The Bible (2013)

An absolute waste of money

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I got this gift as a Christmas present in 2013. It took me nearly half a year to get into. I had heard some middling reviews and wasn't overly impressed by the "Son of God" theater spin-off. When I finally gave it go, however, I discovered that each episode kept building and left me wanting more."The Bible" is pretty much split into two halves: The first half tells a number of Old Testament stories (Abraham, David, Daniel, Samson, etc.), while the second half transitions into the New Testament, telling of the ministry of Jesus Christ and his subsequent crucifixion/resurrection.The first couple of episodes of this series are "just okay". I felt they made too big of a point to showcase the brutal violence of the Old Testament era. As such, I kind of dragged myself into those early episodes. They aren't terrible (I could still appreciate the stories being told), but just not entirely focused.Once I was about 3-4 episodes in, however, the drama/stories/characters really started to pick up and I watched the final few episodes over the span of hours, not days. Whatever you do, PLEASE DO NOT compare this to "Son of God" that was patched-together and released into theaters to capitalize on the success of this show. "Son of God" isn't bad...just bland. "The Bible", on the other hand, is filled with emotion, especially during the "passion" scenes involving Jesus. It was that emotion that kept me watching.In terms of accurateness, I had no problems with "The Bible". I'm not a huge biblical scholar, but I did attend Sunday School and thus know my basic bible stories (!). Besides a few tiny little nit- picks here and there, I found nothing major to criticize here.Finally, "The Bible" can also serve as a great history of the Jewish religion. Creator/producer Mark Burnett does a great job of telling a coherent, structural history of the Jews, complete with narration to "fill in the gaps".Overall, then, I feel "The Bible" to be one of the best Biblical works of film ever produced. Once you get through the first couple of episodes that focus a bit too much on the violence, you'll find yourself getting sucked into the history and emotion of the stories being told.

I finally had a chance to watch "The Bible" and was amazed at the poorly-written, almost laughable script. While the cinematography, acting and SFX are professional and believable, the script IS NOT. If you were to take a Sunday school class of 8 to 12 year-olds and ask them to write a script for a series based on the Bible, this would be the result. I was amazed to read that the producers consulted "a wide range of pastors and academics." Really? Maybe the only way to tell such a beloved story is to be simplistic and shallow. But, since these stories have all been done many times before, I would have hoped for something a little more sophisticated. And whoever it was that said narration is the sign of a poorly-written script was absolutely right about this one.

the scenery, costumes, actors, are great, but the fidelity to the story....what about the fact that, even after the Israelites received the 10 commandments from God, they are presented as blood thirsty, killing any other with such thirst. I doubt they were like that, or that the Bible presents them so! In the name of God, and saying that God was with them they used to kill whoever stand in their way?! C'MON! this sounds like catholic crusades! I saw no episode of Benyamin in Egypt! was that not important?! I think this is one of the most important stories in the old Testament. I'm at the 3'rd episode, but already have a bitter taste. that line at the beginning, with "staying true to the story..." right! NOT!

This most recent biblical film could have been so good... After "consulting 47 theological advisers (including Rick Warren, and one rabbi)"... how is it that so many things were not done correctly?Yes, one wonders how any involved could have not consulted the Bible. To list all factual errors would be another mini-series, but I will say we KNOW what the key Bible coins look like -and they got them wrong. Some are so inexpensive it would have been less costly to use the real deal instead of a poor prop! in this area I give you a generous -1(disgraceful)! Like Judas, these advisers should seek to return their payment!