Joseph and His Brethren (1961) User Reviews

Joseph and his story

[marcin_kukuczka · 5/10 · 2 September 2007]

Cinema, since its early years, has adapted some Old Testament stories, mostly these were the stories of Moses, king David, Noah or Abraham. There were talented directors, great cast, lavish scenes, stunning spectacles. However, one of the most universal and touching biblical figures - such an "oasis of mercy" in the Old Testament, Joseph, was not dedicated such a production for a long time. But, at last, in the late 1950s, an Italian-American co production was made. The universal story of Joseph was brought to screen, no one attributed to it a name of "spectacle" but what drew viewers' attention was the content...what were the results at the box office? Weak. What are the results now?

If you decide to see this film, you must keep in mind one thing: it is not made in the same spirit like those campy costume sword and sandal epics from that time. If you loved "The Ten Commandments" because of its colors, sets, mighty spectacle, "Joseph and his Brethren" will disappoint you. Irving Rapper's movie was no blockbuster and still does not prove any success whatsoever. It's a very simple movie that occurs only to show a story of a man who could have been possessed by hatred but overcame it thanks to love and forgiveness. It's Joseph and his story: one man, one life, single dreams... Although the script takes liberties with the original biblical text, it does not distort the gist which is forgiveness superior to revenge. It's true that the Bible contains some plots about Joseph's brethren meanwhile; however, this movie does not include them being thoroughly about Joseph sold into Egypt where his paths will occur absolutely unexpected...

As for artistic features, the cinematography does not stun a viewer, the picture is far from clear, the musical score does not attract - the only factor that may reveal positive in this case are some performances. Geoffrey Horne, after his role in masterpiece THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957), does a pretty good job in the lead. Generally speaking, you will quickly accept him as Joseph when, in a memorable scene, he relates his controversial dream to his loving father and furious brothers. Belinda Lee bases her acting on previous portrayals of "infamous women in history" but manages very well. Robert Morley is hilarious as Potiphar with all his facial gestures and shouting, screaming, panicking but, most significantly, he memorably depicts the Potiphar that, in today's view, might be accused of antisemitism as well as racism. And Finlay Currie...a mainstay of the genre appears to be accurate enough for the role of old Jacob. But that is not all why I pretty liked the movie since there are also such moments where very good actors do quite weakly.

I liked the movie because I found it full of innovative profound scenes, which was pretty new those days. One is when Joseph talks to Asenath, his wife to come, about love that must be superior to hatred just after her father was executed. The other brilliant moment is the famous one for biblically acknowledged people in which Potiphar's wife badly desires Joseph, he refuses to make love to her putting the argument "He (Potiphar) is your husband and the one to whom I owe so much." The final sequence about revolt and war is fictitious but generally contains a nice insight into what jealousy may cause. Rekmira (Arturo Dominici) demands power and cannot endure accepting an ex slave as the one beyond him. But the best scene of all is the final one: brothers together with the old father Jacob find out who the rich master is. Perhaps, it does not have enough emotions but it constitutes a very reasonable presentation of remorse and forgiveness.

"Joseph and his Brethren" is a good film for such people who totally don't care about lavishness of biblical films but require purely the story together with some additional interpretations. That is the film for them. I personally think that some grandeur in this genre is necessary and, therefore, this movie did not fully satisfy me. 5/10

Biblical tale about the favored son of the patriarch Jacob who was given into captivity by his own envious brothers

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 24 December 2018]

The Biblical story of Joseph , beloved son of Jacob and great-grandson of Abraham , who rose to become Prime Minister of Egypt . Joseph : Geoffrey Horne, was sold to slavery by his brothers : Judah, Dan Reuben, Zebulon, Simeon,.. played by Helmuth Schneider, Dante Di Paolo , Manetto, Charles Borromel... , they were jealous of his abilitites and of being their father's favorite. As they seize him, tear off his coat and throw him into a dry well and the following day he is given to traders on their way o Egypt . As Joseph is sold as a slave to Pothiphar : Robert Morley , the Pharaoh's Prime Minister. His prophetic abilities and highly productive skill win his master's trust and he is appointed as Steward of Pothiphar 's household. One day, he is seduced by Pothiphar' s wife , Belinda Lee , who orders to give her pleasure, but Joseph rejects her. The desesperate woman seeks vengeance and accuses him of violation . Joseph is locked and in prison he prophetizes the future by interpreting the dark dreams. As Joseph describes the famous dream about seven fat cows and seven thin cows . As Joseph is summoned by Pharaoh and predicts the dreams that after 7 years of plentiful harvest, Egypt will suffer 7 years of starvation. Convinced , the Pharaoh appoints Joseph as his main chancellor , and , subsequently , he takes an attractive Egyptian girl : Vira Silenti , as his wife .

