I read some interview a couple of days ago where Mel Gibson said there were lots of good stories in the Biblen and hinted that he may be interested in doing some other Bible movies.
So what stories from the Bible do you think would make good movies. I know the Moses thing has been done already but not for a long time. I suppose they could do a good CGI parting of the Red Sea these days. Still, there have been a lot of Exodus movies.
What stories are there in the Bible that really haven’t been given a good screen treatment? What stories are there that could amp up the violence, ala TPOTC? How about showing the conquest of Canaan as the Bible really describes it, with the Israelites slaughtering entire cities (including childreen and infants), taking slaves, raping virgins, etc?
Personally, I think a movie based on the Book of Acts might be good. A “bio” pic about Paul, starting from when he was Saul persecuting Christians, on through the big conversion scene on the road to Damascus, to Paul’s ministry and his eventual arrest and execution by the Romans. You could even toss in a young physician named Luke to be a travelling companion, scribe and sounding board for Paul.
there would be a lot of meat to the story, violent scenes of Christians being stoned, moving scenes of religious conversion, passionate sermons by Paul, dramatic tension with Peter, and the the tera-jerking martyrdom of Paul at the end. It would also be a “road picture” of sorts allowing for lots of different elaborate sets and views of the ancient world.
I always thought that the story of the last days of king David and the takeover by Solomon would make a damn good movie.
Sort of like an OT version of “The Godfather”. With Solomon as the wise guy. I was kind of amused to note that, with his dying breath, David ordered a couple of hits on his enemies (and even said, “Solomon, you are a wise man - you know what to do”). Great gangster dialogue.
I would’ve said Acts too, Diogenes, though I’d play it as a comedy (at least in parts). There are several bits that could be played for laughs without being disrespectful or unfaithful to the text.
My opinion is that Job is not only the best book of the Bible, but it is also one of the best ruminations on the nature of God and our relationship with him in all of Western literature. Unlike much of the Bible, there is true moral ambiguity in Job. The story is just plain compelling.
Hollywood would love it. There’s death, violence, suffering, drama up the wazoo. Playing either Job or Satan (who in Job is not so much the source of all evil as he is someone just around to be the, um, devil’s advocate) would be two of the best roles an actor could ever hope for.
You could make it a comedy: God and Satan playing around with this poor guy’s life. Just to make sure it’s funny, you might want to tone down the things they do to Job. Or you could stay more faithful (HA!) to the original book and make it total tear-jerking drama.
Who could play a good God in a Job film? Satan? Job?
I think Morgan Freeman was a pretty cool God in Bruce Almighty but Job would call for the badass, wrathful, OT God rather than the benevolent, patient, humorous God that Freeman played. OTOH, I suppose you could tweak the story to make God more likable for Job.
Somebody funny should be Satan. Someone witty and intelligent. The Satan of Job isn’t evil, he’s just an intellectual foil for God. Maybe Kevin Spacy.
Job could be a comic actor too, depending on how far you want to go with it. I think someone who can project a deadpan, resigned demeanor while things go cataclysmically bad all around him. Bill Murray, perhaps?
William H. Macy might also make a good Job, especially if you make it a dark comedy. He’s said he’s done playing the “schlub” role, though, so we might have to look elsewhere. Bill Murray is a good choice, Diogenes. If it were a drama, I’d say Sean Penn can do suffering and anguish fairly well.
As for God… well, when I see the word “badass”, Samuel L. Jackson is the first name that comes to mind. But for this film, I’m picturing more of the Big Guy with flowing white beard, thundering yet sophisticated voice… maybe Ian McKellen?
No Ian McKellen. Now that you brought up Sam Jackson, its gotta be him, or even better, Dave Chappelle as Sam Jackson playing God.
“God, why must you thunder thine voice at me?”
“Because that’s how I talk bitch! Haven’t you seen my movies! Yeah they deserved to die, and I hope they burn in Hell!”
As someone who’s currently involved in an in-depth study of the Book of Job (from an Orthodox Jewish perspective, of course), I’ve got to say, I don’t see how it would make a very good movie. G-d and Satan are relatively minor players in the book…sure, Satan is the instigator, and G-d is the subject of much discussion and is in at the big finish, but their scriptural “screen time” is very short. Most of the book is give-and-take between Job and his friends, and most of that cannot realistically be described as entertaining, even in the hands of a skilled director.
Prince of Egypt, the Dreamworks animated feature about Moses, is only six years old, and is the best screen interpretation of the material I’ve ever seen. Although, in fairness, I haven’t seen a lot of them. The parting of the Red Sea was, indeed, phenomenal, as was the final plague.
As for a new Biblical movie, I’d like to see one based on the Revelations of St. John, as directed by Terry Gilliam and performed by the cast of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. “My God! It’s a three headed fire breathing lamb! Quick! Get me some golf shoes!”
To steal & highjack from Malthus I think the Story of David would be a good one – Elements of* Excalibur * (shepherd boy to be king), Clash of the Titans (Goliath), Braveheart(Battle with Saul) *Indecent Proposal * (Bathsheba), Macbeth (Attempted patricide) & the happy ending hand off & father-son story Solomon (Fish/Road to Perdition/Nobody’s Fool)
Nail on the head, here. It’s a great book, and terribly overlooked.
Personally, I think there are a few stories that would make great commercial movies, with no adaptation needed: The Book of Esther; the story of David’s philandering, and the birth of Solomon; the story of the sack of Jerico, though that’s a little short on the sex and romance thing.
I believe it was one of the writers of Dallas that pointed out there was nothing on that show that hadn’t already been described in the Bible.
