Pilgrim's Progress

If you are a fan of the original Pilgrim's Progress book then you may find this movie to be one of the best film adaptations of the book. Books use different methods to tell a story than films do. So, you will find small differences between the two but it is very true to the original story. The director does a great job of allowing you to experience the story from the book in the form of a film. I wouldn't say this film competes with the book but rather that it is a companion to it.

I'm done with the review but since I must write 10 sentences, let me offer a warning about people that seem to enjoy being critical of other people's work. The negative nature of such reviews should cause one to question the maturity of the people submitting a review as well as the quality of their work (don't think that doesn't matter - it always matters).

A great filmmaker was once asked who his favorite filmmaker was to which he responded "anyone that finishes a film." Those are words from a person who truly knows what he is talking about.

The book "Pilgrim's Progress" was first printed in the late 1600's and has been published ever since. That in itself tells you a lot about it's value as perceived by multitudes throughout the ages. Paul Bunyan, the author of the book this movie is based on, could be considered a modern day Martin Luther. The 1979 version is rated by IMDb even lower than this one. It's true the graphics are far from "Star Wars" or "Avatar" but the content for believers is encouraging and strengthening. I have not shared this movie with anyone who has not appreciated the depth of life's struggle, value of life and an understanding that we will all stand before God. I find the 1979 version more comprehensive and truer to form. Look this title up for a lot more detail. One of the best family movies I have seen over and over again.

Paul Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is a masterpiece not only Christian literature, but of the English language. It's allegorical format coupled with a plethora of Bible quotes make it a powerful tool for the conviction of sin, the warning of the wrath of God, the grace He cleanses our sin away with, and the need to "run as though to win the prize". A truly awesome and inspired book.

This movie, however, does a poor service to that classic. As I have said of other Christian films, one does not expect or even desire big budget extravagance. But one does expect a producer to find good Christian actors and finance a good script. Pilgrim's Progress the book is written like a play, so one would think the script would be a piece of cake, right? Wrong! Someone somewhere must have looked at the book and said, "Duh...this prose is too hard to understand. People won't get it. Let's slang it up with today's talk! Uh...yeah...huh huh!" It amounts to a rape of the book. Producers, people are not stupid. They can "get it" if you give the old English prose a chance. Another better option would have been to completely re- modify the book setting and place it totally in modern surroundings, instead of this hybrid treatment we got here. Go totally like the book, or go totally modern, don't go in-between.

The acting, while not the worst I have seen, leaves much to be desired. It is all surface. The tears flow on the surface but communicate nothing of the personal struggles within. The vocal work is flat. There is no gesture and posture work that makes anyone distinctive. The characters all melt together, not leaving you remembering anyone clearly. In a word, it doesn't ring true.

The special effects and music, while not so important to me, are negligible.

There is one good result of my seeing this film. It made me want to read the book and relish John Bunyan's God inspired genius. And to think he was basically an uneducated man when he wrote this! Me thinkst our English is getting more and more simplified and dumbed down at the passing of every generation.

I had read the book prior to watching this movie, so I had an idea of what to expect coming into this. Considering Bunyon wrote this in the 1600s, trying to write a screenplay so that today's society can follow can be a bit daunting. Even the Left Behind series would run parallel with this in how it was made; I liked both! While I also recognize that this is a low budget film, we (moviegoers) have been spoiled with the progress in cinematic technology and expect everything to be along the lines of LOTR, NARNIA, MATRIX, and such movies. Some would call this a cheesy, poorly made movie... I say this was well done, and I'm thoroughly satisfied with purchasing this DVD and look forward to sharing it with others. It still conveyed Bunyon's and, more importantly, God's message.

In peace, with hope through Christ...

This is a very poor adaptation of a Christian analogy (and classic English literature) about the journey of a man from destruction to salvation. Written in the late 1600s, it was written by an ordinary man for ordinary people. The names of people and lessons learnt were blatantly obvious to help ordinary people understand the underlying message of John Bunyon. This version seems to have been "dumbed down" even more so, with Bible passages directly quoted. This causes a problem as God and "The King" are actually one in the same person in the book, but their names are mixed, so separating them. By doing this, it's more of a turn-off than an attraction. Although the acting is okay, the poor script and setting makes it difficult to watch. I have to recognise that, because of the analogy style of the book, it is hard to adapt such a book without it coming off a little awkward.