Customer Reviews

Bible Time Favorites

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Most historically significant in BIBLE TIME CLASSICS is a star-studded episode of "Family Theatre." In its cast are (among others) Jimmy Cagney's sister, June Lockhart's dad, and 20-year-old James Dean (at the beginning of his brief film career). One of the half-dozen European productions here is co-directed by the unlikely combination of Raoul Walsh and horror movie specialist Mario Bava. Joan Collins is cast as a virtuous woman in that same epic while Orson Welles portrays King Saul in another.

HISTORIC CLASSICS 50 MOVIE PACK is a larger collection of similar movies, plus some non-religious works.

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The parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.

(4.6) David And Goliath (Italy-1960) - Orson Welles
(4.6) Esther And The King (Italy/USA-1960) - Joan Collins/Richard Egan
(7.9) The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Italy/France-1964) - Enrique Irazoqui
(7.1) The Great Commandment (1939) - John Beal/Albert Dekker/Marjorie Cooley
(8.5) Hill Number One ("Family Theatre") (TV-1951) - Leif Erickson/Roddy McDowell/William Schallert/Jeanne Cagney/Frank Wilcox/Gene Lockhart/Regis Toomey/Michael Ansara/James Dean
(8.5) I Beheld His Glory (TV-1953) - George Macready/Robert Wilson/Lowell Gilmore
(5.6) Joseph and his Brethren (Yugo/Italy-1960) - Terence Hill/Robert Morley/Geoffrey Horne
(7.0) Martin Luther (USA/W Ger-1953) - Niall MacGinnis
(3.7) The Power of the Resurrection (1958) - Richard Kiley/Jon Shepodd/Vic Tayback (uncredited)
(6.3) Saul And David (Spain/Italy-1964) - Norman Wooland

BONUS FEATURES:
DISC 1: The Beauty of the Bible Through Art
Disc 2: Exploring the Holy Land (interactive map)
Disc 3: The Wisdom of the Bible

I wasn't really expecting much from a budget-label DVD set, but I do pick them up on the cheap when I can as a means of screening obscure or hard to find films. That way I can decide whether or not to seek out better, higher-quality editions.

In this instance, the films were the sort of 50's and 60's era blood and thunder you'd expect, but the faded, beaten and tinny-sounding public domain/TV prints they used left the films more anaemic and wheezing than blood and thunder.

The fault is not the films themselves (which are actually rather interesting), but rather with the shabby, low-budget source material used and the indifferent digital transfer.

As the previous reviewer stated, I would be embarassed to screen these for a Bible Study group or film appreciation class, but for private home viewing they should tide you over until somebody releases better editions.

For the price, this is a good deal. Watch all of the movies before "throwing stones" at the entire fifteen hour production! The Movie "Power of the Resurrection" is very good. Several of the others are also quite interesting. A couple are rather "corny" and some are done in Italian with English on the soundtrack. No close captioning. So, what do you want for ten dollars? See Joan Collins in her 20's! Good show!

No reviews available pre-purchase. Set was Totally useless. Laughably out-of-date. Poor color. Two disks had flasws at the ends. I wanted to use them for a Bible study group, but wound up throwing the three dvd set in the trash. The cost and trouble of returning for credit were not worth the effort. -- Zero stars but one star was the lowest rating accepted. -- I exopected better of Amazon.