The Gospel Of John

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="06dd8c02dduajq.jpg"> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11">   <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11">       <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="11" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="11">   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="At The Movies With Lutz"><U><IMG SRC="0660b0b0.png" border=0 width="11" height="11" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="9f7b81a0.jpg" border=0 width="184" height="282" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#003333" FACE="Arial" ><B>Judy & Lutz Perschon</B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Judy Lutz Perschon"><U>home</U></A></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >back to</FONT>  <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="At The Movies With Lutz"><U><B>At The Movies With Lutz</B></U></A></div> <div> The Gospel Of John</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="777" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 363 WIDTH="765"><div> Being a novice movie reviewer can be tough when it comes to movies like this.  How does one review a movie that depicts Jesus Christ's life.  To start out by saying it's based on a true story would be the understatement of the year.  It's the greatest story ever told.   And quite frankly  the story is very powerful.  It can be life changing, a fact to which I can personally attest.  But what I expected, and what I got from this film are two very different things.  What I expected was a dramatic portrayal of Christ's life.  To do so is always difficult with this subject matter insofar as how much artistic license should the film makers take as opposed to just having a documentary.    Many previous versions have been made including <I>King of Kings</I>, a movie I saw as a young teen.  Although I do not remember particulars of that movie, I remember I was very moved by the film.  There were others, <I>Jesus Christ Superstar,  The Last Temptation Of Christ, Jesus of Nazareth </I>and others, some very accurate to the Biblical account and some with wide artistic interpretation.  This version turns out to be a visual reading of the complete Book Of John, and for me it didn't work.  Both Judy and I, found it sterile and unmoving.  First there's way too much narration.   At least one half of the movie is narrative and some totally unnecessary.  For instance the narrator often says "and Jesus said this to the [whoever]" and then  goes on to say what Jesus said.  Why couldn't Jesus character say it?  To me a movie should tell the story through it's characters, not a narrator.  And the portrayal by the characters seemed so forced and stereotypical.   I'm very torn on this review because I feel everyone should experience the life of Christ and this review will likely not motivate you to see this movie.  Still I guess for me to say I thought the movie was really good and powerful would betray what Christ taught.  To use a phrase often used by Jesus in this film "I tell you the truth...", and if I'm truthful we didn't like it, but then again maybe you will.  </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 112 ><NOBR><div> <B>We decided not to rate this film but instead feature of few comments from Yahoo Users who did like it:</B></div> <div> Wow. This is one of the most interesting and involving films I have seen this...</div> <div> This is a movie that everyone should see, it has something for every one. For the...</div> <div> Excellent film....may Christ bless your lives. A truly accurate version of the...</div> <div> This movie had the most profound effect on me than any movie I have ever seen. It brought the Bible to life in a powerful...</div> <div> What an excellent film. I was tragically swept away at the validity and human nature put forth in the Gospel of John. It is a must see... </div> <div> <B>We invite you to visit the site if you want to read these peoples full review.   </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="arial" ><A HREF="http://movies.yahoo.com/mvc/drv?mid=1808509536" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://movies.yahoo.com/mvc/drv?mid=1808"><U><B>Click Here</B></U></A></FONT></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 82 WIDTH="765"><div> Storyline From Yahoo:  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="arial" >The evocative poetry of the Gospel according to John comes vividly to life in director Philip Saville's sweeping, word-for-word, big screen, movie adaptation of The Good News Bible translation from the American Bible Society. Produced by Garth H. Drabinsky and Chris Chrisafis for Visual Bible International, Inc., THE GOSPEL OF JOHN is both insightful and faithful to the text, capturing the drama, depth, and urgency of John's depiction of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. </FONT></div> <div> <B>Ratings: Critics - No Ratings     Users B+</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>