DVDs:

	The Bible/The Robe 2-Pack Roger Beaumont, Ulla Bergryd 20th Century Fox, 2002 average customer review:based on 2 reviews view larger image
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The Robe
When Roman tribune Marcellus Gallio (Richard Burton) is sent to Jerusalem, one of his assignments is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Marcellus, a cynical and hardened man, wins the robe Jesus wore to the crucifixion while gambling with other Roman soldiers underneath the dying savior. He later becomes convinced that his hallucinations and violent outbursts are the result of a curse received from the robe, which is now in the possession of his escaped slave, Demetrius (Victor Mature), somewhere in the Middle East. He sets out to find Demetrius in order to destroy the robe and the curse and finds faith instead, converting to Christianity. This was the first movie to be filmed in CinemaScope and won Oscars in 1953 for costume design, art direction, and set decoration. The visual aspects of the film are stunning, and it may be worth viewing for that alone; however, the script and acting leave much to be desired, and you won't find inspiration in these areas if that's what interests you. If, however, you are more interested in this film for its religious matter, the story of the conversion of the hardened Marcellus is inspiring. --James McGrath

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Two great biblical epics

First, "The Bible," another one of those very underrated epics of the mid-60's. Dino de Laurentiis and John Huston went against the Hollywood grain of rich spectacle and created a minimalist design for the first 22 chapters of Genesis. As with most films that are based strictly on the Bible accounts, the story obviously has no surprises, therefore any suspense is always missing. But the unique, spare, simple design, beautiful photography and excellent music score by Toshiro Mayuzumi place this film in a different category than most biblical epics. The audacity to make such a film is something that is rarely seen in today's moviemaking. Sadly, the DVD does not contain anything other than a trailer. Most of the people involved with the film have passed away.
Second, "The Robe," the first film in CinemaScope. As being the first film in CinemaScope, the first single camera widescreen process, it already stakes a claim in film history. But the film is much better than an exploitation of a technical process. Based on the novel by Lloyd Douglas, its' centerpiece is the Oscar-nominated bravura performance by Richard Burton. He single-handedly raises the film out of its tendency to become too cloying at times and turns it into the intense psychological drama it really is. He is very ably assisted by Victor Mature, another under-rated excellent actor, as his slave, Demetrius. And of course, you have the incredibly famous, over-the-top, but oddly fitting, performance by Jay Robinson as the deranged emperor. This film does have one of those magic moments in motion pictures which raises goosebumps, when everything comes together perfectly in an incredible combination of story, performance, art direction and photography. It is at times like these when you become aware of the power of motion pictures. I do not need to tell you the actual scene. You will know it. Again, sadly, no extras are on this DVD other than a trailer. It would have been great to have a documentary on the invention of CinemaScope and the making of the film. But for those of you interested in collector items, the DVD box has a major blooper: the picture on the back of the box in the upper right corner is not a picture from "The Robe" but from "The Egyptian," which also starred Victor Mature (another DVD we are waiting for).
I would have rated this five stars if some documentaries were on these disks. Still, these are two great religious epics with diametrically opposed visual styles: "The Robe" with the traditional rich spectacle and "The Bible" with a minimalist artistic approach.

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Reversed pictures

Just to add to the review by kkunkel who points out that a picture on the back of the DVD box for 'The Robe' is not from that film at all. The other two pictures which are from 'The Robe' are printed the wrong way round! Does anybody get round to check this sort of thing?

recommendations

My favorite Bible Inspired Stories

bible

	Pulp Fiction (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) Jesus Christ Superstar (Special Edition) VeggieTales - Heroes of the Bible - Lions, Shepherds and Queens (Oh ... Jesus of Nazareth The Nativity Story

pack

	The Audrey Hepburn DVD Collection (Breakfast at Tiffany's / Sabrina / ... Jurassic Park Adventure Pack (Jurassic Park/ The Lost World: Jurassic ... James Bond Blu-ray Collection Six-Pack (Dr. No / Die Another Day / ... Rome - The Complete First Two Seasons Interview with the Vampire