. There are also a good range of photo stills, of all the various actors, but the real bonus are the 4 featurettes. It's fairly standard practice these days to film some of these as promos for a film which then make good bonus material when it comes to releasing the DVD. The first two are fairly standard in this regard. They're hosted by Tommy Tenny, who in addition to writing the novel this is based on seems to be fairly involved with the adaptation project as well. Tenny intereviews a couple of the main actors, Tiny Lister in the first one, and Luke Goss in the second. Lister is playing Hegai, and he cuts an imposing figure. That said, he is the deepest voiced Eunuch I've come across.

    The best featurette is the 3rd, dubbed "Timelapse". Basically it shows the set being built in fast forward. It's the first time I've seen this done for a film set, and the size of the set makes it quite interesting. Lastly we end with a scene from Dupont's home church as she is told she's been chosen to play Esther. This scene kind of makes me wonder about life imitating art, as Dupont must have gone through a period of preparation hoping to be chosen to play the role of someone who is herself chosen from amongst many young women.

    Elsewhere on the website there is a press pack with a bit more information. We learn the film was made in India. I like the fact that they've gone somewhere other than Morocco, which is where everybody seems to go these days. Perhaps I'm imagining it, but it does seem to give the film a very different feel from so many other recent films. This is perhaps appropriate as whereas most of them are set in the Holy Land, this story is set in Persia.

    One thing I cam across in the press pack which was slightly strange. One of the PDFs says "Not since the splendor of Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet has a romance of such epic proportion hit the theatres." Perhaps it's just me, but it seemed like an odd film to use as a point of comparison. That said I've never seen it, but then no-one has ever tried to convince me I should either.

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    Monday, October 02, 2006

    October: A Busy Month for Bible Films

    I can’t think of a time in which more has been happening on the bible film front as this coming month.

    One Night With the King - At Cinemas from 13th October
    First up there is the cinema release of Michael O. Sajbel’s One Night with the King - an adaptation of Tommy Tenny’s novel about Esther. This is going to be one of the first film’s released by the brand new “Fox Faith” label. Its release has been delayed by almost 2 years. The cast list, however, is impressive. In addition to Tiffany Dupont as the lead, Peter O'Toole, Omar Shrif and John Rhys Davies are also involved.

    Color of the Cross - In Cinemas from 27th October
    Also of great interest is the release of Jean Claude La Marre’s Color of the Cross, which is the first historical life of Jesus film to use a black actor to play Jesus. It’s unclear whether or not this is another “Fox Faith” film or not – certainly they will be distributing the DVD when that is released.

    Jesus of Nazareth - Full version DVD Region 2 Release 16th October
    This month also sees the long overdue region 2 DVD release of Jesus of Nazareth (1977). Whilst the 4 and a half hour version has been available for a while it’s good to see the proper version get released at last. As a bonus, it’s going to come with a nice metallic case. I’ll be reviewing the film later in the month in my first ever Jesus Films Podcast, and post a brief review of the DVD shortly.

    Mary - DVD Release on 3rd October
    Having only received a very limited cinematic release the region 2 DVD for Abel Ferrara’s Mary goes on sale on the 3rd. Ferrara’s film sounds like it is very, much along similar lines to Jesus of Montreal in terms of approach to its religious subject matter, but of course its theme and form maybe completely different. The film is about an actress playing Mary Magdalene in a film whose involvement with the film inspires her to go on a spiritual journey.

    The Nativity Story at Heartland Film Festival
    As I mentioned last week, Catherine Hardwicke’s The Nativity Story will be getting it’s first public viewing at the Heartland Film Festival. A week or so later the album "The Nativity Story: Sacred Songs" will be available to buy.

    So plenty to look forward too. I’m slightly envious of those of you in North America as One Night With the King and Color of the Cross won’t get released here, at least for a while. Whilst I hope that I get sent review copies for these films, I won’t know until nearer the time. That said Mary doesn’t look like it's going to get a region 1 DVD release for sometime so I guess I’ll have to take the rough with the smooth.

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    Friday, August 04, 2006

    Coming Attractions Round Up

    There's various bits and pieces going on with some of the bible films that are currently in production (to use that term loosely), none of which justify a whole post, but are worth picking up on.

    The Nativity Story
    Not much new for The Nativity Story, but there has been this article from Preview Family Movie Review where a couple of high profile Christians are already endorsing this film for biblical accuracy, and artistic merit before it's even been finished. Perhaps they have seen extensive shots from the film and read some version of the script, but I don't see how these people can say these things with any integrity when the movie is such a long way from completion. Surely they know disclaimers such as "from what I have seen" mean very little when they preface such extravagant praise (and when they can of course be cut out a a later date)?

    Color of the Cross
    Color of the Cross
    has had its website updated (and lost the quote from Bible Films Blog!), and is giving a release date of 27th October. So the Q&A that I discussed a while back is gone, but there are cast and crew biographies, and several more stills from the film. There also appears to be something by actor/director Jean Claude La Marre, but I can't get it to play.

    Gospel According to John
    Things are moving apace with The Gospel According to John. The board has made a donor declaration (if they don't get enough they'll contact you and ask you where you want to give it to instead). There's also two MP3 interviews with Bruce Marchiano about the project.

    One Night With the King
    The official website is now saying it's going to reach cinemas on the 13th October 2006. That's later than the last date that was given of September '06, and is 2 years after the date they had originally planned for (October 2004), but it is specific enough to make me hope that it might really happen this time.

    The Ten
    The Ten
    is shaping up for a 2007 release. There's not much on the City Lights website, but the IMDB now has an extensive cast list. David Wain will direct.

