- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24
- Audio Codec: DTS-HD Master Audio (48 kHz/24-bit)
- Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Discs: 4 (4 x Blu-ray)
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Blu-ray Release Date: April 3, 2013
- List Price: $69.99
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Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Series
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(The below TheaterByte screen captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray Discs and losslessly compressed in the PNG format. There should be no loss of picture quality with this format. All screen captures should be regarded only as an approximation of the full capabilities of the Blu-ray format.)
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The Series
[Rating:3.5/5]
Most of those likely to watch this four disc, ten episode series will be familiar with the stories of the Old and New Testaments. Granted, eight hours is a very short time to recreate the full scope of the greatest book ever written. With this in mind, The Bible: The Epic Miniseries wisely selects “highlights” from both books, coning in on the iconic figures that represent the beginning of our recorded histories. A list of episodes follows:
Episode 1: In The Beginning: The Creation, the Great Flood; Abraham and origin of Judaism.
Episode 2: Exodus: Egyptian captivity, the Israelites, Moses, and the Promised Land
Episode 3: Homeland: Joshua conquers Jericho; the story of Samson and Delilah
Episode 4: Kingdom: the stories of the Kings of Israel: Saul, David, and Solomon
Episode 5: Survival: the Babylonian captivity is recounted; Daniel in the lion’s Den; return to Jerusalem
Episode 6: Hope: Jesus is born during the Roman occupation and baptized by John.
Episode 7: Mission: Jesus performs miracles including, and proclaims himself the Messiah
Episode 8: Betrayal: the Last Supper; Jesus is betrayed by Judas
Episode 9: Passion: the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.
Episode 10: Courage: Paul regains his faith, the disciplines are murdered, and John encourages the faithful that Jesus will return.
During the original History Channel broadcast in March 2013, two episodes, each lasting approximately 60 minutes (including commercials), were shown together. Compared to previous realizations of the Old and New Testament as portrayed in The Ten Commandments and The Greatest Story Every Told, this miniseries takes full advantage of new film technologies for special effects, plentiful CGIs, and voice-over narration. The cast of “international actors,” most unfamiliar to American audiences, was deliberately selected to avoid “distracting the audience with recognizable celebrity.” Sharp-eyed viewers will recognize co-producer Roma Downey as Mother Mary. From the prevailing accents (mostly British), it would appear that these mostly U.K.-origin actors are well adapted to the old-school dialogue and archaic dramatic style, cribbed from the many biblical predecessors.
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
The detail is decent if not always razor-sharp. Colors are also well captured. The cinematography is wisely extracted from the biblical epic playbook featuring many larger than life scenes with the obligatory close ups of the leads. The special effects are pretty effective. Inexplicably, there is episodic grain in some of the night scenes, perhaps a casualty of getting this one to market so quickly.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
The “period” soundtrack, the now expected mélange of pseudo-middle eastern melodies and rhythms, is well recorded. Dialogue is crisp and clean. The extra channels are well exploited by the DTS-HD Master Audio surround soundtrack.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3.5/5]
There are several special features (all high-definition films with English Dolby Digital Stereo (48k/16-bit).
- “The Bible”: Genesis: A background piece on the making of this series. (9 minutes)
- The Cast of the Bible: brief interviews with some of the principals. (13 minutes)
- “The Bible: Creation”: A documentary, highlighting the three directors, Crispin Reece, Tony Mitchell, and Christopher Spencer, discussing a selection of scenes from their various films. (42-minutes)
- “Scoring the Bible”: Interviews with composers Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerard (of Gladiator collaboration), and Lorne Balfe (The Dark Knight Rises). (9 minutes)
- “Believing in Miracles”: A series of brief interviews including co-producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, the three directors, Maya Angelou, and Diogo Morgado (Jesus). (8 minutes)
- “The Bible: Visual Effects”: a 3-minute montage of final shots and some of their predecessors.
- “Mary, Did You Know?”: a 3:41 minute music video addressing the birth, life crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus.
While most of the shorter films are merely extended plugs for the mini-series, the “Creation” dcoumentary is definitely worth watching.
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:4/5]
This is clearly a 21st century retelling of the biblical stories. The dialogue is rooted in the biblical texts but there is a declamatory delivery style that seems more Old Vic than Old Testament. There will be divided views about this series, not only because of its liberties with “historical accuracy,” considering that none of us was there, but because of the “pick and choose” approach to the retelling of the Old Testament. Further, there is a recurrent tendency to exploit violence, particularly in the OT segments, that will be off-putting to parents with young children. While the NT episodes are more peaceful and the crucifixion sequence not nearly as graphic as some of its other treatments (The Last Temptation of Christ, The Passion of the Christ), the depiction of Christ on the cross remains pretty strong stuff. Biblical purists will find much of these proceedings to be pretty superficial. In the name of entertainment, after all, that is the ultimate aim of a made-for-television mini-series, this is a very decent watch. Taken in measured doses, my recommendation for watching a series that is this long, there are many moments that most viewers will find quite moving. Even more importantly, I hope that this series will actually encourage viewers to explore its original source, the Bible.
Additional Screen Captures
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Purchase The Bible: The Epic Miniseries on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles on Amazon.com
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[amazon-product]B00BVYL102[/amazon-product]
[amazon-product]B00AMR5FGA[/amazon-product]
Purchase The Bible: The Epic Miniseries on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles on Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:3.5/5]