Tag: Moses

  • Egypt bans ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’

    Egypt bans ‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’

    MUMBAI: Exodus: Gods and Kings which stars Christian Bale as Moses, has been banned in Egypt and reportedly also in Morocco. Censors described the film, which is based on the Biblical book of Exodus, as historically inaccurate.

     

    According to the head of the censorship board, the film has depicted that the Jews had built the pyramids, and that an earthquake, not a miracle by Moses, caused the red sea to part.

     

    However according to the book of Exodus, Jewish slaves were led to freedom by Moses. The pyramids are believed to have been built about 1,000 years before the story of the Exodus. The Biblical story tells how the red sea was parted by a miracle performed by God through Moses, allowing the Jewish people to escape from the pursuing Egyptian army.

     

    Exodus: Gods and Kings, which cost a reported $140m, made $24.5m on its debut weekend. The film’s opening was not up to the mark compared to other modern Biblical films, including Darren Aronofsky’s Noah which took $43.7m on its opening weekend in March and 2004’s The Passion of the Christ, which made $83.3m.

     

    Although the state-run Moroccan Cinema Centre (CCM) had given the film the green signal, Moroccan business website Medias24.com said that officials had decided to ban the movie from being screened the day before its premiere.

  • Christian Bale likely to play Moses

    Christian Bale likely to play Moses

    MUMBAI: Fox Studio has reportedly approached Christian Bale to play the role of Moses in Ridley Scott‘s Exodus. The studio has also decided to bring forward the production of the film, it is reported.

    “What‘s interesting to me about Moses isn‘t the big stuff that everybody knows. It is things like his relationship with Ramesses [the pharaoh]. I honestly wasn‘t paying attention in school when I was told the story of Moses. Some of the details of his life are extraordinary,” Scott said.

    Steven Zaillian will now rewrite the script that was initially written by Adam Cooper and Bill Collage.

    The studio‘s attention is to get Scott to begin work on Exodus immediately after he completes The Counselor.

  • BBC’s new show to focus on the miracles of Jesus

    BBC’s new show to focus on the miracles of Jesus

    MUMBAI: Bringing the dead back to life, walking on water and calming storms with a single word! UK pubcaster the BBC has announced that Jesus’ acts will be recreated in a new series, The Miracles of Jesus presented by Rageh Omaar. The show kicks off on BBC One 30 July 2006.

    Whether or not people today believe in miracles, 2,000 years ago, friend and foe alike believed that Jesus could work miracles. This series reveals that the miracles were seen as subversive signs giving vital clues to Jesus’ identity.

    Many of the miracles would have prompted Jesus’ followers to hail Him as the great prophet foretold by the scriptures. But, surprisingly, many other miracles would have encouraged some Jews to hail Jesus as a leader in the mould of Moses and Joshua.

    In this three-part series, Rageh Omaar embarks on a journey to find out what the miracles reveal about Jesus and who people at the time believed Jesus really was. Omaar travels around the Sea of Galilee to visit places linked with the miracles of Jesus.

    In the first episode the raising of the widow’s son, the feeding of the 5,000, walking on water and turning water into wine are recreated to bring the miracles to life. Omaar explores the similarities between Jesus’ miracles and similar feats performed by the prophet Elijah; Moses, the hero of the Exodus, and Joshua the general who led the Jews to the Promised Land. The series draws on evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest Jewish writings in existence, to get inside the minds of Jesus’ contemporaries.

    In many of His miracles, Jesus seemed to be making the dangerous claim that He possessed divine authority. His actions would have astonished first-century Jews.