Customer Reviews

Mark's Gospel as Told by Max McLean - DVD - All Regions

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is the better of the two (Genesis and Mark), because I don't like the over-dramatization and stage effects of Genesis as much. But both are wonderful and worth watching multiple times.

Max is a master storyteller. You feel as if you're spending time listening to the Apostle himself tell the story. Makes the pages of scripture come alive like reading just cannot do. If you've never seen or heard a dramatized presentation of any of the Bible before, I recommend this as a good start. I wish he had used the KJV version, simply for the beauty of the language. Also the NIV has certain passages and sentences missing, so you don't get the full message. That is why I only give this 4 stars.

There's something about the way a trained stage performer tells a story, and British actor Max McLean brings the Gospel of Mark alive with a freshness and excitment that draws us in. Using only the simplest of props and a darkened stage, McLean does what the old radio shows used to do, weaving a spell in which the audience uses their own imaginations to recreate the scenes that Mark wrote 2000 years ago. Mark's gospel is the most fast-paced and least philosophical, and hearing it told without interruption as it was originally meant to be--a story about Jesus and what he did--transports the viewer to another time and place. McLean's nuanced narrative helped us feel as if we were hearing the story for the first time, and like all good stories wishing it did not have to end

I have always sensed that the Gospels were really stories meant to be told. Like a pebble, the simple, opening lines of Mark propel wave after wave of the words and deeds of Christ.
Mr. McLean's inspired performance immerses us in the natural rhythm of the text. His nuance of diction and emotion recreates a true listening of the Gospel, just as if we were hearing it for the first time from the Apostle himself.

My Bible Study class just ended the book of Mark's Gospel and I used
Max McLean's DVD as an enhancement. The class loved it. They were astonished as to how much of Mark's Gospel they'd retained and could insert words that Max used as he narrated. Max does an excellent narration and his facts are on target with the Bible. I highly recommend Max McLean's DVD to all.

The Gospels were written to be read aloud to illiterate audiences - when that reading is done as well as this its power is just as great to those who can read. You will be surprised just how clearly the story of Jesus' ministry comes across and just how much pathos, drama, joy and even humour there is in the book that speaks so clearly of our saviours desire to redeem the world even after 2,000 years.

Excellent performance of Mark's Gospel. A stunning reminder that the Bible is handed down from an oral tradition. Mr. McLean is a gifted performer.

I became acquainted with this DVD because a class I took was studying the Gospel of Mark. We played segments of this DVD every week to go along with the part of the gospel we were studying in a particular week. We were totally enthralled with Max's "telling" of this gospel. He is a tremendously gifted actor/speaker who understands every nuance of this gospel and is able to show it in his voice and facial expressions and body language. It is presented very simply with Max and a chair and the gospel. It is the most powerful presentation of the gospel I have every heard and seen. I purchased my own copy of this DVD to savor its content over and over again and to share it with my friends and family when they come by.

Mark McLean does a masterful job of dramatically reciting the entire Gospel of Mark from memory in a captivating, powerful, and memorable way.

This DVD is highly recommended to use as teaching and just learning of God's wonders. I truly enjoyed it.