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    Tuesday, April 04, 2006

    One Night With the King Faces a Further Delay

    A while back I discussed One Night With the King, a film about Esther starring Tiffany Dupont in the lead role, and Omar Sharif and Peter O'Toole. It was due to be released this Easter, after a number of delays had pushed it back from its original release date of 2004.

    Sadly according to this unofficial website it looks like this film now won't be release until September 2006.

    That site's guess is that the marketers of the film are waiting to see how Tiffany Dupont's new television series is received. On the other hand, I can't help wondering if they have decided not to compete with the Easter TV release of the new film version of The Ten Commandments, which also stars Omar Sharif. It certainly seems like the film is finished, and yet these delays (about 2 years worth now) are somewhat puzzling.

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    Wednesday, February 15, 2006

    One Night with the King

    UPDATE: REVIEW - My review for this film is published here.

    In searching out Old Testament films made in this decade for yesterday's post I found one I forgotten about - One Night with the King, a soon to be released film about Esther. (Thanks to Tyler Williams for his excellent Old Testament on Film list).

    Anyway, I did a bit of information seeking about the film. It's got a very impressive cast list. Although Tiffany Dupont (who plays Esther) is unknown to me, Omar Sharif and Peter O'Toole are major stars, albeit of yesteryear, whilst John Rhys Davies (from the Indiana Jones, and Lord of the Rings trilogies), and John Noble (also from Lord of the Rings) are also established actors. The only worrying name on the cast list is Luke Goss, who's best known to Britons as the drummer from Bros.. Apart from anything he really doesn't look the part of King Xerxes (Goss is blonde).

    The official site for the film contains a four minute trailer, stills, a bit on the story, a cast list, and some making of documentaries which I've not had the chance to watch yet. They also seem to be trying to replicate the marketing strategy of The Passion (as did the marketing team for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) by encouraging people to sign up as volunteers to market the film. As this is a film with appeal to Christians and Jews they talk about how they want the film to "inspire a godly world-view through the entertainment medium", which doesn't have quite the same edge as the hard sell The Passion's marketing team were able to give their film.

    There are a few other sites of interest. There is a decent unofficial fan site - www.queen-esther-movie.com, and an early article on the film from The Guardian, which reveals a interesting few details (such as the fact that the film cost $16m to make), before focusing in on O'Toole and Shairf. The Guardian claims this film is the first time they have worked together since Lawrence of Arabia (although the IMDB lists three others).

    Two further things I'd like to highlight. Firstly, the release date for the film was put back a whole year. Originally set for release around Easter in 2005, it was moved back to September, and then to Christmas, and now it seems the release date will be March 2006 - in time for the Jewish festival of Purim.

    Secondly, the source material for the book seems to be Tommy Tenney's novel Hadassah: One Night With The King. This suggests many things. Tenney is a evangelical Christian writer, best known for his book "The God Chasers" - a book I have a number of concerns about (although I admit I have never actually read it). This confirms the impression I got from the official site that this is not only a film aimed at the devout, but made by the devout. Indeed Gener8Xion was also responsible for making Christian Movie The Omega Code.

    There's some discussion of this film at Arts and Faith, and blog post from Peter Chattaway.

    Matt

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    Tuesday, February 14, 2006

    The Cash-in of the Christ?


    Reading about a couple of the forthcoming bible films has confirmed what I expected after the box office success of The Passion of the Christ - a lot of people are now making films about Jesus. Jesus Christ is a central and pivotal figure in western history, and so the fact that some of these films have been made is nothing to do with Gibson's film. However, I imagine that most films about the life of Christ that in production, or have recently been released are either because artists interested in the subject matter have suddenly found people prepared to finance their films, or worse because they want to cash in on the newly discovered market, or alternatively because the film-makers want to correct some of the problems they see with Gibson's movie. (FWIW, many NT scholars have proposed that this is what the author of John is doing with his gospel).

    That said the 90s was also a pretty busy time for bible films being made, particularly as the millennium drew closer. In terms of feature length "films about Jesus" (a slippery term) from the 90s, I can think of 7 (Jesus, Miracle Maker, Book of Life, Mary the Mother of Jesus, Jesus Christ Superstar (Stage version), Visual Bible: Matthew, The Revolutionary) - the majority being released in 1999. So far in the 00s (noughties?), we have already had 7 (Inquisition, Second Coming, The Cross, Man Dancin', Gospel of John, Judas and The Passion of the Christ) with another few on release at the moment (Son of Man, Mary), and two more in production (The Nativity and Colour of the Cross). Even assuming that the two Jesus film projects that have gone very quiet (Gospel of Mark, and The Lamb) don't make it that's still 11 films and it's only 2006! (And I have probably missed one or two).

    That said, in terms of bible films in general, the 90s produced far more films, largely due to the Bible Collection who produced 13 films about the bible, 10 of which were Old Testament stories made in the 90s (Genesis: Creation and Flood, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samson, David, Solomon, Esther, Jeremiah), with Jesus also being a 90s release, and only two New Testament films being made by them in 2000/02 (Paul, and The Apocalypse - I am ignoring the other four"Close to Jesus" films the Bible Collection churned out).

    Aside from the Bible Collection, there were 6 other films made in the 90s (The Prince of Egypt, La Genese, Noah's Ark, Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat, Visual Bible: Acts and The Emigrant, but only 3 so far in the 00s (Joseph - King of Dreams, In the Beginning, and One Night with the King and only Rabbi Paul that I'm aware of in the works (again there are a couple of Moses films that have gone very quiet).

    Meaning 90s:00s sums up as OT films 15:3, Jesus films 7:11, Other NT films 1:3. In other words a total of 23:17 with a third of the decade still remaining, but Jesus films have already outstripped the numbers made in the 90s even with the millennium. Given only 5 of these were released before 2004, I think The Passion has had a significant impact in this respect.

    Matt

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