La terre promise

My Take: An all-star cast and a few glorious visuals make a rather interesting TV movie.

Martin Landau as Abraham? Jacqueline Bisset as his wife Sarah? Christopher Lee in gratuitous cameo as Rameses I? Only TV's Hallmark Entertainment could make this possible. The producer back at Hallmark who might nearly have enough money to make a macho Hollywood blockbuster spend it yet again on a another 3-hour two-part miniseries meant to set ratings on fire. Well not really, but they do come up with a rather interesting and marginally entertaining TV special with an agreeable cast and a modest budget. The movie is basically a 3-hour long adaptation of the most important events of the Old Testament. From Adam and Eve (with cut-for-TV nudity), Abraham and how he became "the Father of All Nations", Joesph and his multicolored dreamcoat and the grand story of Moses and the Exodus, the movie has it all and has time to spare. It's a bit long when watched on DVD rather than the two-part miniseries on TV, but it's an adequate and actually well-crafted effort. Just don't expect it to be anything grand ala Cecil B. Demille, or at least something that would make a cinch to get ratings.

Rating: ***1/2 out of 5.

Enjoyable Biblical stories from the books of Genesis and Exodus , from creation to commandments , man's greatest journey starts here . It includes the exciting tales of Abraham , Issac , Jacob , Joseph , Moiseh , among others . Epic TV miniseries formed by two parts , packing known actors , great production design and spectacular scenes . It begins with with Abraham's devotion , well played by Martin Landau , and his long journey to the promised land . Abraham (Martin Landau) tells his tribe the history of the Genesis : covering the world creation , Garden of Eden , Adam (Ramamurthy) , Eve (Terri Seymour) , Caín, Abel , Noah , the grand universal flood and anything else . Abraham married Sarah (Jacqueline Bisset) , they will have not children , then Abraham's slave , Agar (Sara Carver) , had a son from Abraham called Ismael . Later on , a son was born from an elderly Sarah : Isaac . After that, Abraham is ordered by God to sacrifice his son Isaac . It goes with Issac (Sean Pertwee) who married Rebeccah (Rachael Stirling as Young Rebeccah and Diana Rigg as Mature Rebeccah) , they had two sons Jacob (Frederick Weller) , and Esau (Grainger) . Shortly after , Jacob posing as Esau is blessed by Isaac as his successor .

Subsequently , in the second part is treated the Bíblical story of Joseph's betrayal , who is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers . Joseph (Eddie Cibrian) is sold to Pothiphar, (Steven Berkoff) , one day is seduced by his tempting wife , (Amanda Donohue) , and Joseph is locked . In prison he prophetizes the future by interpreting dark dreams . He is called by Pharaoh Ramses I , (Christopher Lee) , and he describes the famous dreams about seven fat cows , and seven thin cows , that is why after 7 years of plenty of harvest , Egypt will suffer 7 years of starvation . Convinced Pharaoh appointed Joseph as the main chancellor . Later on , the series concerns Moses , (Bill Campbell) , leading Jews out of Egypt . He was son of a Jewish slave and abandoned on a based over river Nile , being picked up by an Egyptian princess . He becomes an Egyptian prince ; when his Hebrew origin is revealed , he flees but he returns Egypt along with his brother Aaron , (David Threlfall) , getting freedom for the Jews . Moíses faces off Pharaon Ramses II , (Art Malik) , and Happatezoah, Pharaoh's Magician (Victor Spinetti) , with the known consequences , plagues, river of blood , mosquitos , death of Egyptian children , among others . Then Pharaoh seeks vengeance ....Moiseh as liberador Jews leads his people through the sunny desert and finally climbs the Mount Sinai , bringing the Holy Tablets . Meanwhile , Jewish people worshipping the golden calf.

Professionally made Bíblical production dealing with relevant epic deeds in the Old testament . It is a luxuriously mounted and well intentioned production that gives an feeling of religious spectacle . The series was well directed by Kevin Connor . Kevin is an expert filmmaker usually for TV and ocasionally for cinema . He has shot various biography movies as Marco Polo, BlackBeard , Mary mother of Jesus, Mother Teresa and Elizabeth Taylor story . Kevin Connor made in similar style various adventure movies , such as : ¨The land that time forgot (1975)¨, ¨Warlord of Atlantis¨ (76) , and ¨The people that time forgot (77)¨.

I found this a delightful movie. It is pretty accurate to what the Bible reads, and extremely entertaining. I do think that some of the special effects and make-up were a little to "Cheesy", but other than that, I was very satisfied. I see this as a good choice of a family movie, since there is only "Implied" nudity during the Adam and Eve segment. There is some violence, but this is only because these events had violence. I found that Martin Landau played a very good Abraham, and Christopher Lee was perfect as Ramesis the first. As I mentioned, I would recommend this movie for anyone looking for just entertainment and those seeking a truthful account of these events in history. Good job Kevin Conner.

I recently found this on a cheap DVD in the UK on my last visit. It makes for very interesting watching. No-one really knows what happened at the time of the events so it is useless to try and ascertain whether the film is true to reality or not, and those of your readers that try to do so are simply wasting their time ! On a cinematic level, then, things are very well done and I did love the limited amount of special effects. Being a catholic, I had of course studied the Bible at school but had forgotten large portions of the old testament. This film puts things back in place in an agreable way. It's a little difficult for me first time round as all those bearded men seem to resemble each other but the beauty of the DVD is to play it over and over again, of course. Peplums and Biblical Films are not my strong point but I like to watch them occasionally for a change. My verdict then is that of a neophyte as regards this type of film but is definitely on the positive side. Also, there is excellent picture and sound quality and the soundtrack is not bad at all !

The best way to accurately give a review of this look at Genesis and the Bible, is to call it a film based on "literary license" or "poetic license" for the motivation of characters involved.

For example, when one reads Genesis, one can't find a reason to legitimize the deceit Jacob shows in stealing from his brother.

This also lead to the quandary of how it was recorded in the first place. If Jacob was just a selfish thief, why would the first people who recorded the story even say he was justified? This film sets out to give plausible explanations for such questions.

Are they the correct interpretations? Who knows? They certainly fit the criteria of "credibility" for the way in which the stories are recorded.

That's because we not only deal with the stories, but with the people who record them, and who listen to them.

The men make mistakes, but learn from them.

I was most impressed with the saga of Jacob.

The most disappointing to me, was the story of the twelve sons of Jacob. I understand why, though. Very few films have the time to delve into twelve characters. It's natural to show Reuben's first born mistakes, and the cruelty of Simeon. Here, the cruelty of Levi is left out, probably because there is a need to go to the important fourth brother of Judah.

All in all, it's a credible rendition that is worth watching, if only to agree or disagree with.