The Bible - St Paul [2000] [DVD]

I loved this film. The portrayal of Paul is superb. He comes across as a confident honorable guy, just as a man in his position probably would've been. Then there were the Christians, considered to be blasphemers against the Jewish faith. Paul (or Saul as he was known then) was then called on to arrest & persecute the Christ followers. Then comes the road to Damascus & his conversion to Christ. Fabulously acted and beautifully filmed.
This title is one of the better ones in this excellent series along with Jesus, Moses, Samson & Delilah. David was a bit of a let down as it should be an “Epic” but what BIG scenes there could have been (Such as the David & Goliath fight) were given a poor showing to save money I thought. Solomon was quite good if a bit slow in places but still an enjoyable movie. St Paul however, is just full of class! The way the scriptwriters incorporate some of Paul’s teachings into his everyday conversations is fabulous.
A great film & a great series. I can’t wait to get the rest.

Overall this account of St Paul was well written and enjoyable. Few films have shown the beginning of the Great Commission and the early church in such a realistic and interesting way.

However it was badly let down by its acting. The actor playing St Peter never got into his part. All he did was say his lines in a monotone and unexcting way.

St Paul wasnt that much better. This film portrayed the pre-Christian Paul much too nicely. The miracle of his conversion didnt get through to the veiwer because there wasnt enough change in him. He didnt look too amazed when he saw again. The film didnt see his struggle between his pride and the call of God. I know people that were no so pleasant and then became born again Christians. Believe me when bad people are born again you can definately see a difference in them.
The new Paul is little different from the old and this loses the whole purpose of the story, especially if someone wants to use this film for evangelism.

Don't let the title 'The Bible' fool you - this is less a straight telling of Acts, as it is a dramatic rendition of how his life must have been leading up to and following his conversion.
In doing so, the film loses much of the most potentially dramatic moments of Saul's life - Shipwrecks! Courtroom drama as he faces the Romans! Rome at its peak! Instead, the first third of the TV movie focuses on his close friendship with a Sadducee, Reuben. As a Pharisee, Saul has his disagreements, voiced by his mentor Gamaliel (Franco Nero - good to see him still around), but their friendship is close. In this movie, it is his friendship which draws him into being a persecutor of the fledgling Christian movement. Then, he has his conversion - a poorly handled montage in this movie. Thereafter, he seems to be the same character with a different opinion of Jesus, willing to stand up to his friend and the Religious police he controls. Then his preaching and his talks with Peter take over, building up to a conclusion well short of the biblical conclusion of Paul's story, just as he is about to start his ministry in Rome.
So this tale can not really be taken on its biblical merits - there is little sermonising here, and no chances taken with anything controversial - the Holy Spirit descending on the Apostles is represented by a strong draft and a Minora bursting into flame. The question of the split in the church of the time is touched on, the scandal of preaching to the Gentiles and not just the Jews, but this blows over fairly quickly.
The acting lets the story down for the most part with the main players, despite the strong supporting cast - G.W. Bailey (otherwise known as the Captain from the Police Academy series) puts in a strong performance, but the leads are phoning it in, with little character arc obvious in their portrayal. Paul is just a guy who had his facts wrong and then saw the light, rather than a man who became passionate about hunting down the Christians and the became truly changed through his conversion. For drama the 'bad guy' role is shunted from Reuben the Sadducee, to King Herod, to the Romans, (Umberto Ursini makes a believable Roman thug of a tribune), back to Reuben again, with the result that there is little sense of sustained drama.
Having said that, as an imagining of a life of which so little is told in the Bible, this is a reasonable attempt, and worth watching if for nothing else than to spark some discussion. Just don't be fooled into believing this is a depiction of Scripture, but instead is 'loosely based' on it.