Petra Beyond Belief

A lot of it deals with emotions and dealing with things, and He (the main charter) is having problems, with is bother, and with his Dad, and he starts to Question things just like we all do. This IS in fact a true story and is really awesome to just listen to the songs even, My personal Fav. song in the movie is "Love" but really All of them are really good. I listen to them all the time with the CD by Petra "Beyond Belief" I Watch the movie every chance I get. laugh out loud. Even if thats not that often... but it's worth the time and money no doubt! I recommend it, it's an awesome Christian Movie that probably deserves more attention than it gets!! Christine

I grew up on a pirated version of this movie. Although the sound is now horrible and the picture even worse - I am stilling watching it from time to time. It's actually in the background right now. I really don't know how to review Petra Beyond Belief. To me it will always be nearly perfect. Of course it suffers from mediocrity that is, unfortunately, far too common with Christian media. It also has plot holes and maybe not the best acting, but who cares. The music couldn't be better. It is perfectly integrated in the story, and performed by Petra. That's what counts. Besides, the story isn't actually that bad, particularly not compared to others from that time. Sometimes I tear up, and in the end I smile. That's what makes this movie deserve an eight.

Thank you to those who posted on here about the Petra Video. It's too bad IMDb wasn't around back when it came out or there would be plenty more. It's too bad that this video has been long forgotten by most people. I will always have a place in my heart for this video. Not only was Petra my favorite band back then and the songs from "Beyond Belief" ministered to me in so many ways, but I also went with Teen Mania in 1990. It was a total surprise to me that we would go to their concert on the night of my arrival in Miami and be in the crowd when they shot the "Beyond Belief" video for the video album. Then a few days later I went to Costa Rica and Jason Rogers (David on the video) was a member of my team. He played Jesus in the Toymaker and Son street drama that we performed all summer on the streets of Costa Rica. The way he portrayed Jesus was the best I have ever seen. It's hard to explain but he had a sweet, smiling way of portraying him and that is always how I think of Jesus now. As soon as I got home I ordered this video and I still have it to this day, in great condition. A few years later I went to Mexico on a Christmas trip with Teen Mania and Tony Leech was my team leader. He was a very funny guy. I also remember him being on "Fire By Night" a Christian show for teens. Now he just recently wrote "Hoodwinked" believe it or not. I'm giving this video a 9 for all the memories it gave me and all the great Petra videos and music. I have to take off one point for quality of storyline and acting, although I hold a dear place in my heart for the actors. I would like to see what this would have turned out like if it had been done in the 2000's instead of 1990. I imagine it would be a 10! Go Petra! Go actors! Go Teen Mania! Go God!!!

Okay, I gave it a 10 because of the message in the storyline. I thought some of the younger actors (like the 'STAR', Chad) was played very well! I often wonder if at times some of these people watch it again? The main reason I first watched it was I had seen the video "Beyond Belief" on a Christian show and couldn't believe a 'hard rock' (and Christian ) like myself could find such a great tune that didn't sound like a 'typical' Christian tune but actually was an edgy rock tune that really rocked! I went out and bought the CD and loved most of the cuts, I then bought some older Petra but they never compared to this album! I was in a Christian book store and it was in the rental section so I got it and since I couldn't find the video to buy I made a copy of all the music videos (I had already purchased the CD but wanted the videos!). I can watch those videos over and over! During this time and a few years after I carried on a correspondence with Bob Hartman and he is a great guy I asked why he was leaving Petra at the time and we found both our children had the same learning disorder and needed more parental interaction! I asked him if he would come back to the touring and he said only as a "guest guitarist" from time to time, however he had to come back a short time later. I was so upset when I found out they were calling it quits so BOB, if you read this remember, we need you more now than ever before! If you get a chance, get this video.... the storyline is good but along with the properly placed videos it really ROCKS!

I was able to purchase this video from a friend who had found it in the storage room of our school some years before. I previously had no idea of its existence. I went home and popped it into the VCR and was quite surprised. My idea of how cool Petra is, was brought to an all new level. The video is a short movie about a senior in high school, Chad Warren, who struggles through the stress of a broken family and a terminally ill brother. Faith shaken, the young teen comes to see that God is with him through the good times and the times of trouble. Through the movie, Petra music videos from the "Beyond Belief" album are thrown in. In some cases the band interacts with the star. The plot is kind of sappy (and somewhat full of holes) but one must remember this is 1990. Christian movies struggle with the effects of low budgets now let alone back then. In fact, there really were not many Christian films then like there are now. Besides, you would have to be a huge Petra fan to be able to track down a copy of this video. Needless to say, there is something that just fells warm and nostalgic about this video. Its a story with a valuable message and the music videos of Petra make it well worth the effort to find a copy. Petra was a leading pioneer in contemporary Christian music. They told the Gospel message in brand new ways. This video is just another venue they explored in telling that message. The "Beyond Belief" video is a great find for anyone who cherishes the efforts of this great band.

-Matt