Product Details

• Actors: James Earl Jones, Dorian Harewood
• Directors: Lindsay Van Blerk
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Billy Budd Films
• DVD Release Date: February 7, 1983
• Run Time: 27 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0007GP7LY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,697 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

This trilogy of poems, based on the book in which James Weldon Johnson set down the inspirational sermons of old-time black preachers, includes Will Vinton's The Creation. Nominated for an Academy Award as Best Animated Short Film (an award won previously by Vinton's Closed Mondays, The Creation is narrated by James Earl Jones, An Oscar nominee for The Great White Hope, Jones lends his rich, distinctive voice to this vibrant, colorful depiction of how God created the Earth and mankind in Genesis. Dorian Harewood (Full Metal Jacket) narrates The Prodigal Son, a Biblical parable of sin and forgiveness, and Go Down Death, in which God calls home a long-suffering woman.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Johnson's Poem-Sermons Come To Life, February 1, 2007

By 

Peter J Mead (Fenton, MO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God's Trombones (DVD)

I was pleased to see this volume finally make it to DVD. I've appreciated the African-American Poem Sermons of James Weldon Johnson ever since I first heard a reading of his "The Creation" in High School Speech class. POWERFUL stuff. The DVD includes three of the original seven poem-sermons from Johnson's 1927 book God's Trombones. Included are The Creation, The Prodigal Son and Go Down Death (a funeral sermon). Missing are Listen Lord, Noah Built The Ark, The Crucifixion, Let My People Go, and Judgment Day. I'd seen the VHS years ago, and was impressed at the time. Wil Vinton clay-animates the three stories. If you fell in love with his California Raisins, expect something different. These shorts aren't quite so polished (I'm guessing they were made earlier in Vinton's career). But they are much more artful. Especially The Creation and Go Down Death, which are clay-animated on flat sheets of glass, so that they look like swirling, textured oil paintings. The Prodigal Son (recognized by the familiar line "your arm's too short to box with God") is animated in classic claymation style--three dimensional figures moving through three dimensional scenes. The Creation and The Prodigal Son are great for seeing old, familiar Bible stories from a new, eye-opening perspective. And Go Down Death offers a true spiritual epiphany--imagining death as a benevolent angel of God who is sent to ease the pain of an ancient dying woman. He is her ticket to paradise and the arms of a loving Father. I'm sure the finer (deeper) details will be lost on small children. And Go Down Death is a little scary. But for kids seven and up (as well as for families, Bible Study discussion groups, and even use in worship), these three stories are valuable, must-experience viewing.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clay Classics: God's Trombones, February 17, 2007

By 

Rev. Robert L. Hempel "Rober L. Hempel, M.Th." (La Grange Park, IL) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: God's Trombones (DVD)

This is a wonderful collection of James Weldon Johnson's poetry. I use his "Creation" poem as a powerful interpretation of the "Creation" story. This African-American poet deserves a place as one of the great poets on the American scene.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great to have on DVD, January 29, 2009

By 

M. E. Ross "curryrocks" (MusicCity USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: God's Trombones (DVD)

My wife and I were thrilled to find The Creation on DVD, having worn out our copy on VHS. A fabulous visualization of the poem by James Weldon Johnson, we showed this in children's church years ago and the kids loved it. When it illustrated the "God created man in His own image" by showing a series of multi-race/age/gender faces morph from one to another (long before Michael Jackson used the idea for his video), one of the African-American kids jumped up and said excitedly "You mean God looks like me?!" Wonderful narration by James Earl Jones and terrific music by David Friesen.