In Marcello Baldi's stirring biblical film, mother Rebekah tricks her husband, Isaac, into blessing son Jacob instead of their firstborn, Esau. Enraged, the elder boy vows to kill his brother, forcing Jacob to flee for his life. Years later, after starting his own family, Jacob receives a message from God, who tells the estranged sibling to return to his homeland. Fosco Giacchei, Luisa Della Noce and Jean Mercier star. (Netflix)
Joseph and his brethren (1961) Italian
If you decide to see this film, you must keep in mind one thing: it is not made in the same spirit like those campy costume sword and sandal epics from that time. If you loved "The Ten Commandments" because of its colors, sets, mighty spectacle, "Joseph and his Brethren" will disappoint you. Irving Rapper's movie was no blockbuster and still does not prove any success whatsoever. It's a very simple movie that occurs only to show a story of a man who could have been possessed by hatred but overcame it thanks to love and forgiveness. It's Joseph and his story: one man, one life, single dreams... (IMDB: Marcin Kukuczka from Cieszyn, Poland)
Great Leaders of the Bible: Gideon / Samson (1973) Italian
Marcello Baldi's 1973 film traces the stories of two great biblical leaders: Gideon and Samson. In the first tale, God chooses ordinary-guy Gideon (Ivo Garrani) to gather and lead an army into battle to oust the Midanites from Israel. The second story follows strongman Samson (Anton Geesink), who killed thousands with the jawbone of an ass but who was ultimately felled by the beguiling courtesan Delilah (Rosalba Neri). (Netfilx)
Saul and David. Not rated. 1965. Italian
Marcello Baldi, among whose better known works of historical fiction are "Mole Men against the Son of Hercules" and "Goliath and the Dragon", does a decent job directing this epic biblical tale of the early history of the Kingdom of Israel (which) chronicles the decline of Saul and the rise of David and Israel.
As with most biblical epics, this film would be a bit hard to watch for anybody who does not already appreciate the story. While the story is an intriguing and powerful one, the film relies fairly heavily on its audience's faith and knowledge and does not go out of its way to entertain. (IMDB mstomaso from Vulcan)
David and Goliath (1961) Italy-- Orson Welles
This cheesy but entertaining sword-and-sandal movie has more in common with the muscleman spectacles being made in Italy at the time than it has with the superior Biblical epics made by Hollywood in the same era, such as "Ben Hur" and "The Ten Commandments." The dialogue is stilted, the acting stiff, and the departures from the Biblical narrative make it unsuitable as a Sunday school lesson (i.e., Jerusalem did not become part of Israel until David conquered it after Saul's death; in one scene the prophet Samuel quotes verses from the Book of Ecclesiastes, which hadn't been written yet).
On the credit side, the movie has lots of pretty girls (what's a Biblical epic without scantily clad dancing girls?) and an exciting battle scene. Hilton Edwards (billed as Edward Hilton) hams it up amusingly as Samuel, and an alarmingly obese Orson Welles gives a commanding performance as Saul, showing that life can be tough for a working actor even if you're a genius. Aside from Welles, only the sexy Eleonora Rossi-Drago, as Saul's scheming daughter Merab, manages to create a three-dimensional character. Overall, the acting is so poor that circus strong man Kronos, as Goliath, actually gives one of the better performances even though all he does is grunt. (IMDB tsf-1962 from United States)
The Queen of Sheeba (1952) Italian
I enjoyed QUEEN OF SHEBA. I was entertained by it and thought it was really colorful for a Black & White film: many characters played by a beautiful cast, amazing complex sets, beautiful locations. Music score by the brilliant Nino Rota. What's not to like?
