Jeremiah

GOD is good!!!This revealing adaptation on one of the Major Prophets in The HOLY Bible, was Edifying, Educational and ConvictingBeing exposed to Jeremiah’s story and walk with GOD has caused me to look at myself, my behaviors and motives, beliefs, Reverential Love for GOD, Loyalty, Trust, Commitment and how do I go about Honoring my GOD with my Life!!!

This film is an excellent telling of Jeremiah's life, and although time has been compressed, and some fictitious characters added to fill out the scenario, the heart of this part of biblical history is intact, and follows the accounts given in The Book of Jeremiah, II Kings 23-25, and II Chronicles 34-36.Some of the additions: The lovely "Judith" (Lenor Varela) as an early love interest, and "General Safan", played by that lionesque man, Oliver Reed, as one of Jeremiah's adversaries, and someone who consistently gives bad advice to the king.Among the omissions: Jeremiah's good years, when he was a friend and confidant to the devout King Josiah, which ended in 609 B.C. with the Josiah's death.Jeremiah was older when most of the events that take place in this film occur, and had been ministering since 627 B.C.The film starts with the finding the scriptures, which King Josiah reads to the people, and a young Jeremiah, "I cannot speak, for I am only a youth" (Jer. 1:6).Sixteen years elapse, and in some of the following scenes, Jehoiakim (Josiah's son) is king, and the constant and brutal persecution of Jeremiah begins.Patrick Dempsey is wonderful as Jeremiah, and also Stuart Bunce as his faithful scribe Baruch (it is Baruch who in all probability recorded The Book of Jeremiah).Enter Nebuchadnezzar, played with gusto by Klaus Maria Brandauer. This is one nasty guy, but he is the instrument to complete Jeremiah's prophesies, with his armies sacking and burning the temple (in 586 B.C.) and the ensuing famine in the land. Nebuchadnezzar takes Jehoiakim's son and succesor Jehoiachin captive, and and places his uncle Zedekiah (formerly known as Mattaniah) as king.The final 10 minutes of this film are riveting, with King Zedekiah's fate brilliantly depicted (literaly taken from II Kings 25:7), and Jeremiah's story, though a sad one, is one of faith and perseverance, and well worth watching.Most of the films in this series are terrific, and have beautiful cinematography by Raffaele Mertes; they are set in Quarzazate, Morocco, with its rugged landscape and ancient structures. A good score by Bruce Broughton adds to the atmosphere, and it's well directed and written (with a fair portion taken from the scriptures) by Harry Winer.

This film demonstrates the tremendous power movies have to inspire and instruct. The production team of Jeremiah did an excellent job of taking a 52 chapter book of the Bible and condensing it accurately to film. The dialogue is Scriptural, creative, and inspiring. The acting is superb. The sets, costumes, and effects are all realistic. But what sets this film apart from other Biblical stories on film is that while some liberties were taken with characters and dialogue, they were both believable and in-line with Scripture. One example ? The character of "Judith". Basically, this young woman is the wife-to-be of Jeremiah. They have a tender relationship, share some adventures together, but never marry. Why ? In the book of Jeremiah, God tells him that he will never marry because of the terrible wrath and destruction the Babylonian armies will bring upon Israel. In creating this character, the writers make the audience feel the pain and devastation such an unction from God would bring--far more than if he had no romantic ties whatsoever. But Judith represents even more. In creating this character, the writers brought to life a living metaphor for all good and lovely things God wanted to give His people to enjoy in their lives--had they been faithful to His commandments. Without this faithfulness to God, He could not bless them with all the good things He loves to bring upon His people. This is just one example of a 'liberty' the writers took that, contrary to most uses of this, greatly enhanced the characters and enriched the story. A definite "must see", for both Jew and Gentile.

Will be studying Jeremiah soon at church.

Great movie

This video is a pretty good video about Jeremiah. I've been wanting to get this video for awhile. I already had watched Joseph and Solomon which were pretty good videos too. I got this video along with Esther. Patrick Dempsey makes a great Jeremiah. Patrick Dempsy protrays Jeremiah as an ordinary man whom God calls to be a prophet. Klaus Maria something [I can't remember the guy's complete name.] plays Nebuchadnezzar who seems real mean! But that's the way probably Nebuchadnezzar is. One major thing that I didn't like about this video is when God calls Jeremiah they used a little girl and an old man to protray God when He talks to Jeremiah. The story begins when Jeremiah was just a kid during Josiah's good reign and ends not long after the destruction of Jerusalem. There's unbiblical people in the movie such as Jeremiah's sweetheart Judith,General Sharpton,and maybe others. But I did like this video. It follows fairly close to scripture and is pretty entertaining with good actors. It is however not as good as some of the other Turner videos (such as Joseph, Solomon) but I found it better than esther. Have not had the opportunity yet to see Abraham, Moses, David. Jeremiah's words from the Bible are sparse in this video.

