The Bible: In The Beginning
The Bible: In the Beginning was a
1966 Biblical epic recounting the first 22 chapters of the
Book of Genesis. It was a joint American/Italian production conceived by
Dino De Laurentiis and directed by
John Huston. The film consists of three main sections:
Adam and Eve,
Noah's Ark, and the story of
Abraham. There are also a pair of shorter sections, one recounting the building of the
Tower of Babel, and the other the destruction of
Sodom and Gomorrah. The sections vary greatly in tone. The story of Abraham is somber and reverential, while that of Noah is played as a
slapstick comedy. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Tower of Babel are special effects spectaculars, while the story of Adam and Eve focuses a great deal on the scantily clad bodies of the pair. The film had an all star cast and expensive special effects, but was a box office failure. It was originally conceived as the first in a series of films retelling the entire
Old Testament, but these sequels were never made.
*
Michael Parks as
Adam*
Ulla Bergryd as
Eve*
Richard Harris as
Cain*
Franco Nero as
Abel*
John Huston as
Noah, the narrator, the serpent, and
God*
Stephen Boyd as
Nimrod*
Gabriele Ferzetti as
Lot*
Eleonora Rossi Drago as Lot's wife
*
George C. Scott as
Abraham*
Ava Gardner as
Sarah*
Peter O'Toole as the Three Angels
