Customer Reviews

The Bible - Solomon

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Three out of these four DVDs are excellent! This is probably the nicest series of Bible stories available. The photography is beautiful, as well as the costumes, props and sets; the acting of the main characters is superb, likeable and believable; and the scripts usually stay very close to the actual Bible verses.

Genesis is the only stinker in this set. It is nothing like the other 3. The Genesis DVD has nice photography, but it does NOT act out the Bible scenes like the other three movies do! Genesis just narrates a reading of the book of Genesis, while showing contemporary desert people going about their daily lives.

If you are undecided about buying the whole set, then I would suggest buying at least one of these separately. "Jeremiah" is my favorite, and it really captures the attitude of a humble prophet being persecuted by the wayward Israelites. "Esther" is probably the most accurately told of these three good movies. It is a pretty clear storytelling, where the other movies sometimes change the order of events (but still portray the overall message accurately). "Solomon" covers the biggest chunk of Scripture, retelling many scenes of the life of Solomon and what Solomon wrote in the Bible.

I would rate the Genesis movie with 1 star, for being so misleading as to its content. But the other 3 films, Esther, Solomon, and Jeremiah are all 5 star movies! Even with the useless Genesis, the price of this DVD set is still a bit cheaper to buy the three good movies here, at one price, than to buy them one at a time.

If you've seen the Turner Network Television series of Biblical movies (like David, Moses, Abraham, etc.), this movie is made by the same people. In fact, some of the same actors are here. It's got a lot more action and drama than some of the other Biblical movies I've seen.

The story covers the period of Solomon's fight with Adonijah through to the split of the kingdom between Jeroboam and Rehoboam. Overall, it is quite faithful to the Scriptures except for the Queen of Sheba. In this movie, she becomes his wife. In any case, the movie does a terrific job showing Solomon's faithfulness transitioning to his turning away from God.

The producers also take some license in small areas where they integrate concepts from Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes into the movie. However, the point they're trying to highlight in those scenes comes through quite clear (and accurately). If you're like me, someone who doesn't like a lot of license in dealing with Scriptural truth, you will be able to enjoy the movie without a lot of distractions from the non-Scriptural parts.

This movie isn't for small children due to some violence in it. It's PG-13, in my opinion.

A romanticized but quite accurate account of what is written in I Kings and II Chronicles, this made-for-television film is exceptional and boasts a brilliant international cast and fabulous settings.
Filmed in Quarzazate, Morocco, the landscapes are wonderful, and the buildings and set decoration, in warm amber shades, are a visual delight, enhanced by the cinematography of Raffaele Mertes. The terrific score by Patrick Williams also adds much to the atmosphere.

The section devoted to the Queen of Sheba has been embelished, but Viveca A. Fox is ravishing as the queen, and it makes for great drama.
The emphasis on this part is to show Solomon's destructive tendencies; women were his weakness, and the rationalizations for his behavior his undoing. From Adam to modern history, it's a common story, but in the case of Solomon, what he gave up for his weakness was God's mighty blessing, and the inheritance he would leave his heirs.

Ben Cross ("Chariots of Fire") as this complex character is marvelous, and he is surrounded by a superb supporting cast. Though it's hard to take the nordic air from Max von Sydow (who in 1965 played Jesus in "The Greatest Story Ever Told"), he is nevertheless an aging giant of a man as King David, and France's great Anouk Aimee plays Solomon's mother Bathsheba with vigor, as she holds on to the reins of power with tenacity.
Other notable performances come from David Suchet (who was so good in the 1998 "The Perfect Murder") as Joab, Ivan Kaye as Solomon's half-brother Adonijah, and Richard Dillane as the laborer who ultimately rules ten of the twelve tribes, Jeroboam. Even the smallest parts are believable, which reflects on the excellent direction by Roger Young.
This is a Bible epic well worth owning for repeated viewing; some of it is poetic, some of it action-packed, often inspiring and thought provoking, and always fascinating.

Now I have to say that 3 of these movies are absolutly great, but the genesis one is a stinker! Esther, Jeremiah and Soloman are all dramatisations of the Biblical stories with great actors who put in brilliant performances. Genesis is a bunch of weird looking guys just walking around with a boring narration. And the narration does not even match what is on screen half the time. If Ed Wood did a Biblical epic it would look like Genesis!

