Peter & Paul DVD

Rating:
Summary: PAUL! ... and peter
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this movie in spite all of its flaws. The film is well acted, beautifully shot, and moving. However, I was disappointed in its portrayal of Peter--and I agree with another reviewer that this film has a definite pro-Protestant bias, as evidenced by its exultation of Protestant hero Paul and its lukewarm treatment of the man whom Catholics call the first Pope. The film should have really been called "PAUL THE GREAT ... and Peter the near-failure."

The film opens with the stoning of Stephen. Peter has already relinquished control of the Christian church to James the Less, and Paul is on the prowl for Christian blood. The film then follows Paul through his amazing conversion and aggressive evangelical campaign, pausing briefly to depict the beheading of James the Great and the imprisonment and subsequent flight of Peter.

We then follow Paul throughout his missions to Asia Minor, Greece, and Eastern Europe, and we meet a slew of familiar yet exciting characters: Silas, Titus the Galatian, John Mark, young Timothy, and Luke, who has the lanky physique and quietly charismatic persona of a rock band's bassist. Peter and Paul go to Antioch together where they have a fight about the Jerusalem Council's final decision. This puzzled me--in Acts, the final decision is handed down during the council, and Paul never objects to its few stipulations.

Where's Peter throughout all of Paul's adventures? Who knows. We see him moping in Galilee a few times, fishing or talking to his wife. At one point we see him fixing a boat with Mark, telling John that he's apparently failed his mission to Jesus. There is absolutely no hint in the movie that this was the man who converted thousands of people with a single speech, evangelized throughout Palestine, raised people from the dead, and commanded the lame to get up and walk. Also absent from the film is the vision that led to Peter's own decision to convert Gentiles--separate from Paul's decision, and miraculous in its own right. No, instead we get a boring, simpering, powerless guy who'd rather fish and complain than get up and do something. Why all of the omissions? Well, my feeling is that a more forceful portrayal of Peter would detract from the film's thesis: that Paul was a revolutionary who stepped up to the plate when everyone else ran away, and without Paul, there would be no Christianity.

In the film, Peter finally redeems himself when he--guess what?--decides to "follow in Paul's footsteps." Historically, there is little evidence to suggest that Peter's missions and voyages to areas in Asia Minor were undertaken in an effort to imitate Paul or reinforce the places Paul had already evangelized. And as for the end of the film, when Peter arrives in Rome to find that Paul has already been executed? Well, tradition generally suggests that the two were in Rome at the same time--together, alive--and that they were executed around the same time.

As for the other characters--those who accompany Paul on his journeys really shine. As for the Jerusalem consort? James the Less is portrayed as he always is--as a total tool, not as a guy who fended off devastating persecution and was eventually thrown from the temple to his death (which took place before Paul's death). John delivers his lines with little or no emotion--even after the bloody martyrdom of his brother.

And yet, in spite all of this, I loved the film. It's exciting, colorful, and passionate, and Peter's gruesome crucifixion would have to bring tears to the eyes of the most unreligious viewer. I just wish it hadn't sought to make such convenient foils out of Peter and Paul, two men who, despite all their differences, got along better than most people realize.

Rating:
Summary: Very good film for the protestant side
Review: The film portrays Peter and Paul very well, its nice to see Gamaliel also included. As for being accurate to the scriptures i only found a few problems. Paul never disagreed with the Jerusalem Council, yet in the film he screams at the council's decision for gentile believers which is not in Acts. Paul never used the phrase "Faith Alone" in the bible, yet Barnabas and the Jerusalem jewish christians accuse Paul of saying this is the gospel he preaches. Other than that i truly enjoyed this film more than the cheesy Visual bible ACTS or TBN's redition of Paul. Catholics might also find the faith alone phrase objectionable.

Rating:
Summary: Good film - Defective DVD
Review: This film is well made and seeks to be true to the historical events. The one problem I found in the film is that all the DVD copies I purchased of this film have the same defect. I purchased two from Amazon.com and one from another store. They all freeze momentarily at the end of Chapter 18 and then skip from Chapter 18 to Chapter 23. You may not even notice the skip because it jumps from the end of one scene to the beginning of another scene. But if you go to the menu, you can then pull up Chapters 19-22, which you will not see if you are watching the film straight through. Hopefully Gateway Films will get the message, correct the problem, and send out a new batch of DVD's which work the way they are supposed to work. I'm going to give Gateway a few months in hopes that they will produce a new batch of corrected DVD's.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent portrayal -
Review: We have watched this movie over and over again and never seem to tire of it. It is an amazingly almost perfect portrayal of the Biblical account. Anthony Hopkins and cast make you feel as though you were there!

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent portrayal -
Review: We have watched this movie over and over again and never seem to tire of it. It is an amazingly almost perfect portrayal of the Biblical account. Anthony Hopkins and cast make you feel as though you were there!