The Gospel of John

                                 
The Movie

A momentous undertaking involving a creative constituency of award-winning artists and esteemed academic and theological consultants from around the world, Visual Bible's THE GOSPEL OF JOHN is an ambitious motion picture that has been adapted for the screen on a word for word basis from the American Bible Society's Good News Bible.

The story of Jesus' life as recounted by His disciple John, this three-hour epic feature film draws its audience into antiquity by way of meticulous recreation, including an original musical score complete with instrumental sounds of the time. This ambitious motion picture follows the Gospel precisely, neither adding to the story from other Gospels, nor omitting complex passages.

John is the best-loved but least understood of the gospels, presenting a uniquely human portrait of Jesus. Intimate and reflective, THE GOSPEL OF JOHN provides audiences with an unparalleled opportunity to understand the tumultuous period in history at the time of Jesus Christ.

The Screen Play

Visual Bible's THE GOSPEL OF JOHN has been adapted for the screen on a word for word basis from the American Bible Society's Good News Bible. The important task of translating it into a screenplay that would illuminate, yet remain true to the text, was assigned to award-winning screenwriter John Goldsmith. Through extensive research and consultation with the film's Advisory Committee, Goldsmith crafted a sensitive screenplay of one of the Bible's most beloved texts, neither adding not omitting complex passages or additional words.

Goldsmith welcomed the challenge of translating THE GOSPEL OF JOHN onto the screen. Well versed in the text, he felt that he could work within the confines of the word for word mandate and was excited about the possibility of turning the text into a readily accessible visual medium.

Transforming the written text into a screenplay that would authentically recreate the Gospel provided a number of technical writing challenges for Goldsmith. While mandated to remain faithful to the each and every word, Goldsmith was also charged with delivering a script that would both engage and entertain the film's audience.

Notes Goldsmith, "Towards the end of the Last Supper, Jesus talks for about five chapters. They're called the farewell discourses because he's basically saying goodbye. Even when using the wondrous words of the Bible, you really can't have a man talking for 20 minutes. The first idea I had was to keep them (the disciples) on the move. There's a wonderful moment where Jesus says 'let us leave this place.' So we were able to move them out of the upper room and out of Jerusalem, so immediately you have a valid filmic tool to use."

Taking his cue from the text itself, Goldsmith's screenplay portrays Jesus in a uniquely human fashion. According to Goldsmith, the Jesus that appears in THE GOSPEL OF JOHN is an inspired and incandescent individual, very much a man, yet most certainly the son of God. Observes Goldsmith," He comes over as a very ordinary, pure kind of man."

Of equal importance was Goldsmith's desire to define the individual characters of the disciples who, in previous biblical films, have often been indistinguishable from one another. As Jesus is portrayed as a human being with his own characteristics and attributes, so would his followers. With half of the disciples unnamed and few of them reciting lines, it was essential that they be identifiable from the script.

Concludes Goldsmith, "I have never seen a film like this before. As it's turned out, I think it's something quite unique and really very special."

Reviews

I sat in awe while watching this movie because it took Scripture that I’ve been familiar with for most of my life and transformed the familiar into a profound and intimate look at Jesus. I came out of the screening appreciating Christ, his teachings and his radical personality on a whole new level. Cusick portrays Jesus as an intelligent, manly, charismatic soul who has a tender heart towards women (saving one from being stoned), compassion on those who are sick, lame and blind, a righteous indignation when money changers invade the temple and a bold authority that challenged the pious religious authorities of his day. As Jesus makes his messianic claims before the Pharisees and Sadducees, it’s like watching Shakespeare for the first time and actually understanding what the dialogue means.

Because this is a literal translation of the Gospel of John, there are a few scenarios and characters missing that are familiar to many people who have read the other Gospels.  For instance, there is no explanation of what happens to John the Baptist after he recognizes Christ as the true Savior. After Judas betrays Christ, we don’t see him hang himself. Jesus isn’t shown praying in the garden and asking that the cup be passed from him. There’s no explanation of who Mary Magdalene is and why she’s constantly hanging around the disciples and Christ. During his trial, Jesus is never taken to Herod, no man steps from the crowd to help Jesus carry his cross and the thief on the cross who's repentant isn’t told he will be in paradise that day with Jesus. And – perhaps most important for a person who might not know the story of Jesus nor be familiar with the Scriptures – there’s no explanation of his appearance before many in that area or his ascension into heaven, so the audience doesn't see or know what happens to Jesus after he appears to his disciples and lets them see the holes in his hands. I'm aware that some of these scenarios are minor points to the story and in no way take anything away from the Gospel of John as it is literally translated. But I feel it’s important to recognize that there may be a few people who see this movie who don’t know the story of Jesus, who aren’t familiar with the Scriptures and therefore have no idea of what happened in the other Gospels. So you may want to fill in the blanks with answers to some of those questions if you happen to attend the movie with an unbeliever.

I realize people may be overwhelmed at the thought of a three-hour movie. But truthfully the story is so compelling and entertaining that it doesn’t feel like a long movie. And when it was over, I wanted more. This is an obvious, excellent teaching tool for adolescents and teens to become familiar with Jesus and what he stood for. But I can truthfully say that as a “seasoned” Christian who has been a believer my entire life, watching this movie gave me a renewed appreciation for Jesus and the struggles he went through to bring God’s message to the world. The movie made me appreciate the Scriptures that have (through the years) become so familiar and seeing Jesus’ uniquely human character in dialogue form gave me a renewed intimacy and appreciation for the sacrifice he made on the cross. His radical personality, his passion for the truth to be told so that many would be saved, his compassion, and his heart made me fall in love with Jesus all over again, and I bet this movie has the same effect on you!

Holly McClure
Crosswalk.com Movie Reviewer

·         “[The Gospel of John] feels as if we are seeing a vivid re-creation of recounted events. Whether or not you believe Jesus was the Messiah, it is a powerful experience. The movie's images stick.”
---Houston Chronicle

·         “The toughest ticket at the recent Toronto film festival was for the screening of a three-hour, word-for-word adaptation of the Biblical text of the Gospel of St. John,” writes the
Vancouver Sun. “The movie, called The Gospel of John, sold out within an hour for its world premiere.”

·         “The Gospel of John combines the resources and experience of hard-driving theatrical and movie producer Garth Drabinsky (Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime on Broadway) with the vision of a Christian media company.”
---Michael Medved for USA Today