Customer Reviews

The Revolutionary - Epic Version

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THE REVOLUTIONARY: EPIC VERSION is a very enjoyable DVD movie, despite its low budget. It has many great moments, and it is nearly 100% accurate to the Bible, without any significant non-Bible filler added!

This film is from 1996, made by TBN, shot on high quality video (from 1996). There are some moments of really BAD production quality, like the opening narration is too low in volume, but the good stuff far outweighs the bad, and I wish this movie were better known.

The costumes are great, the scenery and sets are usually very good, and the acting is mostly very good, sometimes even intense (though occasionally a minor character might be a bit weak, like the shepherds witnessing the Nativity scene). The limited special effects are a little cheesey, but enjoyably so! And at least they included supernatural scenes requiring special effects, since other DVDs often diminish the supernatural aspects of these Bible passages, altogether.

This DVD shows many New Testament scenes being acted out. There are NO scenes in this movie that do not come straight from the Bible! So there is no wasted time. Occasionally, some scenes should have been longer, like the Sermon on the Mount, but overall, though some key scenes are absent, what is in the film is very well written and acted. Only the high definition video technology of 1996 keeps this movie from being better. They tried hard to make a good movie, and mostly they succeeded, in my opinion.

John Kay Steel plays Jesus, and he is very likeable and convincing! He is definitely the lead actor in this film, and no other characters have prominent roles. The closest this film gets to having other main characters is probably mother Mary, and the disciple Peter. Mary appears a litle bit, early in the film, and then at the end. Peter is shown more often than Mary, but he usually doesn't say too much, unless the scene is showing a distinct Bible scene involving Peter, like walking on the water.

There are MANY little, brief roles, which are really good, like the woman with the issue of blood, or the Roman soldier asking for healing from a distance for his servant.

The movie starts out being really rough and unpolished, almost amateurish (with opening narration that is mixed too low in volume); but once the movie gets going, and every scene is a faithful portrayal of a Bible scene, then it gets easier and easier to enjoy the intensity of the Bible scenes, and forget about the shortcomings of the videotaping.

I had this movie for years on a strange, 2 disc version, where half of the scenes were on disc 1, the other half on disc 2, though both discs seemed to be showing every other scene, and thus be a separate telling of the life of Jesus. I enjoyed those scenes, but would have preferred that they were all put together on one DVD, in the correct order, like a regular movie. Well, the EPIC VERSION finally does that, and it is now one of my favorite Bible DVDs.

I wish the price weren't so high! And I also think they should have kept the name of Jesus in the title, since it might not be found if someone does a shopping search for Jesus, because the official title is THE REVOLUTIONARY: EPIC VERSION.

If you collect and enjoy accurate Bible DVDs, like I do, then this is a DVD that I can recommend, especially if you can forgive some of the unpolished aspects of its production and budget. The writing and acting are both sincere and FAITHFUL!

Believe it or not, this was a reverential traditional retelling of the New Testament stories of Christ. They blended the two older versions of the high-def films, added some new connecting material, and created a feature-length, concise film on the life of Jesus. It is biblically based. The only exception as in all retellings is the Wise Men at the manger which isn't how Matthew's Gospel reads.

The production values were reasonable. The acting was good enough. The only disappoint (if I can really call it that) is the high def quality of the two originals did not seem to translate to this version. And it is in letterbox 4:3 and not enhanced for 16:9 television. These drawbacks are only technical, but he message remains powerful and unchanged.

I'm glad I purchased this film. After I watch a couple of more times, I am sending it to my grandson. He's barely a year old, but when he receives this in another year or so, I think he will begin to appreciate it. His parents are faithful and teach him well - even at such a tender age. This film will reinforce those teachings.