I had been hearing lots (and I mean, LOTS) of negative things about this movie, which, strangely, piqued my curiosity in it all the more (albeit in a disgusting way. Disgusted curiosity, in other words). I finally got to see it sometime ago - for free, thank heavens - and wow, it was even worse than I thought. It surpassed my low expectations. I would've thought it was a spoof or something, but from what I've heard, the film makers of this movie were *serious* in the making of this.
Wow, were they for real?
I'd never imagined a film as... as WACKO as this one could possibly exist on the face of the earth. For one thing, they got a lot of the Bible facts wrong, such as Jacob travelling w/ his sons to Egypt to rescue Simeon, and the baker (the guy in the prison who was executed) as Asenath's FATHER (erm, the Word clearly states that her father was the high priest of On, dearie, NOT the baker!).
Additionally, as Alfred D Byrd's review so eloquently stated, the characters and story were just WEIRD. The way they acted, the way the plot was executed - it was just weirdness to the max. Eh, a lot of examples of the craziness that was this movie was already mentioned, so let me see if I can add a few more... oh! Before the brothers sell Joseph into slavery, they get into this huge fight (the whole lot vs Joseph and Reuben) with the most abnormal-looking movements. Goodness, I don't even know how to mentally "choreograph" it...
And the costuming was so weird. The nemes headdresses actually reminded me of elephant ears. Real Egyptian nemeses were not that... elephant-like.
The only nice thing about this movie is the scene in which Joseph and Asenath get together, and Joseph says something really beautiful and poetic (gasp!) about flowers in the desert growing together... aww... The one bright spot in this crazy, dismal movie.
Pity, too, that such a lovely and Victorian title has to be lent to such an icky film.
Fun to watch if you have nothing better to do, or just want to satisfy a gross curiosity; even better to watch it w/ someone who's got a great sense of humour, as he/she can crack at the absurdities in this movie. But be careful not to get sucked too much into this movie... next thing you know, you'll (literally) be slitting someone's wrist to save them from a fainting spell (oh horror of horrors!!!).
And yes, to what Mr Byrd said... run from this film and to much, much, muuuch better portrayals of Joseph, like Hallmark's 'In The Beginning' or, if you like animation, 'Joseph King of Dreams.' Now those are beautiful, respectable films, worlds above this laughable piece of.... nonsense.
But hey, an interesting experience. For as a big fan of the Joseph story, I somehow feel I ought to expose myself to BOTH the good and bad retellings of Joseph. It can actually be quite... fun ((gasp))
