Biblical Night Part 1: Birth Of The Deliverers. LET MY PEOPLE GO

Tonight's marathon is the beginning of a four part Monday arc of biblical tales and historical set pieces that mainly center around people who stood against the system and paid the ultimate price for the cause of right. This is the buildup to Easter with both biblical tales of redemption and fighting for what's right and true. We begin this buildup with the first part of a three part miniseries released in 1977 titled Jesus of Nazareth. Directed by Franco Zefferelli, who helmed the 1968 Romeo and Juliet, he presents an epic retelling of the life of Jesus Christ ranging from the nativity to his teachings and ultimately his death and resurrection. The film runs a total of 383 minutes but is broken into three main parts with the first part being the Nativity story for this evening followed by the story of Moses in both cartoon and live action form. Whereas the future parts center around themes such as defiance, vengeance, and regret, tonight specifically deals with the birth of two main deliverers and saviors to their chosen people. These two men are Jesus of Nazareth and Moses. We have on our menu for this evening:

              Jesus of Nazareth 1977, The Prince of Egypt 1998, and The Ten Commandments 1956

We begin the evening with Franco Zefferelli's epic retelling of the story of Jesus as told by the apostles in Jesus of Nazareth. Generally considered the greatest movie depiction of the life of Christ, this film has gone on to become one of the worlds most honored pictures and most viewed miniseries of all time. Jesus of Nazareth Part one covers the Nativity Story with Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus. This part of the miniseries also covers the political corruption surrounding the birth of Christ with King Herod being aware of the chosen one that's about to be born and wanting the child put to death to ensure his status as the ultimate king. The subplot of the three kings is also covered and their warnings to Mary and Joseph about Herod's true intentions with the child. While there are other good films that cover the story of Jesus such as King of Kings, The Nativity Story and Greatest Story Ever Told, Jesus of Nazareth is the most realistic and humane one that captures the birth of Christ so beautifully. Powered by a great musical score from Maurice Jarre, and an all star cast in part l that consists of Olivia Hussey as Mary, Yorgo Voyagis as Joseph, Robert Powell as Jesus, Michael York as John The Baptist, James Earl Jones, Donald Pleasance and Fernando Ray as the three wisemen, and Peter Ustinov as Herod The Great, this is the definitive version of The Nativity Story and the emergence of the true deliverer of mankind. The next film in the lineup is the 1998 critically acclaimed animated masterpiece The Prince of Egypt. Winner of an academy award for best song When You Believe from the duet of Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey while also being nominated for best score by Hans Zimmer, the film focuses on an Egyptian prince who learns of his identity as a Hebrew and later becomes the chosen one to deliver his people from bondage. That deliverer is named Moses. Voiced by Val Kilmer, he is backed up by a supporting cast that consists of Ralph Fiennes, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Danny Glover, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Steve Martin, Martin Short, and James Avery, this animated version of the story gives more insight into the relationship between Moses and Rameses and an understanding of how Moses went from being an Egyptian prince to a savior of thousands. There is no other way to follow this film up and end the evening but with the greatest retelling of the story of Moses with Cecil B Demilles The Ten Commandments. Nominated for a whooping 7 academy awards and winner of Best Visual Effects, this version of the Moses story runs a total of 220 minutes with intermission and centers around Moses learning of his true heritage as a Hebrew and covers his divine mission as the deliverer of his people. Charlton Heston is larger than life in the title role with Yul Brynner providing a worthy opponent as Rameses, and an all star cast consisting of Edward G Robinson as the slimy Dathan, Anne Baxter as Nefretiri, John Derek as Joshua, Martha Scott as Moses Hebrew mother, and Debra Paget as Lilia. Tonight is all about witnessing the birth of two of the worlds most influential and beloved deliverers whose lives and their actions have changed the world forever.

Our heroes and villains for this evening: