Customer Reviews

The Word [VHS]

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

 

 

The original mini-series was 6 hours long...this version is only 3 hours.

IGNORE all the nonsense about this being the un-edited, full-length, un-cut version....PURE LIES!

If you are going to cut 50% of a movie for purely economical, greedy, self-serving purposes, as the distributors of this VHS tape have done...expect a movie that makes no sense whatsoever.

Again: the distributors of this have trashed and destroyed a great mini-series for purely greedy intentions and seem to forgot that some of us remember the original.

IGNORE THIS VERSION AT ALL COSTS !!!

There is another version of this video. It is called "The Word" by USA Home Video, and it has two tapes in a pack with 188 minutes in a full length feature film (according to the box).

I can't believe that my wife and I spent three hours watching this tripe. The acting is ho hum and the plot is unimaginably stupid. It doesn't hang together in the least. The rationale for people's actions are never explained and the ending is totally unbelievable. David Janssen was far too old to be the 'babe magnet' dnd seducer his character was meant to portray. Stay away from this one.

The Word you saw on television when it was first released is not this video. The cuts are so deep that in thier effort to make it fit in one video cassette, they even cut off the ending altogether, In the original ending, David Jansen's father (John Houston) recovers from his stroke and tells his son how the new Third Testament has changed his life and the lives of millions of others. It's the punchline of the film and they cut it off! Don't waste you money.

This edition consists of 3 50 minute tapes. With 3 tapes, you'd think they would feature the complete mini-series. But many character scenes have been cut, especially those by John Huston! Still worth seeing until a better version comes along.

In the dank catacombs beneath Ostia, Italy, an archeologist discovers an ancient manuscript that could turn the Christian world into chaos.

Said to contain the writings of Christ's younger brother, James the Just, the faded document ignites the religious world with controversy.

Confusion turns to conflict when a wealthy publisher seeks to publish the unauthenticated document. His only obstacle: a powerful theologian dedicated to the suppression of this new Bible. Caught in the middle of this embittered battle is a public relations expert hired to promote the new Bible.

But there are greater forces at work, and he soon finds himself sinking into a quagmire of greed, deceit, and violence. Someone is hiding the truth about THE WORD.

Amid the backdrops of London, Paris, Rome and other beautiful cities, Steven Randall, a PR man, uncovers intrigue relating to a controversial religious discovery -- a new NEW TESTAMENT. He's on the trail of the truth, finding murder and mayhem along the way. David Janssen is slick, cool and confident until put on trial for the theft of an important religious artifact which will prove his case that the controversy is a hoax after all. Beautiful scenery and cityscapes, an all over mellow mood with appropriately romantic score.