The Bible: In the Beginning (2011)

Legendary director John Huston's "The Bible...In the Beginning" is something of a mixed bag. Though undeniably reverent and generally (though not totally) faithful to the original Scriptures, Huston's film is ultimately epic in scope but too often cold and unmoving. There are certainly some fine scenes, particularly in the Creation , the story of the Garden of Eden (Adam and Eve's storm-shrouded exile from Paradise is perhaps the most powerful moment in the whole film), Cain and Abel, and an especially moving interlude between Abraham and only son Isaac in the ruins of sinful Sodom. But Huston fails to make the movie emotionally appealing on a consistent basis, so that what should have been an enthralling picture is merely adequate--which, after all, is not so bad. The cast is very powerful, featuring Richard Harris, Ava Gardner, George C. Scott, Peter O'Toole, and Huston himself as an endearing Noah. If only Huston had let his performers live a little on camera, this might have rivaled The Ten Commandments. As it is, the whole is respectable but flawed, too passionless and slow-paced to match The Ten Commandment's grandeur. Even so, "The Bible" does bring the opening chapters of Scripture to life, and if this movie is not thrilling, it is nonetheless enlightening.

This film is entertaining on many levels, and if you appreciate good art direction, you'll enjoy this film.

The cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno, and the classical score by Toshiro Mayuzumi are also superb.

Outstanding are the first 15 minutes, with director Huston narrating a mix of verses from Genesis Chapters 1 and 2 (KJV), and I have a special fondness for the sprawling "Tree of Knowledge", with its strange looking white leaves.

Other favorite sections:

The great Richard Harris, fabulous in a highly choreographed telling of the Cain and Abel story.

The animals going into Noah's Ark, with its wonderful music, is a delight for kids of all ages.

The Tower of Babel, as an awesome ziggurat, with Stephen Boyd looking simply stunning in exotic makeup.

Peter O'Toole as the Angel, always a fascinating actor, and even in a small part, a scene stealer.

Yes, it's abysmally slow in parts, especially in the final Abraham section, which could have used some serious editing. A half an hour could easily have been cut from this portion, and also, this is where most of the stilted dialogue can be found...but nevertheless, even though it dwindles as the film progresses, this telling of the first 22 chapters of Genesis is one I've seen numerous times, and am sure to view again.

My tape is unfortunately, on the dark side, but still a visual treat at its best.

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1966: Huston's film covers the first twenty chapters of Genesisfrom the Creation, the Flood to Isaac's near sacrifice. With lush cinematography, fine acting and superb music. Richard Harris, Ava Gardner, George C. Scott and Peter O'Toole are among the cast. In the 60's, and in fact years before in the 50's, the bible dramas were quite popular and appealed to many audiences who had undergone war and conflict from homeit was the turbulent 60's after all. The Ten Commandments and Ben Hur were transcendent films only a couple of years before.

Making a film about the first book in the Bible, the most mysterious and most alluring, Genesis, must not have been an easy task for director John Huston, nor was it easy enough for actors portraying biblical characters. But this film is exquisite, well-done with fine performances by the actors, most notably Richard Harris as Noah and George C. Scott as Abraham. The actor and actress playing Adam and Eve are just as most of us imagine them to be gorgeous in the nude, walking around a beautiful, semi-tropical garden and being seduced by the apple in a tree which a treacherous snake deceived them into eating.

The film goes on to describe the biblical scenario established before the Flood, of humankind's lechery and vice in Sodom and Gomorrah, and God's wrath resulting in destruction. Very powerful imagery and very fine interpretation. It is not just a Christian or Catholic film, it is a film worth watching just for the moving drama. After all, life is but a drama, a film of which we all take part of. The music to this film is also very inspiring, although subtle and haunting. "The Bible.. In The Beginning" (as this film is often called) makes a great assignment to watch in a college or high school in which students read the Bible as a form of literature and work of human history, mainly that of the ancient Hebrews.

Read Best Reviews of The Bible: In the Beginning (2011) Here

First, "The Bible," another one of those very underrated epics of the mid-60's. Dino de Laurentiis and John Huston went against the Hollywood grain of rich spectacle and created a minimalist design for the first 22 chapters of Genesis. As with most films that are based strictly on the Bible accounts, the story obviously has no surprises, therefore any suspense is always missing. But the unique, spare, simple design, beautiful photography and excellent music score by Toshiro Mayuzumi place this film in a different category than most biblical epics. The audacity to make such a film is something that is rarely seen in today's moviemaking. Sadly, the DVD does not contain anything other than a trailer. Most of the people involved with the film have passed away.

Second, "The Robe," the first film in CinemaScope. As being the first film in CinemaScope, the first single camera widescreen process, it already stakes a claim in film history. But the film is much better than an exploitation of a technical process. Based on the novel by Lloyd Douglas, its' centerpiece is the Oscar-nominated bravura performance by Richard Burton. He single-handedly raises the film out of its tendency to become too cloying at times and turns it into the intense psychological drama it really is. He is very ably assisted by Victor Mature, another under-rated excellent actor, as his slave, Demetrius. And of course, you have the incredibly famous, over-the-top, but oddly fitting, performance by Jay Robinson as the deranged emperor. This film does have one of those magic moments in motion pictures which raises goosebumps, when everything comes together perfectly in an incredible combination of story, performance, art direction and photography. It is at times like these when you become aware of the power of motion pictures. I do not need to tell you the actual scene. You will know it. Again, sadly, no extras are on this DVD other than a trailer. It would have been great to have a documentary on the invention of CinemaScope and the making of the film. But for those of you interested in collector items, the DVD box has a major blooper: the picture on the back of the box in the upper right corner is not a picture from "The Robe" but from "The Egyptian," which also starred Victor Mature (another DVD we are waiting for).

I would have rated this five stars if some documentaries were on these disks. Still, these are two great religious epics with diametrically opposed visual styles: "The Robe" with the traditional rich spectacle and "The Bible" with a minimalist artistic approach.

Want The Bible: In the Beginning (2011) Discount?

This was indeed a monumental project, but not perfectly handled. Of course, John Huston was an atheist, and this needs to be taken into consideration. He did soften parts of this to portray more typically human reactions, especially with the scenes between Abraham and his son Isaac, than the Bible portrays.

The portrayal of God seems accurate enough. But to portray the devoutness of the human characters would take a more devout director. The result is a lack of conviction in some scenes.

This lack of conviction therefore will disturb many drawn to the movie who will see that this isn't truly filmed as a portrayal of actual history. It comes across more as a dramatization of myth, and the viewer's reaction therefore will depend on that viewer's perspective.

As spectacle, it avoids the DeMille type excess. As acting, Huston himself does take the spotlight with his portrayal of Noah.

Seen without great expectations, one will find it suitably reverant and still entertaining.

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