Italian Bible film with Brad Harris
This Italian-French co-production by Gianfranco Parolini, created in 1962, is called "Il vecchio Testamento", i.e. "The Old Testament" in the Italian original. And this title is appropriate, as it is about the events reported in the First and Second Books of Maccabees. The whole thing has nothing to do with Goliath. The German title was probably intended, for marketing reasons, to create a connection to all the other films with ancient muscle men that were so successful at the box office at the time. As is often the case with films of this kind, the filming took place in Yugoslavia.
About 150 B. C. In the 4th century BC, Seleucid rule (one of the Diadochian kingdoms after the death of Alexander the Great) still continues. The Syrians have occupied Jerusalem. The Hebrews defend themselves against this, especially the priest Mattathias and his defensive sons. The energetic Judas Maccabeus (very impressive: Djordje Nenadovic, who was later seen in "Unter Geiern" (1964) and in the first part of "Die Nibelungen" (1966)) particularly stands out. The resistance still fails. The Hebrews have to flee into the desert. Only Simon Maccabee (Brad Harris), the last son, will succeed in recapturing Jerusalem and the Temple. Simon was offended in his family from the start because he advocated peaceful coexistence between Hebrews and Syrians and with the beautiful Diotima (Mara Lane, the enchanting British-Austrian actress was also in Helmut Käutner's beautiful romantic film in 1957 alongside Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz: "Monpti") also has a Syrian bride. Other actors include Franca Parisi (as Miza), Vladimir Leib (once again providing a bit of comic relief as the "funny fat guy") and Jacques Berthier (as the nasty antagonist Apollonius).
In this film, the focus is more on the story to be told. As the main actor, Brad Harris is not the focus as usual, but is just part of a relatively large ensemble. More is also required of him in terms of acting, as he also has to portray self-doubt and hurt caused by rejection by his family. In terms of content, the biblical events are greatly condensed and exaggerated, so that biblical scholars will of course not be satisfied. Nevertheless, this unusual sandal film is worth seeing because it tells an interesting story that is not very well known, but very entertaining.
Totally recommended!
