Noah

[Termite]

Hey, hey! Lookee here!

Obviously going to be somewhat unbiblical, but still. My eyes got HUGE when the flood began towards the end of the trailer- it's going to be some visual add-on to the Bible.

[EvangelineWalker]

This looks cool! I'd like to see it. So far, it doesn't look like there's been too many embellishments--I wouldn't mind if they'd imagine how it might have been and add scenes that might or might not have happened, it's if they re-imagined it and twisted events too much that I wouldn't like. I'll have to wait and see.

[Christian A.]

I read that there was quite a bit of contention between the distributing studio and Russell Crowe, because the movie was pre-screened by both a Jewish audience and a Christian audience, and both said that they didn't like how little effort was made to stick to the biblical account.

So... I'm looking forward to it, but I'm not getting my hopes up that it's going to feature a monumentally good representation of Scripture.

[Sapphire]

It looks like a decent movie. I am not super excited about it because I have seen so many Noah adaptions in movies, plays, etc. I will, however, probably still see this, and I am sure the visual effects will be phenomenal.

[jelly]

I'm pretty anxious for this movie. So anxious, in fact, that I wrote a blog post about it!

(This time I've put the safety of a link between the ToO and my fanatic film drivil.. you're welcome. )

[American Eagle]

(This time I've put the safety of a link between the ToO and my fanatic film drivil.. you're welcome. )

My favorite part of the trailer is when the people try to attack the ark. Gruesome thought, really.

I am very excited about this!

[Shennifer]

For what it is, it looks pretty amazing. I got chills at the end.

Still, I realize it won't follow the biblical account exactly but it doesn't mean it won't be good in its own way.

[~JCGJ~]

I'm actually really looking forward to this...

[jelly]

Can we address this for a moment? Has anyone ever stopped to think what an "actual literal" version of Noah's Ark would look like?

It would look boring. In the Biblical narrative, Noah's character is pious and righteous and unattainably perfect. He builds an ark and survives the flood while everyone else dies. That's not screenplay material.

If you're only interested in watching flood waters destroy the earth in a spectacular way, just watch Day After Tomorrow or 2012 and save yourself the wait. I for one am excited for this movie because it's going to present an interesting perspective of Noah and who he really was as a human being. We'll get to see the story told from an up-close, personal lens, not just a bland retelling of the story everyone already knows.

[Musical Shutterbug]

Russel Crowe is a phenomenal actor. And I really enjoy watching Emma Watson, as well.

Actors aside, I'm really looking forward to this movie. I'm hoping to see a unique interpretation of Noah's life and story brought to life in a captivating and realistic way.

[snubs]

It looks good...yet terrible at the same time. So I really don't know what to think.

[jelly]

This article is very telling:

Friction grew when a segment of the recruited Christian viewers, among whom the studio had hoped to find Noah's most enthusiastic fans, questioned the film's adherence to the Bible story and reacted negatively to the intensity and darkness of the lead character. Aronofsky's Noah gets drunk, for example...

Christian culture, apparently, can't have their cake and eat it too.

And this is EXACTLY why we need more films like this. I'm really excited to see it.

[EvangelineWalker]

It's funny, because Noah getting drunk IS Biblical. After the flood anyway. It's artistic license to say he did another time, but who's to say he didn't? Biblical people, if you read the Bible at all, weren't saints. That's why it's a realistic book. It shows even the most revered prophets as people like you and me, who weren't perfect. The only truly sacred person in the Bible is Jesus Christ. That's why I don't have a problem with artistic license taken with a Bible story; I'm just glad to see some version on screen, especially if there is some respect for the original material.

[jelly]

^exactly!

I can't understand the need to have glowing, flawless caricatures of Biblical figures or heroes of faith. It reminds me of the Muslim extremists who idolize Mohammed and insist that he was perfect and never had any doubts about his experiences of Allah. Even though, in reality, Mohammed was crippled with doubt over his God-experience and even contemplated suicide. But extremists can't handle that idea - it challenges their OWN beliefs too much and reminds them that maybe, just maybe, having faith isn't the same thing as having arrogant certainty.

I want to see a deeply flawed, troubled version of Noah, because that is what makes him endearing to us as human beings. It's what reminds us that God isn't interested in using perfect people, he's interested in taking proud, selfish, messed-up people and turning them into heroes. Heroes of faith.

[bookworm]

I don’t have a stake in this either way so I’m just popping in briefly to play devil’s advocate, but my first thought on why people would have a problem with it is because of who Noah in particular is. You say he wasn’t perfect, and no he certainly wasn’t, as no one is perfect, but at the same time he was a very righteous man, thus the reason he is singularly selected to be saved from the flood.

[jelly]

You're right, the Bible does say he was righteous. But what does that mean? It probably didn't mean he was a well-behaved, pious man who stayed away from sinful things while everyone else in the world partook in them. There's a difference between self-righteousness, and righteousness in God's eyes. I have a feeling that Noah was the right man for the job because he had "eyes to see and ears to hear". God had been trying to speak into the lives of the people for years and years, but Noah was the only one who took God's ludicrous command seriously and started building a giant ark. That was all it took to separate Noah from everyone else - that step of faith.

[Shennifer]

Beautifully put, Jelly.

I think many Christian films tend to gloss over the negative aspects of Biblical characters, when the reality is they were not perfect but God still spoke to them and used them for great things.

[jelly]

Thanks Shen. And you can see why I'm excited about this film!

[snubs]

I think it looks...overly dramatic. =| But I would still like to see it.


Six thousand posts, baby!

[jelly]

It's never, ever safe to judge a film from its trailer, especially in this case.