Customer Reviews

The Bible - Esther [VHS]

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Of all the Bible sories, I find the The Book of Esther does not flow as easily as others, but nevertheless, this film based on the story is interesting; it is faithful to scripture, with a few additions to fill out the plot.
Queen Esther is beautifully cast with English actress Louise Lombard (seen in 2004's "Hidalgo"), and Oscar-winner F. Murray Abraham excellent as her cousin and guardian Mordecai.
King Ahasuerus (historically known as Xerxes) is a character I find hard to like; he appears to be an indecisive and capricious man, who puts all his trust in the evil Haman (well played by German actor Jurgen Prochnow). It is Esther who courageously stands up to Haman when he tries to annihilate all the Jews of the land.

The main addition to the story is the inclusion of Ezra as a friend of Mordechai. Ezra was the scribe and priest who led a remnant of the Jewish captives back to Jerusalem, but this would come twenty years later, under the reign of King Artaxerxes, in 457 B.C. Having Ezra in the story also emphasizes the importance of God, whereas in the Book of Esther, no mention of God is made.
Directed by Raffaele Mertes (who was the cinematographer for most of the other films in this television series), it has a good score by Carlo Siliotto, lovely cinematography by Giovanni Galasso in the exotic area of Quarzazate, Morocco, with the use of a wonderful color palette in the costumes, using rich earth tones and shades of teal and olive greens.

The story of Esther is the basis for the Jewish Festival of Purim, which is a grand time for children; it's a time to dress up in costumes and masks, eat sweets, and best of all, twirl one's gragger (noisemaker) whenever Haman's name is mentioned in the reading of the story.

As a born again Christian, lover of history, beauty, & courage, Esther was such an inspiration to me. A few liberties were taken (ie. God is never mentioned in the Book of Esther, while He is in the movie.) But these liberties actually succeeded in bringing out the meaning of the Biblical story. Some of the acting done by the actors playing the eunuchs was a little stilted, but it also didn't damage the progression of the story. This movie is an excellent teaching tool to get people interested in the Bible. It tells a story of a young woman who is an example for women of all ages. Esther is courageous, honest, graceful, empathetic, & a woman of integrity & dignity. Through her bravery, faith, & wisdom she brought the enemy of her people down & gained the respect & love of her young, impetuous, & immature husband who was a reluctant king. Because of her qualities Esther didn't have to use ruthlessness & vulgarity, or dishonesty to bring down her & her people's enemies. Because of her dignity she won the place as partner with her husband in ruling Persia, & certainly her husband needed someone who could help him in his responsibilities & help him to grow up & rule responsibly. So many girls & women in our society could use Esther as their role model. She was Every Woman & a Lady! She was truly a "Liberated woman."

I MUST SAY I'M A CRITIC, BUT THIS MOVIE IS REALLY REALLY GREAT!! IT IS SCRIPTUAL AND THE ACTORS DID A GREAT JOB. ESTHER WAS NOT PORTRAYED AS A HOLLYWOOD STAR, BUT AS A JEW. THE KING IS THE COMIC IN THIS MOVIE. I LOVED HIS FIRST MEETING WITH ESTHER, A TRUE ROMANCE. MORDECAI AND ESTHER'S TRUE TEST OF FAITH WILL MAKE YOU LOVE THE STORY MORE. I JUST DISAGREED WITH THE PART OF ESTHER'S ENTRANCE INTO THE COURT TO SPEAK TO THE KING, WHERE HE WAS SUPPOSED TO HOLD OUT THE SCEPTURE TO HER, INSTEAD OF HIM LEAVING HIS THRONE TO MEET AND SPEAK TO HER. WELL PUT TOGETHER FOR THE 20TH CENTURY. WE DON'T SEE MUCH OF THESE BIBLICAL MOVIES NOWADAYS. THEY SHOULD MAKE MORE LIKE THESE AND THE ONES OF TIME PAST, LIKE A.D. TEN COMMANDMENTS, BEN-HER AND JESUS OF NAZARETH. THESE MOVIES MAKE YOU THINK THAT THE ACTORS AND THE SETTINGS PORTRAYED IN THE MOVIE WAS HOW IT REALLY HAPPENED. THESE PRODUCERS SPEND MILLIONS TO MAKE THESE "SO CALLED GREAT MOVIES" WITH NO SENSE AND MORALS. I REALLY WISH THEY WOULD PUT THEIR MILLIONS INTO MAKING THESE BIBLICAL MOVIES. PLEASE KEEP MAKING MORE. I THINK DANIEL AND THE THREE HEBREW BOYS WOULD MAKE AN EXCELLENT MOVIE.

It helps us remember the Biblical story and the intervention of the God of Israel in His People's lives. It also helps to be reminded that satan/the evil one works to try and stop God from keeping His Covenants with His People (including those of Judah during the account of Esther), as well reminds us of the lineage of Mashiakh Ben Yosef's mother [Miriam] which may have been in those who experienced this story of "Purim." Satan has always tried to "thwart" HaShem's Plans.

Very Biblically accurate (at least very close) movie on Purim, from "The Bible" series films. If you saw THIS version, you wouldn't be disappointed in the story-line. But getting the "One Night With The King" version is quite disappointing due to it's liberality with the Biblical account.

This "The Bible- Esther" film is very enjoyably accurate and rewarding! The authentic feeling of the movie props/sets, the political issues happening at the time, the differing types of Jews at that point in history, and the power of the Gentile nations are all given time in this movie. If it wasn't for our exception below, we'd say "get it!" The actors do well, and you FEEL the issues at hand. A spirituality is brought forth, just as the Spirituality you pull from the Biblical account Itself.

My family loved to watching this movie. We made it a point to watch it during Purim...though it would have been enjoyed throughout the year too.