The script was well written with some clever plot lines. The acting is good for a lightweight romance/action/adventure film. Do not expect Shakespeare. This is a purely entertaining film. THE QUEEN OF SHEBA might not be considered as a great film by many but I was greatly entertained by it. For fans of Pepla, it's a must see. Much better than that bloated Hollywood epic, SOLOMON & SHEBA. : (IMDB Bryce David)
The Old Testament (1962) Il Vecchio testamento Italian (About the Macabees)
First off let me begin by saying I really love biblical epics from the US or abroad. But "The Old Testament is a dreadful movie. The movie is not what it appears to be. This film is hardly the Old Testament (one assumes in its entirety), but just a tiny segment. I could talk about the lousy cinematography, the editing, where the shots shift from day to night as each character is speaking, or the odd strained dialog and dubbing, but why bother? I'd never heard of this stinker before, and now I know why. Although it might have some biblical significance, I would have to say avoid this one at all costs. Stick to the "Ten Commandments". Trust me. (IMDB BooBooKitty516 from United States)
The Messiah (1976) NOT ON DVD Italian
Rossellinis film is reduced to one point. There are no action-scenes, no gore or blood - it is the spoke word which contains the high concentration of this special movie work. Minimalisem. The story of Jesus is taken from the bible, the dialogs are near to the holy word. The camera-work is only a long-shoot. It looks like the typical work of the Italian cameramen for the spaghetti-western...but in THE MESSIAS is the camera-work a brilliant long-shoot work, inspired by the icon-painters. Here you can feel the consequence of the perfect work Rossellinis. And his true work to the bible without any pathos! (IMDB ian-ternik from Germany)
Herod the Great (Italy/France-1959)
Before King Herod of Judea is arrested, he makes his friend Aaron vow to kill Queen Miriam if he (Herod) should die. A lying informant tells Aaron that the king has been executed by the Romans, but Aaron is unable to slay Miriam, as promised. When Herod is ultimately freed and returns home, his son wrongly convinces him that Aaron is a traitor who's taken Miriam as his lover.
(Amazon Annie Van Auken)
Constantine and the Cross (1962) Italian
It continues to amaze me that, to date, this is the only movie that has been made about a man who, quite literally, changed the world. The historical accuracy in this movie leaves much to be desired; This is a good movie about a great man, a man who deserves to have a GREAT movie made about him (but definitely NOT by Oliver Stone!!!)
This guy gave Christians the fundamentals of their religion as it is practiced today, changed forever the face of the greatest Empire on earth, moving it from West to East, established laws that are the basis of many of ours today, and may very well have found some of the most profound religious relics ever discovered by mankind (including the True Cross and the Spear of Destiny).
At the same time he murdered his own son and wife (had Crispus strangled and Fausta suffocated in an overheated bath), and carved a bloody swath through Europe on his rise to the Imperial throne. A fascinating man who truly deserved the title Great. He deserves a new, Great remake of this flick (but this time let's stick a bit more closely to history-it really would make for a better story!). (IMDB emperor28_1 from United States)
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This film must have been spectacular in its day, just like the Roman Empire. Now its saturated colors are faded, its panoramic vision compressed. Cornel Wilde is still a hunk, but an aging one, and it's hard to believe he was the educated, fluent in several languages and fussy about his roles actor from his performance here, delivering some of his lines just like John Wayne might have done. There are several hokey overview shots of Rome, which are really of the scale model version from the Museum of History of the City of Rome, but otherwise the sets, costumes and production is a lavish one. The final battle at the Milvian Bridge is endless (you know who is going to win), but thanks to this victory, Christianity directs the course of Western History. (IMDB (jost@geh.org) from Rochester NY)
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Legend has it that on the eve of battle he had a vision of a cross in the sky and the voice of the Deity telling him that by this sign he shall conquer. Whether he heard the voice or not is subject to speculation. There is no doubt he kicked some serious pagan butt the following day, which is shown here. Sadly the color is fading and the film could use a restoration. What can't be restored is the cliché driven script of this sand and sandal epic that Italy churned out by the dozens in the fifties and sixties, using all those sets built by MGM for Quo Vadis and Ben-Hur. In fact a lot of the plot here is lifted from Quo Vadis. (IMDB bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York
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