The Gospel Of John is actually one of my childhood movies. My Mom had this on DVD but never opened it. Once, when I was about 11, I asked my Mom if I could watch it and she said sure. I loved it, and I have seen it a few times since.
Now I live with my Grandma, and I have my own copy of it. To this day, it is one of the best Biblical movies ever made, and certainly one of the most Biblically accurate.
The plot seems rather pointless to summarize. It is the life of Jesus as written in the 4th book of the New Testament. What makes the movie so great is that it follows the book verbatim from the Good News Translation. I'll dive into that in a moment.
Most of the cast are unfamiliar to most, however, the narrator ("In the beginning was The Word...") is none other than Christiopher Plummer, aka Captain VonTrapp from The Sound of Music.
This is the 2nd of 3 major roles he had in Jesus movies. Beforehand, he played the Herod who married his brother's wife in Jesus of Nazareth, and later he voiced the Nativity Herod in The Star.
Jesus Himself is played by Henry Ian Cusick. I don't know if I'd say he's one of my favorite Jesus actors, but he is very good in the part.
The best part of the movie is that it is very close to Scripture- something missing from Jesus movies like 1961's King of Kings. That's a good movie, but it strays too much from The Bible. The Gospel of John is just that, and much of the film's power comes from that.
In fact, the last time I saw it, a few months ago, I watched it after a long stressful day, and within a half hour, I felt peace overcome my stress. It's a very uplifiting experience.
Despite giving it a 10/10, I do have one nit-pick. As I said before, the movie quotes the Good News Translation. I love the King James translation, but even NIV or ESV would have been more fitting.
Some verses with the GNT are too modern and don't sound like Jesus. Take the Doubting Thomas scene. In John 20:29, Jesus tells Thomas: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." In the Good News version, Jesus says: "HAPPY are those who have not seen...", which felt out of place.
This minor complaint does not diminish the rest of the movie though. At exactly 3 hours, it is somewhat slow, but constantly moving and engaging.
Biblical epics are my favorite movie genre, and The Gospel of John is one of my favorites. I have a church friend who told me it's her favorite movie because of its closeness to The Bible. If you want an uplifting Bible movie that actually sticks to the source, there are few I can recommend any higher than this one.
Bonus Recomendations: This movie is from The Visual Bible, who also did Matthew and Acts. These movies are also well done.
Now I live with my Grandma, and I have my own copy of it. To this day, it is one of the best Biblical movies ever made, and certainly one of the most Biblically accurate.
The plot seems rather pointless to summarize. It is the life of Jesus as written in the 4th book of the New Testament. What makes the movie so great is that it follows the book verbatim from the Good News Translation. I'll dive into that in a moment.
Most of the cast are unfamiliar to most, however, the narrator ("In the beginning was The Word...") is none other than Christiopher Plummer, aka Captain VonTrapp from The Sound of Music.
This is the 2nd of 3 major roles he had in Jesus movies. Beforehand, he played the Herod who married his brother's wife in Jesus of Nazareth, and later he voiced the Nativity Herod in The Star.
Jesus Himself is played by Henry Ian Cusick. I don't know if I'd say he's one of my favorite Jesus actors, but he is very good in the part.
The best part of the movie is that it is very close to Scripture- something missing from Jesus movies like 1961's King of Kings. That's a good movie, but it strays too much from The Bible. The Gospel of John is just that, and much of the film's power comes from that.
In fact, the last time I saw it, a few months ago, I watched it after a long stressful day, and within a half hour, I felt peace overcome my stress. It's a very uplifiting experience.
Despite giving it a 10/10, I do have one nit-pick. As I said before, the movie quotes the Good News Translation. I love the King James translation, but even NIV or ESV would have been more fitting.
Some verses with the GNT are too modern and don't sound like Jesus. Take the Doubting Thomas scene. In John 20:29, Jesus tells Thomas: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." In the Good News version, Jesus says: "HAPPY are those who have not seen...", which felt out of place.
This minor complaint does not diminish the rest of the movie though. At exactly 3 hours, it is somewhat slow, but constantly moving and engaging.
Biblical epics are my favorite movie genre, and The Gospel of John is one of my favorites. I have a church friend who told me it's her favorite movie because of its closeness to The Bible. If you want an uplifting Bible movie that actually sticks to the source, there are few I can recommend any higher than this one.
Bonus Recomendations: This movie is from The Visual Bible, who also did Matthew and Acts. These movies are also well done.