We would like to recommend adding this one too, to anybody's Biblical movie shelf. BUT we have one exception which we'll address last herein.

It's done fairly well, Biblically accurate for the most part, and conveys the same message as the Scriptures tend to in the Biblical areas it traverses. Our family enjoyed this one, on many levels. We'd say "buy this one!" as it's pretty good....but again....

The one exception to us recommending this film, is going to only strike a positive/helpful note with few people (we realize), but nevertheless....the problem we have with this film is that real live human beings with real life families (husbands, and/or wives, and/or children) are being intimate with other people outside of their family all for the sake of "it's just a job, it's acting." We personally don't believe that God will every approve body-close-holding and smooching, as "just a job so it's okay" when it comes to non-married people. You simply won't find that kind of behavior ever supported or condoned in the Bible. As i said, we realize this won't be a popular stance, in a Media-soaked culture, but nonetheless...it's the flat truth. So we cannot recommend you actually buy this film. There ARE films on the market, few though, that have actual actors who are husbands and wives being intimate on screen...or that have husbands and wives pictured who aren't married outside the movie but BARELELY touch in any intimate way (like FireProof, Facing the Giants, Time Changer, Flywheel, and others). We recommend you just place your own family member in the actor's spot, and see how you'd feel watching your partner or child doing the intimacy with a complete stranger (IN FRONT OF THEIR CHILDREN OR SPOUSE). Thanks for "listening."

I thought this was a very watchable version of Esther's story. There is no nudity, foul language, or graphic violence. I'm sure this will disappoint some viewers, since there is potential to show those elements of the story in detail - and this is so common in Hollywood. However, it did not happen here!

I'd suggest preteens not watch it, because what is not shown has the effect of making the movie more intense, like Hitchcock's movies. And - Depending how protective you are, you might not want to explain:

1 - What the harem was learning to do to please the king (!)
2 - why the eunichs were acting silly (effeminately) and said they were not men
3 - What went on when Esther went to the king the first night, and the camera cuts away to a dew-covered red rose falling to the floor. (a great visual symbol of virginity lost)

There are some intense emotional scenes that could scare young children, from Esther being taken from her home by force, to Mordecai lamenting that the Jews will all be killed. The settings and clothes were all well chosen and appropriate. Nothing low budget about it, in my opinion. It is empowering for women to see how one woman can make a difference, even in a bad situation, and how faith makes a difference: God hears.

This movie is very well done for a made-for-TV movie!

The story of Esther is VERY accurate and faithful to the actual Bible scriptures! The actress playing Esther is much prettier in the movie than on the cover of the DVD, yet she does a great job of portraying Esther as a smart, resourceful women doing her best in impossible situations.

This movie is one of about a dozen Bible films that were made during the 1990's by this same company, "Lube"-- a European production company making great films for an American audience. All the films are shot speaking English.

You can save money by purchasing "The Bible Series Box Set," which features Esther, plus equally good movies of JEREMIAH and SOLOMON. Esther is the most Biblically precise telling, while the other two films have to cover much larger chunks of scripture, so the producers had to move story elements around to fit a movie length, but they are all three equally enjoyable and educational for Bible lovers.

Some of the other Lube movies are starting to finally come out on DVD, such as JACOB and JOSEPH, via TNT, the cable TV giant, whom I suppose purchased the DVD rights. JACOB and JOSEPH are also up to the same quality standards as ESTHER, JEREMIAH, and SOLOMON. I think that MOSES and ABRAHAM are also part of the Lube Productions output, but I'm not sure, since I have yet to view MOSES and ABRAHAM. I plan to buy the rest very soon.

These DVDs of the Lube Productions are the most consistently high quality and Biblically accurate series of Bible movies that I have ever seen available on DVD.

"Esther" was a well-done portrayal of the biblical story. The writers stuck closely to the biblical version of the story and the photography and sets were beautiful. The actors were excellent and in my mind captured the allure of the characters. Over-all a wonderful movie for viewers of all ages.

This film is part of the Trimark Home Video Bible series. It is refreshing to know that new movies about the Bible are still being made.

This movie is from the book of Esther. If you are watching the whole video series, you should watch "Jeremiah" before this one. It will explain the first part of the movie. The actor playing the king in "Jeremiah" is also the king played in this movie. This was not intentional.

To keep the movie to an hour and a half, there have been some things added. I do feel that these neither change anything in the Bible nor do they distract the viewer. I find this to be a good tool in learning the book of Esther.

The end of the movie speaks of Ezra and what he did for the people. It sounds like a lead-in to another movie, but alas, there is no movie on the book of Ezra.

I would recommend this movie.

"Esther" is a powerful movie based on the Old Testament book of Esther. This is an interesting movie that is faithful to the biblical story with some few additions that do little to dilute the basic message and veracity of the story. The movie powerfully illustrates the deep faith that Esther, Mordecai and Ezra had in God and they maintained this faith even in the face of immense suffering and troubles.

The movie is well made with great acting by British actress Louise Lombard playing Esther; F. Murray Abraham playing Mordecai, Esther's cousin and foster father; Ahasuerus playing King Xerxes, King of Persia whose empire extended from Egypt to India. The sets and costumes look authentic and there was great colour harmony. Esther comes out as a clever and brave woman who ultimately saved the Jewish people from possible extermination. This should be an inspiration to all women to see how one woman could make such a positive difference to her people. To this day, the Jewish Festival of Purim is based on the story of Esther.

The story ends with Ezra, the scribe and priest and a friend of Mordecai leading the remnants of Jewish captives back to Jerusalem.

This is an excellent movie that is highly recommended especially for learning and understanding the book of Esther.

ESTHER is an excellent story of intrigue, love, and faith. This movie is not only entertaining, it is accurate to the story as found in the Bible. I loved it!!!