This is a powerful movie

Films based on the Biblical account do not always come up to the mark. Too often, artistic license is taken too far and moves so far away from the original source material that we are left with a ‘loosely based upon’ version of events. I was therefore pleasantly surprised at how well this film has remained with the original text. Yes, there has been some ‘interpretation’ but for the greater part this is a very good re-telling on film. I’ve read a few commentaries on Jeremiah and while academic, the feeling is often missed, I think this film version just about gets the balance right. Patrick Dempsey, who went on to other things, brings a good deal of realism in the lead role, there is a believe-ability about his performance as Jeremiah, you feel his reluctance when God calls him and his angst at stepping forward as the human spokesman for the Almighty. It was uplifting to see the Prophet stand alone and go toe-to-toe with his detractors. As for production values, this does not feel like a ‘made-for-television’ production and as most of the action is inside the city, little is lost in grand sweeping scenic backdrops you would normally expect in a Biblical epic. There are a few minor criticisms, some artistic licence is taken with the ‘love-interest’ but it does not detract from the story telling. Unfortunately, the film concludes rather abruptly with Jerusalem overthrown and her people taken captive, but that’s not the end for Jeremiah, but that aside this is a very good effort and not difficult to recommend.

Some lively direction and great performances bring some life to what could have been a bleak story.Over 6 Centuries before Christ, Judah is revitalised when the ancient scrolls are discovered and the temple is restored. The young Jeremiah is born into the order of the priesthood, and his faith and tradition become the cornerstone of his existence during this renaissance of sorts. However, 16 years later the adult Jeremiah receives a Word from God that nobody wants to hear - that the sins and excesses of Judah are going to lead to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the people will be led into bondage. Does he have the faith and strength to deliver the Word, facing ostracism from his family, tragic separation from the woman he loves, and persecution for treason?Some license has been taken to add some characters and give some depth to Jeremiah's character - a tack which can lead movie versions of bible stories into rough water - however with Patrick Dempsey as Jeremiah, the effect here is to bring out a real sense of the humanity of the prophet, making the sense of sacrifice relevant and believable. However, the gentle looking man does not flinch from forcefully speaking the Word when it is needed - watch out for the flying spittle! The weak King Zedekiah is also well portrayed and a few starry cameos are welcome - Oliver Reed in fine form, and Klaus Maria Brandauer oddly believable as the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, despite that resolutely European accent.The Bible series always seems to have tackled the subject of God speaking in a sensitive way, and the manner in which He speaks here is done very effectively, portraying how surreal and powerful the moment is while avoiding the `Booming American Voice cliché of so many movies. The scene in which Jeremiah first acts as God's voice piece is particularly well done.Taking into account some crisp and colourful photography and reasonable production values given the TV budget, it's a valiant attempt at a rarely told story - of course, it's not as good as the book it's based on. (7/10)

Well done - a tough job to make Jeremiah's story so appealing. The vulnerability of this actor's presentation made me feel how he must have felt - to have his young life interrupted with a call of this magnitude on it. When he doggedly stayed loyal to God's message in the face of opposition, risking torture (which didn't happen) and even risking death, I really felt that it was God giving him the certainty, rather than his own personal abilities or strength. This isn't an easy job to portray. Baruch also was well cast, and was convincing in his role. Two young men, singled out to face 'giants' just as other prophets were, placing their trust in God's word to them rather than that of anyone else, infused with the certainty that the future of their nation and its people was only secure if they paid attention to what God told him personally. Wow.

Because of their unnecessary, unscriptural narrative, most Bible films have to be taken with a pinch (or a bucketful) of salt, and this is no exception.However, the core account of the faithful Jeremiah is told well, with spine-tingling divine denouncements of the apostate, morally corrupt and unfaithful Judah.A timely lesson for both in-denial atheists and those practising false religion - especially the adherents of the hypocritical, fake-Christian Church which, like Judah, embraces paganism, idolatry and, in some denominations, even gross perversion.

The one thing I really did not like was the little girl speaking for God it would have been better to just hear a mans voice. The Book of Jeremiah is a brilliant book and you can only feel for poor Jeremiah. But the sad thing is that not much has changed so called Christian ministers who tell the people that all is well and refuse to teach the whole counsel of God and how God does not wink at sin. Reading the book of Jeremiah will get across Gods patience, compassion for a rebellious people and lovingly calls them to return to him than things will change for the better. The film did not move me as the bible does but not a bad Christian film for the family to watch.