Reviews (6)

Jewish reviewer
This was a really interesting movie on Jacob, one of the patriochs of the Jewish nation - Abraham being the first Jew.

I think it captured the atmosphere very well of the times, and its great to see such good actors in such a prominent movie.I have bought some of the other DVDs in the series (just the ones from the Torah) and am looking forward to watching them.

the man who prevailed
This film is an earnest telling of chapters 25 through 33 of Genesis, and starts when Esau sells his birthright to his twin brother Jacob for a bowl of pottage (red lentil stew), and then gets maneuvered out of his father's blessing by his mother Rebekah. She knows Esau doesn't listen to God's voice, and his two Canaanite wives are a wearisome thing in her life, so Jacob is sent off to her brother (who has daughters), some 400 miles away, where Jacob falls in love with the attractive Rachel...and once there, "everything he touches, flourishes". It is a narrative of great faith and perserverance, and the relationship between Jacob and Rachel is touching and sweet.

Most of the story follows biblical lines, with a few additions; one of them is inexplicable to me, because it is the only part of the film that could be upsetting to children; it shows Jacob on his journey, fleeing a man he thinks is Esau seeking retribution (it is actually Esau's brother-in-law), when his donkey has a fatal fall from a hillside. It is odd that they would embelish the story with such an unpleasant event, because otherwise the sheep, goats and camels are wonderful, and would be enjoyable viewing for children.
The story ends as Jacob, his wives and children (the sons who would become the twelve tribes of Israel), servants and flocks arrive at Shehem. The story is continued in another film of this series, "Joseph", which is superior to this film, and highly recommended.

The cast:

Matthew Modine is fine as Jacob, Lara Flynn Boyle an excellent, lovely Rachel, and the ever beautiful Irene Papas is a marvelous Rebekah. Sean Bean (Boromir in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) is very good as Esau, and Giancarlo Giannini is Rebekah's devious brother Laban.
The score by Marco Frisina adds to the atmosphere, and the cinematography by Ennio Guarneri, though often darkened with a lot of shadows, is nice when using the sub-saharan landscape around Quarzazate, Morocco, where this was filmed; it well depicts how one would imagine the primitive life of ancient nomadic shepherds could be.
Total running time is 94 minutes.

Inspiring Entertainment for the Whole Family
"Jacob" is not one of the better productions from the excellent Turner Bible Collection.Nonetheless, it is inspiring entertainment, solidly based on the Biblical account of Jacob.There are portions of the narrative that are brilliantly captured, while other aspects of the story are poorly handled.I would still highly recommend the movie as quality entertainment for the entire family.

pretty ordinary!
This is a fairly ordinary film about the life of Jacob. Set in Morocco, It has very stark desert scenery as a backdrop, pehaps a reflection on the barren period of Jacob's life as a luckless, penniless 'slave' to the greedy and cunning Laban. I did NOT like the actress who played Rachael. I would have expected a shepherdess of that period to be portrayed as a strong resourceful woman, with perhaps an air of Oriental mystique i.e. just her eyes showing at that first meeting at the well. She looks 'wimpy', like, just stepped out of her air-conditioned tent? Considering the casting of the later Lube Productions in this series, they mis-cast in this one! Laban, however, as the villain of the story, is acted well. As the cunning and conniving Uncle he holds the plot together. His ultimatum to the two daughters to 'swap' places is a convicing scenario of how it might have actually happened. Ok, it's not the best film in the world, but if you like Biblical dramas, it would be worth getting.

Great Video
Great casting, acting, directing, scenery, etc. I was recommended this by a girl from Reno, NV.I'm so glad she did.In the past, when I used to read the Bible passage about Jacob, aka Israel, and Esau, aka Edom, arguing about their birthright over a bowl of lentil stew, I always had difficulty picturing it in my mind.The movie easily cleared this up for me by doing an excellent job of taking me back in time and re-enacting this scene.Regarding the actors and actresses, their personalities and appearances seemed perfect for the parts, especially Jacob played by Matthew Modine and beautiful Rachel played by Lara Flynn Boyle.Whether or not the cast and crew were made up of Bible believers, I think the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had His hand in helping with this movie. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

a sexy thriller
This is one of Antonio Banderas' best movies. He and Rebecca DeMornay have a a strong chemistry between them, and it shows. The movie was very interesting and had a very unexpected ending!! There was a good combination of mystery, suspense and sex. I recommend this movie to anyone who wants a thrill!!!

