Bible: Solomon

Esther and Jeremiah are also very accurate, but I thought that Genesis was a little slow. It is mainly narative. After the story of the Creation it could have been acted out.

The section devoted to the Queen of Sheba has been embelished, but Viveca A. Fox is ravishing as the queen, and it makes for great drama.
The emphasis on this part is to show Solomon's destructive tendencies; women were his weakness, and the rationalizations for his behavior his undoing. From Adam to modern history, it's a common story, but in the case of Solomon, what he gave up for his weakness was God's mighty blessing, and the inheritance he would leave his heirs.

Ben Cross ("Chariots of Fire") as this complex character is marvelous, and he is surrounded by a superb supporting cast. Though it's hard to take the nordic air from Max von Sydow (who in 1965 played Jesus in "The Greatest Story Ever Told"), he is nevertheless an aging giant of a man as King David, and France's great Anouk Aimee plays Solomon's mother Bathsheba with vigor, as she holds on to the reins of power with tenacity.
Other notable performances come from David Suchet (who was so good in the 1998 "The Perfect Murder") as Joab, Ivan Kaye as Solomon's half-brother Adonijah, and Richard Dillane as the laborer who ultimately rules ten of the twelve tribes, Jeroboam. Even the smallest parts are believable, which reflects on the excellent direction by Roger Young.
This is a Bible epic well worth owning for repeated viewing; some of it is poetic, some of it action-packed, often inspiring and thought provoking, and always fascinating.

Genesis is the only stinker in this set. It is nothing like the other 3. The Genesis DVD has nice photography, but it does NOT act out the Bible scenes like the other three movies do! Genesis just narrates a reading of the book of Genesis, while showing contemporary desert people going about their daily lives.

If you are undecided about buying the whole set, then I would suggest buying at least one of these separately. "Jeremiah" is my favorite, and it really captures the attitude of a humble prophet being persecuted by the wayward Israelites. "Esther" is probably the most accurately told of these three good movies. It is a pretty clear storytelling, where the other movies sometimes change the order of events (but still portray the overall message accurately). "Solomon" covers the biggest chunk of Scripture, retelling many scenes of the life of Solomon and what Solomon wrote in the Bible.

I would rate the Genesis movie with 1 star, for being so misleading as to its content. But the other 3 films, Esther, Solomon, and Jeremiah are all 5 star movies! Even with the useless Genesis, the price of this DVD set is still a bit cheaper to buy the three good movies here, at one price, than to buy them one at a time.