Customer Reviews

The Gospel of John [VHS]

5 star:		(275)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I just saw the DVD and was surprised at the power of this film.

The Book of John is treated like the finely wrought piece of literature it is. The material is adapted with fidelity as a self-contained work. Seeing it as a complete story is much different than taking elements of the life of Jesus out of context.

A lot can be said about the adaptation, directing, acting, production design and music -- but what stands out is that the sum of these parts is much greater than the separate elements, as fine as they are. Dare I say this is a work of inspiration?

The role of Jesus in world history deserves consideration in the light of the extreme religious fanatacism rampant today from the so-called People of the Book. Who was this person who claimed to be Son of God and Son of man? Factually, the apostle John details only a few points in the life of the Man who conquered death. But John says "Believe in the resurrection and you have eternal life now." How radical is that?

"The Gospel of John" does not shy away from a blunt account of the role of the Roman and Jewish powers in the murder of Jesus; however, the movie makes it abundantly clear why the Pharisees saw Jesus as a threat. In today's world He's still a threat to those who seek power alone,

For me, what jumped out of the film and still echoes in my mind is the several times Jesus asks, "Why do you hate me?" That question reverberates in today's headlines.

In a politically correct world, we no longer have public conversations about the subjective truth of the life of Jesus. Or the meaning of that solitary life. With advances in quantum physics, we consider the fundamental nature of of matter, time and consciousness. The Gospel of John touches on all these things with sublime power and insight.

Like in any other movie, this one richly rewards the suspension of disbelief. Surrender to a remarkable film that will haunt you long after final fade out. Finally I understand why those early followers of Jesus said: "We are not as those who have no hope."

The original DVD release (quickly out of print) has three discs with detailed extras that cover all the major production elements.

A later release has a two hour version of the film, very nicely edited, as well as the original three hour theatrical version.

Both versions of the film are beautifully transferred in a widescreen format that fills newer 16:9 screens.

I review DVDs for a local paper. I watch a lot of movies and "The Gospel of John" is among the best films I've seen in the last year. It's actually about something profound and acutely relevant. And it is rendered with style and grace.

If you've seen Jesus' crucifixion in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," see the rest of the story in "The Gospel of John."

The Gospel of John is, in my humble opinion, the best Biblical-based movie since The Gospel According to St Matthew. The Gospel of John was filmed in Toronto using unknown actors and a British director. The intent of the Producers was to present the text of the book with no embelishments or viewpoints, letting the words speak for themselves and leaving the viewer to draw their own conslusions. The film accomplished this beautifully. The result is a powerful presentation that, while three hours long, seemed to fly by. I never got bored or tired, and felt like I had been there 2 hours or less.
Sadly, it gets mediocre reviews from the "sophisticated" reviewers who cannot appreciate the simple beauty and power of the words as written by John without the aid of post-modern interpretation.
I understand it is only showing in limited theaters in the South, then going straight to video. If it is in a theatre in your city, go see it. If not, get the video when it comes out. It is well worth the price.

This movie, based on one of the modern langauage versions of the Gospel of John is fairly accurate and nicly filmed. Christopher Plummer narrates and the actor portraying Jesus does a fine job. The strength of the movie is that while it is filmed on a limited budget, the director, Eric Till, is up to the task of trying to get everything he can out of the sets, sights,and people in the movie.

The movie does have some drawbacks, and since most reviews have focused on the positives, I'm going to briefly mention a couple of negatives: (1) the casting of Mary is just downright poor. The women is way to old and appears more like a great-grandmother than a mother. After all, Mary was probably only 14-16 years older than Jesus and this puts a lot of things into historical context (albiet, probably not that important for this film); (2) Refering to miracles as such and not as "signs" misses an important point. The word "signs" pointed to something about Christ and John used the Greek equivalent for a reason.

The greatest positive for this movie are the post-resurrection appearances. This film, unlike others, takes a good 20 minutes or so and focuses on the appearances of Jesus to his disciples after the crucifixion. I enjoyed these scences very much.
I recommend this film highly for anyone looking for a decent movie about the life of Christ.

What a magnificent, unexpected film this is.

I've seen both DVD versions and am still surprised at the power of this film.

The Book of John is treated like the finely wrought piece of literature it is. The material is adapted with fidelity as a self-contained work. Seeing it as a complete story is much different than taking elements of the life of Jesus out of context.

