The Story of Jacob and Joseph (1974) (TV)

Director:

Mihalis Kakogiannis

Writer:

Ernest Kinoy

Release Date:

7 April 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A film telling the Biblical stories of the last of the Hebrew Patriarchs in the Book of Genesis.

Plot Keywords:

Biblical | Slavery | Egypt | Bondage | Jealousy

Cast

Keith Michell	...	Jacob
Tony Lo Bianco	...	Joseph
Colleen Dewhurst	...	Rebekah
Herschel Bernardi	...	Laban
Harry Andrews	...	Isaac
Julian Glover	...	Esau
Yona Elian	...	Rachel
Joseph Shiloach	...	Pharaoh (as Yosef Shiloach)
Rachel Shore	...	Potiphar's Wife
Bennes Mardenn	...	Potiphar
Yehuda Efroni	...	Reuben
Yossi Graber	...	Butler
Shmuel Atzmon	...	Judah
Amnon Meskin	...	Baker
Zila Carni	...	Leah (as Zila Karney)
Eli Cohen	...	Gad
Moti Baharav	...	Dan
Ilan Dar	...	Simeon
Menahem Einy	...	Benjamin
Alan Bates	...	Narrator (voice)

Directed by
Mihalis Kakogiannis		(as Michael Cacoyannis)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ernest Kinoy

Produced by
Mildred Freed Alberg	....	producer
Rony Yacov	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Mikis Theodorakis

Cinematography by
Austin Dempster
Ted Moore

Film Editing by
Kevin Connor

Art Direction by
Kuli Sander

Makeup Department
Hanna Chalfon	....	key makeup artist

Sound Department
Gerry Humphreys	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Ireland	....	supervising sound editor

Production Companies

• Milberg Theatrical Productions
• Screen Gems

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1974) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Columbia TriStar Domestic Television
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Television (2002-)
• Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) (2007) (USA) (TV)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Greek

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG | South Korea:All

Filming Locations:

Israel

Company:

Milberg Theatrical Productions

Movie Connections:

Version of Giacobbe ed Esau (1963)

THE STORY OF JACOB AND Joseph (TV) (Michael Cacoyannis, 1974) ***

Several Bible-related TV films were made over the years, some by noted directors: for last year's Easter schedule, in fact, I had included Ermanno Olmi's GENESIS: THE CREATION AND THE FLOOD (1994) and Nicolas Roeg's SAMSON AND DELILAH (1996); incidentally, at the time, I also caught Joseph AND HIS BRETHREN (1960) – which, of course, tells of the same events (or, at least, the second half of it) as the film under review. This is pretty much straightforward stuff, not particularly inspired but certainly decent; as for myself, I vaguely recalled some of the passages depicted from Catechism classes I attended in my childhood – such as when Isaac's second-born, clean-shaven shepherd Jacob, dresses up in the hirsute guise of his sibling, the hunter Esau, in order that their dying father bless and relinquish the legacy of God's chosen people upon him instead (while the elder son is away expressly to prove his mettle required for this great task!). Jacob then goes into exile and starts his proverbial tribe – bearing 12 sons from 4 different women (2 sisters, who are also his own cousins, and their respective servant-girls!). I enjoyed the first part slightly more than the second – where we also got the services of a respectable cast (Harry Andrews as Isaac, Colleen Dewhurst as his wife, Keith Michell as Jacob, Julian Glover as Esau and Herschel Bernardi as the wily uncle). The latter stages – with Michell stepping into the background so as to allow Tony LoBianco as the favorite among his sons, the wise-man Joseph, to take center-stage – tread more familiar ground but remain watchable, despite the inherent low-budget and flat look associated with made-for-TV productions. Joseph is thrown into a well by his jealous brothers and sold to a band of wandering traders bound for Egypt, unaccountably rises to a position of Pharaoh's adviser and to where the Hebrews eventually assemble, until the advent of Moses. Here, too, one particular episode rang a bell – when LoBianco rejects the attentions of the slave-master's wife, thus incurring her wrath (in this respect, both she and the actress playing Jacob's preferred wife Rachel are quite attractive and, being foreigners, lend the proceedings the requisite exotic touch). For the record, this is the third film I have watched from director Cacoyannis: the others, while superior, were also closer to his own background – namely, ELECTRA (1962) and ZORBA THE Greek (1964).