It would take some time to recall all the incidents I have noticed, but one in particular I mentioned earlier was a made-for-TV film on Noah’s Ark. While Noah and his family were on the ark, and the earth supposedly flooded with water, there was a merchant on his own raft selling stuff. That is an extreme example of Bible movie “creativity.”
Lots of movies have more subtle examples such as the Nativity Story that added extra-Biblical scenes to “enhance” the story. One Night With The King, Esther’s story, added in a piece of jewelry that played a significant part in the final scene that plays no part in the narrative and really did not improve the story in any way.
There have been others that remove any supernatural or miraculous events, or simply remove God from the narrative completely. I’m drawing a blank on examples, but I know I have seen a few over the years. If you strip out God from the narrative, you have really have very little.
Ultimately, it has to be entertaining, so I expect some extra dialogue and scenes to carry the story. But don’t strip out the deeper truths or else you lose your primary audience.
IMHO, most of the Bible stories are significant and the characters quite interesting, needing little embellishment. And I would certainly recommend that these producers consult someone that has some Bible knowledge - or at least has read it once or twice, as a script consultant.
If you look at all the epic religious films in the 50s and 60s - Ten Commandments, The Robe, Samson and Delilah,The Bible, Solomon and Sheba - they gave the story some Hollywood spin, but did not destroy the narrative. And several are still quite watchable. Entertain, but don’t insult your Jewish and Christian audience.
I watched it at the time. That's 4 hours of my life I'm never getting back. Terrible movie.
There have been others that remove any supernatural or miraculous events, or simply remove God from the narrative completely. I’m drawing a blank on examples, but I know I have seen a few over the years. If you strip out God from the narrative, you have really have very little.
That reminds me of the recent movie, "Troy", in which all elements of the supernatural were removed. I kept thinking, "Waitaminute...where's Ares? Where's Athena?" One should always respect the source material when doing an adaptation.
If you look at all the epic religious films in the 50s and 60s - Ten Commandments, The Robe, Samson and Delilah,The Bible, Solomon and Sheba - they gave the story some Hollywood spin, but did not destroy the narrative. And several are still quite watchable. Entertain, but don’t insult your Jewish and Christian audience.
I still enjoy watching the Old Testament films of the 50s. The New Testament, not so much. Exception: Ben Hur.