In the Beginning (2000)

From the people who created the made-for-TV special-effects extravaganzas Merlin and Arabian Nights comes In the Beginning, the story about the travels and travails of the tribe of Abraham (Martin Landau). Set around the year 2000 B.C., the narrative opens with "Genesis 12," wherein the Lord has kicked Abraham and company out of their country to a land of milk and honey to be named later. In order to keep up the morale of his followers while on the road, Abraham gives a sermon that sums up God's creation of the universe. By illustrating this sermon with stock footage and special-effects shots, the producers are obviously making a connection between sermons of old and popular entertainments of today. From there, the twists and turns of the Old Testament are treated like a soap opera. Family dramas take center stage, whether it's God testing Abraham by telling him to kill his son in sacrifice, Joseph (famous for his amazing Technicolor dream coat) gaining power in Egypt after being sold to slave traders by his brothers, or one of the many other stories of brothers fighting (Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, etc.). The events that have been visualized in movies before (the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, to name but two) pale in comparison to their earlier incarnations, but the bigger picture is that In the Beginning works best as the Bible for beginners. --Andy Spletzer Amazon.com

A Good Start

This is the best general Genesis movie I've seen. The scenes were vivid, the action paced well, the costumes done well and the dialogue was pretty good too.

It goes from the creation, being told by Abraham, to the Israelites entering the Promised Land after their exodus from Egypt. The only story really missing in this movie was Noah's Ark, but that would have made this even longer, but I still wish it was included.

But this movie is very well done. The individual stories draw you into them and you really begin to care about the people they're about.

The second part of the film, which deals with the Exodus, is really compelling and the special effects aren't too bad for a made for TV movie.

This is definitely recommended for the family. It's really kid friendly. October 30, 2008

Biblical Creation

This movie was in part a supposition of the Bible in Human formation. I believe and would like others to take notice actually understand what and why we were placed/created.

If the people of the earth/universe truly realized the purpose for their life, maybe we would not be so cruel to one another. August 13, 2008

THE BIBLE STORY BOOK COME TO LIFE

In The Beginning DVD

When I was growing up my Mother gave me a book called the Bible Story Book. It had a child's summary of the great stories from the Bible in it. This DVD gives you the same thing, but in movie fashion. From Adam and Eve to Moses receiving the Ten Commandments.

Highly recommended for people who want their children to learn the Bible / Torah

Gunner March, 2008



March 24, 2008

greatest story ever told!

the movie is a summary of the bible's (old testament) greatest stories. I enjoy movies that spend more time telling the story and not the special effects. a movie for the whole family! its nice to see famous actors and new ones portraying out of the box characters. December 28, 2007

Family viewing at it's best

This movie was a wonderful family movie. It brought about numerous discussions of biblical history. We would very strongly recommend it. November 24, 2007

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