A lot can be said about the adaptation, directing, acting, production design and music -- but what stands out is that the sum of these parts is much greater than the separate elements. Dare I say this is a work of inspiration?

The role of Jesus in world history deserves consideration in the light of the extreme religious fanatacism rampant today from the so-called People of the Book. Who was this person who claimed to be Son of God and Son of man? Factually, the apostle John details only a few points in the life of the Man who conquered death. But John says "Believe in the resurrection and you have eternal life now." How radical is that?

Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" was assailed even before its release as fomenting anti-semitism. Yes, "The Gospel of John" does not shy away from a blunt account of the role of the Roman and Jewish powers in the murder of Jesus; however, "The Gospel of John" makes it abundantly clear why the Pharisees saw Jesus as a threat. In today's world He's still a threat to those who seek power alone.

For me, what jumped out of the film and still echoes in my mind is the several times Jesus asks: "Why do you hate me?" That question reverberates in today's headlines. What if for just one day, the world had a "Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you" day? Wonder what would happen?

In a politically correct world, we no longer have public conversations about the subjective truth of the life of Jesus. Or the meaning of that solitary life. With advances in quantum physics, we consider the fundamental nature of of matter, time, mind and existence itself. "The Gospel of John" touches on all these things with sublime power and insight. But more than anything else, it's about Love with a capital L.

Like in any other movie, this one richly rewards the suspension of disbelief. Surrender to a remarkable film that will haunt you long after final fade out. Finally I understand why those early followers of Jesus said: "We are not as those who have no hope."

The original DVD (out of print) has three discs with detailed extras that cover all the major production elements. A newer edition has both a two hour version (nicely edited from the three hour theatrical release) as well as the longer version. Both digital editions are beautifully transferred in anamorphic widescreen for newer 16:9 TVs.

I review DVDs for a local alternative paper. I watch a lot of movies and "The Gospel of John" is among the best films I've seen in the year it was released. It's actually about something profound and acutely relevant. And it is rendered with style and grace.

Don't believe the posted reviewers who mock this film. "The fool has said in his heart there is no God."

For me, after several viewings, this remains a majestic yet simple film of sublime and haunting power. Consider it art. Or consider it truth. It is both.

A word-for-word enactment of John's gospel of Jesus. It captures the struggle between Christ as the unknown commoner and the religious powers of the day as He declares Himself to be the Son of God. The message of the gospel comes forth clearly: believe in Jesus and know the Father, or refuse the Son and lose the Father. No compromises, no apologies.

The "I Am" declarations of Christ come to life.

It's well worth your time. A mountain-top experience that will last for days.

I sincerely hope the team will consider similar projects for the other three gospels and the book of Acts.

Using the American Bible Society's Good News Bible, this word-for-word production is meticulous in its detail, and exquisitely acted and filmed. The Gospel of John emphasizes the divinity of Jesus, and has some of the best loved passages of scripture, and perhaps the most well known verse in the New Testament, John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life".
The superb cinematography, the authenticity of the costumes and sets, and the marvelous acting make this production a must in every Christian film library, and it would also make an excellent teaching tool.

Henry Ian Cusick is brilliant as Jesus; an actor with extensive theatrical credits and a varied life experience, being born in Peru, raised in Trinidad and Scotland, and now living in England. He has a face of depth and beauty, with much expressiveness and a voice that is a joy to listen to. There are scenes with a wide range of emotion, from the sensitivity before the raising of Lazarus, to the driving out of the money changers with passion and rage. This is a strong, vital Jesus, not the ethereal slender man that is sometimes depicted in films, and one that I am sure is more like the Jesus of history.
Other splendid performances come from Scott Handy as John the Baptist, Daniel Kash as Simon Peter, Richard Lintern as the Leading Pharisee, and Stephen Russell as Pontius Pilate.
The narration by Christopher Plummer is masterful.

The lovely outdoor locations were filmed in Southern Spain, and the score by Jeff Danna, using native instruments, is wonderful, and includes the ney, a middle-eastern flute, and an ancient fiddle called a rebab. Soprano Esther Lamandieu adds much to the music with chants in Aramaic, especially during the final credits. Total running time is 3 hours.

