Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14902 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-03-26
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 167 minutes

Synopsis
Drama telling the story of the Old Testament.

Customer Reviews

No blockbuster, but pretty accurate!
As the other reviewer intimates, this is a fairly low-key Bible-based drama - unlike say Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments". But this film is probably the best Bible-based film I've seen to date for keeping to the Bible narrative. Sure, at times some artistic license is used, but it's difficult to see on some occasions how else the events recorded in Genesis could have been portrayed on film!

After watching the movie, I was very much left with the impression that the prime motive in making this film was to portray as closely as possible the events from Creation to when Abram sacrifices Isaac to how they are recorded in the book of Genesis - rather than making a great movie epic; and in this regard the film does well. This does mean things can get a little erm, well a bit bland at times, but stick with it and you'll be rewarded with probably an accurate as possible record as a film-based narrative can be, of the events recorded in the first 22 chapters of Genesis!

Definitely one for the children to watch or for Sunday School use.

Epic but somewhat dispassionate depiction of the book of Genesis
This is an immense production, as befits such a broad scope of story as the whole of Genesis. The stars come thick and fast as you expect from a 60's biblical epic - Richard Harris, John Huston (who filled in when Charlie Chaplin declined the part of Noah), Franco Nero, Ava Gardner, George C Scott, amongst others. However the film covers so much varying ground, from a very long opening sequence of the earth being made with dramatic Stravinsky like music playing over it, to the intimate story of Abram and his wife Sara longing for a child after the time has passed when she can bear, only to be asked to give Isaac up to God, that there is little emotional impact. It's the last story (Abraham) which plays best as a movie, with effective performances and genuine story arc. The rest feels shoehorned in, with a slot given to Noah, a very short slot with Stephen Boyd (from Ben-Hur) building the Tower of Babel, Cain and Abel - the Genesis highlights as it were.
As noble as it seems to make the movie of the Bible taking as few liberties as possible (though rest assured, liberties are taken), the fact is a movie has to have a narrative that involves the viewer on some basic level - and that is where this movie fails, or at least only intermittently succeeds.
It's a grand undertaking, worth watching as a curiosity, but too overblown and all-encompassing to be a classic.

Like space this film is packed full of stars
John Hustons direction of The Bible.... In The Beggining is a very good biblical epic movie that one can expect coming out of the 1960's the decade of epic.
Some truly stunning scenes one that sticks in mind is all the animals going in to the ark probabaly wouldnt see all them species in a movie like that.
Big Names in this film make it intresting such as Stephen Boyd and Peter O'Toole (lawrence of arabia) and George C.Scott (Patton.
The only thing in this movie is its either realy bright or realy dark in color which some times is a bit annoying and this transfer could realy do with a restoration tidy up on this dvd just one extra an original theratical trailer of the movie.
Movie 5/5 Picture Quality 3.5/5 sound 5/5