The Word

I bought THE WORD in a two-tape VHS rental set about 12 years ago for $4.99 - and, I'm glad I did. I'd never heard of this miniseries before, let alone seen it... but, when I popped it in - it made my head spin and, until reading reviews here on IMDb I had no idea what I saw was a mere shadow of the genuine, unedited article. MENTAL NOTE: READ THE BOOK!! When I liquidated my old VHS library, I also recorded new DVD discs... but THE WORD got lost in the shuffle until tonight - and so I am now watching my old, forgotten disc as I write this review. I haven't seen this title in around 5 years.

It's good, but evocative of the late 80's style of TV-miniseries. Now: that's not such a bad thing - since some really great films came from that period from some really fine books, whose story lines simply screamed for a longer, more dedicated approach in their adaptation to prime-time-major-sponsor-TV-fare. This was not cheap and pretty risky for all networks, but CBS bit the bullet and produced THE WORD. But, long protracted location shoots ate up much of the budget which is why effects were usually specious and the lead actors well past their prime. THE WORD was no exception.

The PLUS? The subject matter! Today can you imagine a miniseries seriously challenging the authenticity of the Holy Bible? And, you know: -as I keep one eye on my adjacent monitor- the quality of THE WORD isn't half-bad. The storyline is clearly shredded which only angers me when I realize there was TWICE this much footage originally aired. WHY has it been suppressed and by WHOM? Or: do I even need to pose that question? Now I want to see the complete, unedited version of this too-forgotten miniseries! Oh, sure: I'll read the book in the meantime... but if anyone has the original broadcast version of THE WORD recorded and stuck away somewhere... something tells me they may be sitting on a goldmine.

On the one hand this dull, uneven mini-series is packaged like some kind of thriller. However, the only action sequence in over three hours is somewhat less than thrilling and feels as if it were added merely for purposes of the trailer.

I would suspect that the book, which I've not read, is more concerned with questions of faith, both religious and personal, but unsurprisingly this mainstream adaptation skates over such thorny issues.

What we get instead is David Janssen travelling the world like a theological Philip Marlowe, meeting various experts who tell us little or nothing regarding the authenticity of the 'Word.' The extracts of this new gospel that we do hear are so mundane and under-whelming that the resultant palaver has no credibility whatsoever.

The conclusion, when it finally arrives, is hopelessly contrived and nonsensical with the motivations of key characters left unclear. Furthermore, the idea that an ageing Janssen is some kind of 'babe magnet' is just impossible to swallow. As is the rest of this dull and pointless mess.

I saw the original uncut version on UK television in the late 1970s, an intriguing drama which looked at how the history and story of Christianity could be manipulated given sufficient determination and resources, and it did this long before the Dan Brown novels tackled the idea. The VHS version (on sale via third parties on Amazon and claiming to be unedited) is a completely butchered and dreadful version which is not worth spending money on, as the edits actually remove the explanation and real ending. The original miniseries was actually very good and quite compelling. The cut-down version rates no better than 2 out of 10. PLEASE, if anyone has a copy of the full miniseries, please release it to the world - I, among many others, would gladly pay for this. And I would gladly rate that as at least 8 out of 10. It would be a fitting tribute to the acting skills of Janssen to do so.

First of all a premise: I got to watch the 3-hour version, not the entire 8-hour version. This may be one of the reasons that to me, this was a confused, garbled movie that made almost no sense at all. It was very difficult to follow, to figure out who is who, why and when.

Granted, this was commercially a major effort, but it falls far short of being worthy of the money and talent spent to make it. Even the acting was below par, notwithstanding a stellar cast. I had the feeling that even the actors themselves failed to really understand the story and to believe in it. A pitty really, because this could (and should) have been much better.

I loved reading Irwin Wallace's novel upon which this miniseries is based. Given the modest ratings I was not expecting a masterpiece, but something that would do justice to the novel. Unfortunately what I have seen is an atrocious disservice to the novel. The character of the bitter yet inquisitive Steve Randall, a doubting Thomas after the signs of faith, was reduced to a rambling drunkard without any nuances. The stony face of David Janssen is enough to put you off. Other characters like the fat cat publisher George Wheeler, who uses Steve's quest for faith as the bait to get him enlisted and then ultimately uses the stick to prod him, has hardly any of those characteristics from the novel. The relationship between Steve and his pastor father, his crumbling marriage are not explored at all. That would give a credible face to Steve's decision to become PR man for the Resurrection Two. Instead what we got is a utterly boring three hours without any passion or drive. I sincerely hope someone else would adapt this thrilling novel again to the small screen, while retaining its vibrancy.