Cinema, since its early years, has adapted some Old Testament stories, mostly these were the stories of Moses, king David, Noah or Abraham. There were talented directors, great cast, lavish scenes, stunning spectacles. However, one of the most universal and touching biblical figures - such an "oasis of mercy" in the Old Testament, Joseph, was not dedicated such a production for a long time. But, at last, in the late 1950s, an Italian-American co production was made. The universal story of Joseph was brought to screen, no one attributed to it a name of "spectacle" but what drew viewers' attention was the content...what were the results at the box office? Weak. What are the results now?
If you decide to see this film, you must keep in mind one thing: it is not made in the same spirit like those campy costume sword and sandal epics from that time. If you loved "The Ten Commandments" because of its colors, sets, mighty spectacle, "Joseph and his Brethren" will disappoint you. Irving Rapper's movie was no blockbuster and still does not prove any success whatsoever. It's a very simple movie that occurs only to show a story of a man who could have been possessed by hatred but overcame it thanks to love and forgiveness. It's Joseph and his story: one man, one life, single dreams... Although the script takes liberties with the original biblical text, it does not distort the gist which is forgiveness superior to revenge. It's true that the Bible contains some plots about Joseph's brethren meanwhile; however, this movie does not include them being thoroughly about Joseph sold into Egypt where his paths will occur absolutely unexpected...
As for artistic features, the cinematography does not stun a viewer, the picture is far from clear, the musical score does not attract - the only factor that may reveal positive in this case are some performances. Geoffrey Horne, after his role in masterpiece THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957), does a pretty good job in the lead. Generally speaking, you will quickly accept him as Joseph when, in a memorable scene, he relates his controversial dream to his loving father and furious brothers. Belinda Lee bases her acting on previous portrayals of "infamous women in history" but manages very well. Robert Morley is hilarious as Potiphar with all his facial gestures and shouting, screaming, panicking but, most significantly, he memorably depicts the Potiphar that, in today's view, might be accused of antisemitism as well as racism. And Finlay Currie...a mainstay of the genre appears to be accurate enough for the role of old Jacob. But that is not all why I pretty liked the movie since there are also such moments where very good actors do quite weakly.
I liked the movie because I found it full of innovative profound scenes, which was pretty new those days. One is when Joseph talks to Asenath, his wife to come, about love that must be superior to hatred just after her father was executed. The other brilliant moment is the famous one for biblically acknowledged people in which Potiphar's wife badly desires Joseph, he refuses to make love to her putting the argument "He (Potiphar) is your husband and the one to whom I owe so much." The final sequence about revolt and war is fictitious but generally contains a nice insight into what jealousy may cause. Rekmira (Arturo Dominici) demands power and cannot endure accepting an ex slave as the one beyond him. But the best scene of all is the final one: brothers together with the old father Jacob find out who the rich master is. Perhaps, it does not have enough emotions but it constitutes a very reasonable presentation of remorse and forgiveness.
"Joseph and his Brethren" is a good film for such people who totally don't care about lavishness of biblical films but require purely the story together with some additional interpretations. That is the film for them. I personally think that some grandeur in this genre is necessary and, therefore, this movie did not fully satisfy me. 5/10
If you decide to see this film, you must keep in mind one thing: it is not made in the same spirit like those campy costume sword and sandal epics from that time. If you loved "The Ten Commandments" because of its colors, sets, mighty spectacle, "Joseph and his Brethren" will disappoint you. Irving Rapper's movie was no blockbuster and still does not prove any success whatsoever. It's a very simple movie that occurs only to show a story of a man who could have been possessed by hatred but overcame it thanks to love and forgiveness. It's Joseph and his story: one man, one life, single dreams... Although the script takes liberties with the original biblical text, it does not distort the gist which is forgiveness superior to revenge. It's true that the Bible contains some plots about Joseph's brethren meanwhile; however, this movie does not include them being thoroughly about Joseph sold into Egypt where his paths will occur absolutely unexpected...
As for artistic features, the cinematography does not stun a viewer, the picture is far from clear, the musical score does not attract - the only factor that may reveal positive in this case are some performances. Geoffrey Horne, after his role in masterpiece THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957), does a pretty good job in the lead. Generally speaking, you will quickly accept him as Joseph when, in a memorable scene, he relates his controversial dream to his loving father and furious brothers. Belinda Lee bases her acting on previous portrayals of "infamous women in history" but manages very well. Robert Morley is hilarious as Potiphar with all his facial gestures and shouting, screaming, panicking but, most significantly, he memorably depicts the Potiphar that, in today's view, might be accused of antisemitism as well as racism. And Finlay Currie...a mainstay of the genre appears to be accurate enough for the role of old Jacob. But that is not all why I pretty liked the movie since there are also such moments where very good actors do quite weakly.
I liked the movie because I found it full of innovative profound scenes, which was pretty new those days. One is when Joseph talks to Asenath, his wife to come, about love that must be superior to hatred just after her father was executed. The other brilliant moment is the famous one for biblically acknowledged people in which Potiphar's wife badly desires Joseph, he refuses to make love to her putting the argument "He (Potiphar) is your husband and the one to whom I owe so much." The final sequence about revolt and war is fictitious but generally contains a nice insight into what jealousy may cause. Rekmira (Arturo Dominici) demands power and cannot endure accepting an ex slave as the one beyond him. But the best scene of all is the final one: brothers together with the old father Jacob find out who the rich master is. Perhaps, it does not have enough emotions but it constitutes a very reasonable presentation of remorse and forgiveness.
"Joseph and his Brethren" is a good film for such people who totally don't care about lavishness of biblical films but require purely the story together with some additional interpretations. That is the film for them. I personally think that some grandeur in this genre is necessary and, therefore, this movie did not fully satisfy me. 5/10