Ok, glad I got that off my chest. Buy the box set, use Genesis for a frisbee!

After the disappointing "Left Behind-The Movie" and the "Noah" fiasco, I was a little cautious in purchasing this video. But the videos in this series have proven that there are excellent quality, biblical, movies available. I was very pleased with how close the director walked with Scripture. I wasn't certain upon viewing the movie so I had to go back and check for myself. Solomon never married the Queen of Sheba. Solomon just gave her whatever she wanted and she simply went home (I Kings 10:13). But I understand the desire to read a little romance into the story. It helped me realize that it's still "Hollywood" and helped me research a little more. I can't complain about that.

Overall this was an excellent movie! It's a good way to spend a few relaxing hours. Ben Cross was convincing as the "king with many wives" and Vivica's eyes worked perfectly behind the veil. Hard to resist. Great series! Great movie!

Overall these are very accurate. I would like to point out, that many biblical scholars believe that Solomon did in fact marry the queen of Sheba. This is based on the history of the nation of Sheba (aka Ethiopia) and although the Bible dosen't explicitly say that they were married, there is nothing in Scripture that would contradict it. In fact the people of the Ethiopian nation were followers of the Jewish faith, that is why the Ethiopian enuch in Acts is reading from the Old Testament. According to the history of that country Solomon and the queen had a son and he sent priests and Levites to train him in the faith. This isn't somthing that the films makers made up.

Esther and Jeremiah are also very accurate, but I thought that Genesis was a little slow. It is mainly narative. After the story of the Creation it could have been acted out.

A magnificant set of movies packaged into one deal. Who said bible based movies cannot be good? The most interesting of these movies was the Jeremiah film. These films crush the horriable (yet loved) "Left Behind: The movie" apocolyptic style films. The only reason I give this series a 4, is because I feel the scenes could have been shot a little bit better with the camera, and parts of the Solomon film were a bit boring.

It would be nice to see more films like this. I'm glad these movies exist. I think it would be great if we saw more movies based on the books of the prophets, and maybe a movie or two based on the book of acts/pauline epistles (although that could be a bit confusing for people who are not familiar with Christianity).

I just recently purchased this movie from Amazon.com, and they flashed up a message that the NTSC format may not be playable in Australia. Well, it is playable! All modern VCR's sold in Australia can play (and some can record) NTSC tapes. I have found this very useful as 'Solomon' and the other movies in this series have never been released in Australia.
'Solomon' is a solid, well acted drama (what do you expect, with Ben Cross taking the leading part). I found the first part of the movie quite entertaining, with plenty of action, as old King David's reign comes to an end and two brothers compete for the throne.
With the sequences dealing with the building of the Temple, I felt that little respect was paid to the holiness of the dwelling place of God, or of the Ark of the Covenant. Solomon treated the Holy of Holies with triviality. The inside of the temple walls were covered with gold, so the makers of the set should have paid more attention to detail.
Overall, the movie is well done, with a bit of laid back humour, especially when Solomon greets all his children after a hard day at the 'office'. If you like Biblical dramas, this is worth getting, provided you allow for a bit of 'licence'.

Ben Cross plays a wonderful and powerful part as "Solomon" which you will find it all, rebellion, corruption, courage, and faith. Like his father "King David" he got off to a good start but like his father he had a weakness for women that undid him,this in turn, led him away from "God". "Solomon's" beginning was better than his ending he had been raised to greatness, but plunged into the abyss of moral degradation and idolatry. I found that the love affair with "Qween Sheba" was not in accordance with scripture. The biblical text account of Sheba's visit was apparently a trade mission and to test Solomon's wisdom. All in all it is rich in history, drama, suffering, and death, and sets the stage for the rest of the Old Testament. It is well worth watching, I found it riviting and so sad at the same time.

I was quite amazed at the quality of the acting and directing of the these movies. Although quite a portion of the movies have been dramatized and at times exaggerated, the actors had done a wonderful job in bringing the stories to life. Also, execellent combination of the scences and music complement. The Solomon temple was presented with an accurate duplcation of what was described in the Bible.

Highly recommended.