The Green Pastures
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Movie Reviews of The Green Pastures
Movie Review: The Green Pastures New DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a GREAT story and very nicely done. I have enjoyed watching it and showing it to others. I am thinking of showing it at a Sunday School event at church.Movie Review: The Green Pastures
Summary: 5 Stars
I already own VHS Tape of The Green Pastures since 1999 and like the fact that it is offered on DVD. I LOVE this story version of the BIBLE. It's a must HAVE.Movie Review: Classic Black Cinema
Summary: 5 Stars
A forgotten black Christian Classic, that taps into our existence with the simple stories from the Bible. A great collectors item, with a great cast.Movie Review: Old black movies
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a great movie. Black and white but very good if you like this type of movie.Movie Review: An Intellectual Surprise
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a remarkable film in many ways. The first thing that gets your attention is the introductory text, explaining that what we are about to see is how "thousands of Negroes" in the Deep South think of the stories in the Bible. Such a very loaded statement, which is tricky in that there's nothing wrong with it as a story about a particular culture, but somewhat condescending in attitude towards its intended audience, which is obviously white. The next thing that gets your attention is the fact that you are watching a movie made in the thirties that has an entirely black cast. That circumstance, combined with the introductory statement, has the effect of presenting the film as a novelty. Yet the fact that it features many black actors who in other films are playing valets and house slaves means it cannot be entirely a bad thing.
You will be agog with disbelief as the film opens. The stereotypes on the screen are sometimes too painful to watch. But once you adjust and start watching the depiction of the various biblical stories the true power of the film steals across your mind and heart. It really starts at Sunday school, when the children start asking their preacher typical questions that children would ask. The preacher answers those that he can, then explains that the Bible doesn't have the answer to every question. He then starts to tell some of the more prominent stories: the creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, Moses and Aaron's arrival at court, Joshua and Jericho (briefly), and the destruction of Babylon. Eachs tory is told in a very approachable, with modern types in the character's roles. Very, very effective.
In this film, "De Lawd" creates Earth and humans more on a whim, and pretty much forgets about them. Each time he visits he is disappointed in man's dissipated nature and develops "schemes" to improve his creation. Mankind is essentially a lost cause, which prompts De Lawd to second guess himself and to despair of his creation. He vows he will no longer deliver mankind, no matter how hard people pray. In a fascinating twist, De Lawd meets a man Hezdrel -- who resembles Adam, who resembles De Lawd. Hezdrel tells De Lawd, whom he thinks is merely a preacher, that man doesn't believe in the vengeful God anymore; their preachers talk of a merciful God. De Lawd asks how Hezdrel knows of mercy, and Hezdrel responds that it is through suffering. At the very end of the film, the angels in Heaven see a man being forced to "carry that up the hill" and that "they're going to nail him to it". De Lawd then understands what faith and mercy are, and presumably that he should not give up on mankind.
One of the film's strong points is that although you may be familiar with the stories told, how they are told changes your perception. The Moses story one such example. In the Moses story, there is a great deal of focus on his arrival at Pharoah's court with Aaron. Pharoah agrees to let the Hebrews go. The next scene we see is of Moses at the edge of Canaan, his journey done and his eyesight leaving him. The more spectacular aspects of the story are skipped over - no Red Sea parting, no Ten Commandments. In this story de Lawd explains how he can lead Moses up the hill to heaven while still help Joshua at the walls of Jericho. The Cain and Abel story likewise has a new perspective added to it.
Rex Ingram leads a stong cast of whom it is demanded they act nobly but with a twinkle of mischief. All acquit themselves quite well. There are some very charming scenes in the church (those kids are adorable) and in De Lawd's office. The story of Noah and the flood is particularly engaging. There is a running joke about aardvarks as well. The Hall Johnson acts as a kind of Greek chorus in the proceedings. It is both amusing and somewhat chilling to see De Lawd dressed up like an old Sourthern gentleman. He brings Colonel Sanders to mind.
I would have given this film five stars but the stereotyping really is hard for me personally to ignore. Sometimes you feel you may as well be watching happy slaves working in the fields. But for the imagination and sincerity displayed, as well as its role in providing black actors an opportunity to stretch beyond the typical roles offered them, this is a very important and effective film.