The Special Features: "Behind the Scenes", total running time 1 hour and 39 minutes.
1: History of The Gospel of John, with comments from the Academic Advisory Committee of Visual Bible International, Inc.
2: Director Philip Saville, who explains why he chose Cusick for the part of Jesus and the difficulty of filming a word-for-word script.
3: Screenwriter John Goldsmith tells how the script was constructed and talks about the absurd charges that the Gospel of John is anti-semitic.
4: Director of Photography Miroslaw Baszak.
5: Production Designer Don Taylor, on building the sets and finding the outdoor locations.
6: Costume Designer Debra Hanson on the 2,500 costumes, and the symbolism of the color palette used.
7: Composer Jeff Danna in the recording studio.
8: Hair and Makeup Designer Trefor Proud on the magic of his craft.
9: Narrator Christopher Plummer.
10: Henry Ian Cusick.

What an awesome presentation of the Gospel of John! The last half of the movie, in which Jesus does a tremendous amount of speaking, leaves me in tears every time. The acting, directing, and mood/story all get an A+ in my book.

There are many, many Christian products I regret purchasing, but this was not one of them. I continually watch this as The Jesus Film and the Passion of the Christ remain on my shelf. This is not a commentary of either of those films, for they are great as well, but rather a commentary of how taken away I am from the Gospel of John.

The book of John is perhaps the most well-known book of the Bible. It is the the only non-synoptic gospel and is written in a style very different from the other three gospels. THE GOSPEL OF JOHN is a movie version of the book that translates the words on the page unto the screen word by word.

The film is surpisingly well done. The cast is comprised of mostly "nameless" actors, but they do just as good a job as any "name" actor could ever do. Instead of the just playing characters on the screen, the cast actully seems to be playing real people. Every experession, gaze, and movement is vivid and real. The Bible truly seems to come alive upon the screen. Also, the music of the soundtrack is well done: it doesn't overshadow the action on screen, nor is it so minor that it is insignificant. Instead, it adds to the action going on, incorporating itself as an important part of the film.

Besides the acting, the thing I was most impressed about was the props, costuming, and scenery. The movie is very accurate with the details of the era in which Jesus lived. From the clothes the actors wear, to the boats in which the disciples fish, to the way in which Jesus is crucified, every minute detail appeared to be historical accurate. It is the way people dressed, walked, lived, and died.

In the glory days of Hollywood, Bible movies used to be made on a routine basis. The media moguls of the day knew that the Bible was rich and ripe with material that would not only make great movies, but also appeal to a large part of the population and would not offend anyone. Then the 1960s came and everything changed. Hollywood stopped making Bible pictures. They were no longer seen as being "content" worthy. In the past few years, Movie Land has seemed to be testing the ground again. This resurgent interest in Bible films has been lead by small, independent companies trying to make high quaility films without forsaking the messages of the Bible. THE GOSPEL OF JOHN is such a movie and if it is a foretaste of the type of Biblical movies to come in the future, we may well seen a Biblical cinematic revival.

With this film and its counterpart of the Gospel of Matthew, we have entered a new genre of Bible Story presentation for the media. It is absolutely outstanding, reliable, very well acted and presented. It makes the texts come alive. Highly recommended.

well done word-for-word dramatization

There aren't too many movies this year or even this decade that one can feel safe taking their family to... whether it's for the sex, violence, language or even subtle yet problematic moral undertones. The makers of this film took very little artistic license and presented a nearly 2000-year-old book in living color.

The acting was well done by predominantly unknown actors. Unlike many "gospel" films of the past, those portraying Jews actually looked Jewish... dark curly hair, olive skin... no blonde hair and blue eyes as was so heavily done in 70's era films of this genre.

The film's dialogue is from "The Good News Bible" translation of the book of John - so it's in modern English like we speak today... no having to consult the Shakespeare-to-English dictionary to follow what is going on.

Christopher Plummer lends his voice as the narrator and veteran theater actors from the UK play supporting roles. Using unknown actors with acting experience was a good move, however there are a number of scenes that felt more like a theater performance than what you see on film - a little over-acted by some, flawless by others.

Computer graphics to complete the Temple were close to flawless. It was obvious that the set designers and costume designers did their homework.

If you want your kids to see a movie without being terrified of what they will see or hear, you can't get much safer than this film. Adults will also find the film compelling and enjoyable to watch. The acting, subtle music and scenery help to bring a powerful story to life that can really make words come off the page and walk in front of you.