My Review of Joseph (1995) · 10:45pm Sep 8th, 2022
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
Greetings, everyone! This is Mr. J back with another movie review for today! This evening, I will be reviewing 1995's TV film/miniseries entitled: Joseph of TNT's Bible Collection series. This was yet another beloved movie from childhood that I would constantly watch in a monthly basis when I was a kid. For those of you who may be wondering, I grew up from a Christian household, so we watched a lot of Bible movies while growing up. This was one of the films I've harbored a love for due to its excellent storytelling, amazing acting, great music, and much more. Now as an adult, I still look upon this movie as something to always cherish and look back for nostalgia and enjoyment.
Just like with Joseph: King of Dreams, this also covers the story of the titular character who was betrayed by his flesh and blood and sold to slavery in Egypt. After having to deal with a seductive woman and false imprisonment, he soon becomes the nation's final hope after interpreting Pharaoh's dreams of an incoming famine. Once his brothers return again after so long, he puts them to the test if their hearts have changed.
This film did a much better job in fleshing out Joseph's character; we see his backstory, his family, and we spend more time with his brothers to see how selfish, impulsive, and rash they were in their younger days. As a matter of fact, this adaption of the story is more biblically accurate to the story in Genesis...at least 95% accurate. Paul Mercurio did an excellent job in portraying Joseph in making him more human and somewhat more akin to his portrayal in the Bible.
Furthermore, this was the very movie that introduced me to Sir Ben Kingsley; ever since I first watched this, I became a huge fan of him. The way he performed as Potiphar gave the impression he had a charming, clam, collected, and straightforward type of personality. In almost every role I've watched him play over the years, it feels like Kingsley always maintained that demeanor no matter what character he plays. I've always admired that about him. So props to him for his flawless acting as Potiphar.
Despite my enjoyment from watching Joseph: King of Dreams, this film did a better job in conveying the message of remaining steadfast in the midst of temptation and tribulation. Because Joseph remained loyal and faithful to God, he became governor of Egypt and saved so many people from the seven-year famine. I also liked his brothers and their character development. Judah, in this film, was more sympathetic and less cruel than he was in the animated film, Simeon and Levi had more prominent roles for the plot and actually did something, and all the other brothers each had lines! That's awesome!
Of course, this movie isn't entirely perfect as it contains some minor errors that contradicts what the book of Genesis actually says. Nevertheless, this film remains to be one of the best Bible movies of all time, in my opinion. I will rate this a solid 10/10! I highly recommend this to anyone interested in checking out some Bible stories, regardless if you're religious or not.
Peace out!
I never even heard of this movie until you reviewed it today, but I'd love to check it out now.