The
Living Bible Collection (VCI)
Picture: D Sound:
C Extras: D
Main Programs: C-
There’s nothing living
about this five-disc set whose tedious 800 minutes includes no special features
-- unless, of course, you consider a “special bonus film” featuring Richard
Kiley, who for decades now, has been noted for his exceptional contribution to
Biblical material -- and the fact that you can select certain vignettes from a
“Bible Story Selection Menu” that is touted in the packaging as if uncommon;
but, even this seems nullified by the fact that you can’t skip to subsequent
stories without returning to the main menu.
Though I must admit, the compelling nature of many of the biblical
narratives almost distracts from these technicalities, but that is the key
phrase. . .almost distracts. In the end, I’m afraid that most viewers
would find it difficult to sit through this entire series – though I imagine a
project packaged like this is intended more for learning and instruction – such as in a Sunday school or Bible study
setting – or something akin to it, as opposed to mere entertainment. However, to the collection’s credit, in its
day, I can also see these short films filling up unaccounted for time on some obscure
Christian cable network.
But this limited and narrow appeal to the already
converted is precisely one of the main weaknesses of this series. The TV films of Turner Home Entertainment’s
Bible Collection, International Program Consultants, Inc., Lube Productions,
Beta Films, and Lux Vide this is not – and while even the biblical material
produced by these companies in some instances remains unnecessary flawed to a
certain degree, The Living Bible
Collection in all its conservative stiffness enables one to understand all
the more why Roger Young, who directed such films as Joseph, Jesus, and Paul the
Apostle, is considered such a masterful director of small-screen biblical
material.
There is hardly any need to rehash plot here; with only a
basic familiarity with the Bible, you got it.
But inexplicably, there are no attempts in this set to cover Creation,
The Fall of Man, Noah’s Ark, or any of the prophets, major or minor – with the
exception of Elijah. But what the
collection does include is impressive and laudable, making it one of the most
exhaustive biblical accounts I have ever viewed in a single context.
Unfortunately, as could be expected, this production
remains plagued by the politics of almost all biblical cinema with an arrogant
and insensitive casting bent that relies too much on Anglo actors of European
descent and blatantly defies the potentially universal and global message of
the Bible – especially in the Hebrew Bible section of the series where the
films begin with a prologue featuring a globe unapologetically displaying Africa
and Asia . . . and just barely, Europe.
These subtle but insidious forms of racial propaganda almost always do
their most damage in material where religion is at stake, because questions of
religious almost always also involve questions of power; it is for this reason
while in all its ambition, The Living
Bible Collection is, in most ways, more dangerous to a young mind than
helpful; and this is also why I would not suggest it for either Sunday school
or Bible study context. And in terms
of entertainment, I can only imagine it as such ironically, as an ideal canvas
for an episode of Mystery Science
Theater. But this is unfortunate,
since, if this were just an audio production – it would almost be excellent
since most of the stories rely heavily on narration and provide a myriad of
useful information that, for the most part, remains unusually faithful to the
source material – making The Living
Bible Collection a convenient shorthand to becoming familiar with certain
Bible stories if you can get past the subtle white supremacy implicit in the
very political casting choices which almost laughably, if it were not so
malicious, rear their ugly heads most obtrusively when time and time again
angels appear to Old Testament patriarchs in the form of tall, white males who
sport bad, blonde wigs – implying perhaps that angels are Aryans too.
But despite these racist missteps, the narrators lengthy
bits of dialogue are good references not only in terms of literary information,
but just in case you’ve ever wondered how to pronounce difficult Bible names
like Elkanah or Elimelech. Further,
since most of the audio is narration, that from time to time is interrupted by
monologuish-dialogue not much can be said for the sound on the disc, as there
are not many opportunities on the soundtrack to exhibit aural dynamism. But even further, on the one hand, while the
collection’s writers should be commended for not insisting upon the overrated
and alienating King James English that may seem to many contradictory to a
series entitled “The Living Bible” – since this is also the name of a very
colloquial translation of the two testaments – after a second thought, King
James English may have complimented the rather stagy and reserved figure
behavior that imprisons nearly every performance in this plethora of
featurettes. Even if I had never seen
Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ,
having read Dr. C. Truman Davis’ medical account many years ago, I would have
known the red-headed Jesus depicted here – who, even if it is first-century
Palestine, appears a bit too old to be playing a man in his early thirties –
just seems way too comfortable on that cross.
And when this same Jesus, instead of removing his outer cloak to wash
his disciples’ feet as the ultimate sign of humility at the Last Supper, is
directed to simply take off a cape before strutting over to the wash basin, I’m
afraid his subsequent kneeling to wipe the feet of just two of his disciples
becomes a gesture about as intimate as a Presidential Inauguration.
And while The
Living Bible Collection is purportedly produced in the 80’s with a
revolving host of cast and crew, there is nothing in the production value that
suggests as much. Most of the time the mise-en-scene looks as if somebody
packed a film camera with old Kodak color stock from the 50’s and snuck into an
annual Easter stage presentation. Many
of the sets are too confined with fake stones, painted backdrops, and
artificial, portable trees that even become familiar after watching most of the
first disc, inevitably lending to the claustrophobia of nearly every shot and
frame captured by a mostly static camera whose angles are only occasionally
varied with a dolly or crane shot. To
its credit, however, the featurette Ruth,
A Faithful Woman – in certain parts
– exceeds the other shorts in terms of production value, and even affect,
because of its frequent use of actual outdoor locations and camera work
unafraid to feature sweeping landscapes and backgrounds.
The costumes are ornate and colorful and fun to look at,
though I sense it is theatrics more so than authenticity and history that
inspired their design. But for as
pretty as the costumes may be, nothing can compensate for the makeup and
beard-work that is so bad I’m surprised that in certain scenes I couldn’t see
strings attached to the sideburns. As a
result, in stereotypical fashion for a biblical piece the appearances of the
protagonists are exaggerated and unconvincing – making almost every character
in this series which begins with Abraham,
Man of Faith and concludes with Acts
of the Apostles seem nothing more than caricatures with no historic or
cultural basis whatsoever; and this is tragic since there is overwhelming
historic evidence for many of the men and women described in the Bible. And while this series makes no bones about
hiding its celebratory treatment of its material, the ubiquitous three-word
subtitles like Joseph, Ruler of Egypt;
Moses, Called By God; and Samuel, A Dedicated Man that comprise
most of the film references on the selection menu quickly become as clichéd as
the three-word titles of a Steven Segal film.
But to be frank, perhaps something can be learned from Segal – Moses, Out for Justice and Jesus, Hard to Kill seem much more
interesting to me as film possibilities if it’s indeed three-word subtitles the
producers were after.
To put it bluntly, in light of both the cinematic and
political relevance of films like Pasolini’s The Gospel According to St. Matthew, Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ, Gibson’s
The Passion of the Christ, and
either version of DeMille’s The Ten
Commandments, The Living Bible Collection remains neither new and
insightful, nor probing and provocative; and, unfortunately, probably serves
best as an example as to how not to adapt biblical material to the screen.
- Gregory Allen
Gregory Allen -- filmmaker, scholar, and critic -- is an
assistant Professor in the Cinema and Digital Arts Department at Point Park
University, and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of
Pittsburgh. He also oversees the
student film production organization The Sprocket Guild www.sprocketguild.org and can be contacted at info@sprocketguild.org.