Are you an Antonio fan?
If you like Antonio Banderas, this is a great movie for you! He is wonderfully sexual in this movie, and the one scene that stands out is right after Rebecca returns to his apartment and slaps him....it had me so...well, lets just say it was really good! If you can watch a movie for its entertainment value, and not pick it apart for its cinematic quality and reality quirks, then you will enjoy this movie. It does have a plot, and a good one, and the ending is a little bit of a let down, but other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Antonio is at one of his sexiest in this movie! He had me captivated the whole time! Watch for that particular scene, you wont be disappointed!

very good drama
I really liked the plot and directing and acting in this movie.I thought this was one of Ms.DeMornay's greatist dramatic roles I've seen her in.No corny bimbo performance here, great dramatic acting combined with good soundtrack and storyline! It has mystery,intrigue,romance, and spice! I'll even use a word I don't usually use and say the "lovescene" playing in the snow and flashing back and forth was the best I've ever scene in a movie! Ms.DeMornay is underrated and all the nude scenes I've seen of her are classy and in good taste, unlike other actresses!I'd prefer her to keep her clothes on myself because of all the morons out there who only get off onTV nudity because no real women wants anything to do with them! Again she's a great actress! Keep making movies Rebecca, I'll watch them even if on a viewfinder!Your the best!

Okay, so the ending stinks....
BUT, I still liked this film. While it has holes, characer-wise, such as; why wouldn't Sarah know her ex-fiancee's sister or his cousin already? Somehow, it's still easy enough to get caught up in the mysterious Tony and his motives in pursuing Sarah, and hey, anyone who DOESN'T melt when Tony is holding the wine glasses, pouring the wine for Sarah as she enters his apartment has no romantic soul! The ending is unsatisfactory and rings false, but do what I do, make your own ending and hit rewind!

A movie to endure, not enjoy
I cannot remember another time when i actually suffered through a movie, but this one was almost unbearable to watch for me and company. The dialogue is cliched and horrendously bad, the acting is poor and forced, and the story utterly, irredeemably awful. It is full of lame suspense-thriller gags that have been used perhaps 100 times prior to this one. The movie also has one of the worst conclusions of any movie in the past 30 years at least-- all of us were shaking our heads and laughing, a bad thing since this is not intended to be a comedic film! De Mornay and Banderas have done vastly better work than this, and if you catch this film it will spoil your opinion of both of them. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Performances of La Traviata stand or fall to an unusual extent on their principal soprano; the first thing that needs saying about this Glyndebourne performance is that Marie McLaughlin has all of the attributes needed for a role that is fundamentally a virtuoso one, no matter how emotionally involving it is as well. The point about Violetta is that she is, with absolute authenticity, all of the things she becomes in the course of the opera--the febrile socialite and yearning love of Act One, the quiet domesticated woman of Act Two who sacrifices her love for Alfredo to precisely the family values he has talked her into espousing, the dying penitent of Act Three. Walter McNeil is an impressive poetic Alfredo in whose successful courtship we can believe. He is also unusually good in Act Two, Scene Two where for once his public humiliation of Violetta is actually painful, which makes his repentance at her deathbed far more moving. Brent Ellis is solid and powerful as his father Germont--the duet in which he talks Violetta into renouncing Alfredo and yet comes to value what he is destroying is one of the high points here, as it should be. Bernard Haitink conducts impressively. --Roz Kaveney ... Read more

Reviews (1)

VG Picture-No Subtitles
I had the old VHS Version of this Glyndenbourne performance. compare to that the picture quality of the Dvd is a huge improvement. However the VHS Version had English subtitles; the DVD does not. In these days of everything in Opera having subtitles it seems very strange thatthis DVD does not. Maybe Image would have to pay extra. I do not see in the Opera listings in Amazon any consistent listing for subtitles. For me I would not want to have this if without subtitles so I seek some way of getting a refund. I do not want DVD with no subtitles ... Read more