Biblic story in medium budget imitating the American Colossal but made in Peplum style. This old Testament story is decently told, though it has some flaws and gaps, taking parts here and there of the known story about Joseph who was sold into slavery and after governing Egypt during seven-year famine ; while his brothers go to the country seeking grain only to encounter their brother who they had long presumed dead .The picture offers enjoyable messages about forgiveness, fraternity , compassion , brotherhood , and redemption . It stars Geoffrey Horne who gives an average acting as the good son whose brothers become increasingly resentful of their dad's preference of Joseph . Horne had a brief cinematic career including titles as Bridge on the River Kwai , 3 implacables , Tempest and Bonjour Tristesse. He is accompanied by two Hollywood actors , Robert Morley and Finlay Currie who played various various Colossal, epic and Biblical film. Along with a lot of Italian secondaries as Arturo Dominici, Vira Silenti ,Charles Borromel, Dante Di Paolo and a young Terence Hill as the youngest brother Benjamin. And the beautiful British girl Belinda Lee who a bit later on she died by car accident at 25.

It contains an evocative and atmospheric musical score Mario Nascimbene. And colorful and shining cinematography by Riccardo Pallotini. The motion picture was regular but professionally directed by Luciano Ricci and Irving Rapper. The Italian Luciano directed a few films as Alone against Rome, and Castle of Living dead. While the American Irving Rapper was a veteran Hollywood director and producer who directed films from all kinds of genres , such as : The brave one , Forever female , Deception , Rhapsody in blue , Another man's person , The corn is Green , Adventures of Mark Twain , among others . There is another rendition about these events : ¨Joseph¨(1995) TV version by Roger Young with Paul Mercurio as Joseph , Ben Kingsley , Lesley Ann-Warren and Martin Landau as Jacob .

Impotent Man Marries Nymphomaniac Girl

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 30 September 2007]

Going WAAAAAAAAAAAAY back in time according to the Good Book, the Jewish people were hardly a nation, but at one point consisted of Jacob and the 12 sons he begat from several women. Of that group, two of them, Joseph and Benjamin, were from his beloved wife Rachel. How the other 10 got there, you'll have to look in the Bible for, but that's a story unto itself. There was also a daughter Dinah, but that's also another story that takes place before the action here.

Anyway those who are not religious and bible readers might also remember Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical about Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. It was given to him by Jacob as a mark of his favor and it aroused the green eyed monster in the other brothers no end. They kidnap Joseph and sell him into slavery. And the brothers, Benjamin excepted, tell the father a wild beast killed Joseph.

The rest of the film is a retelling of Joseph's story and the moral as is taught to us that even when things look pretty bad, have some faith because God's got a plan for you. What gaps are left by Genesis, the scriptwriters fill in, even providing Joseph with a wife to be. She's the daughter of Pharaoh's baker who is executed in prison which Joseph foretold in a dream.

But to really give it some sex in true DeMille fashion, the writers expand the characters of Potiphar and Potiphar's wife. Potiphar is the wealthy Egyptian who buys Joseph and is played by Robert Morley and his wife is British sex pot starlet Belinda Lee.

The Bible has Belinda Lee interested in a quick roll in the hay with Joseph and when she doesn't get it, she hollers rape. As for Potiphar, impotence is not covered in the Bible, but Morley makes a pretty good stab at creating the character of a mercurial and sexually impotent man who's creating the sexual frustration in his own wife. Impotent man married to nymphomaniac girl, not a good recipe for a happy home life in the Bible or anywhere else.

Joseph is played earnestly by Geoffrey Horne, best known for playing another eager idealist in a bad situation as the young volunteer with Jack Hawkins and William Holden going to blow up that Bridge on the River Kwai. Horne had the looks and a certain charisma, too bad his career never really took off.

The last of the English speaking players in this film is that grand Scot, Finlay Currie who is Jacob. One thinks of Charlton Heston usually in biblical films, but for a while Finlay Currie seemed to be the actor to get when you did a film based on a biblical story. Besides playing Jacob here, he played wise man Balthazar in Ben-Hur, the elderly King David in Solomon and Sheba, and St. Peter in Quo Vadis.

You know it always occurred to me that Joseph, doing as much as he did for Egypt and then bringing his whole family over from Canaan, why didn't he also try to convert them to his monotheistic faith which most of the Egyptians are seeing as possibly the real deal as a result of all Joseph is accomplishing. If he had, a whole lot of history would have to have been rewritten. I can think of a few reasons why he didn't, but they would fall in the geopolitical not the spiritual.

Besides if he had done that, Cecil B. DeMille would never have made The Ten Commandments.

the biblical story of Joseph (geoffrey horne) sold into slavery by his jealous brothers

[dougbrode · 3/10 · 17 March 2006]

So you're watching that old classic Bridge On the River Kwai, and begin to wonder what ever happened to Geoffrey Horne, the young male lead who holds his own against such top talents as Alec Guinness, William Holden, Jack Hawkins and Sessue Hayakawa? One might figure that with a blockbuster like that behind you, any actor ought to be able to move on to major work. Didn't happen in this case, and while Horne has had a long history of small roles in both movies and TV, he only received the lead in one movie that was released to theatres in the U.S., and it's a pretty bad one at that. He's Joseph, the lad whose father gave him a coat of many colors, in this miniscule 'epic' that tried to find a place for itself at a time when Biblical films were huge at the box office - Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments, Barabbas, King of Kings, The Greatest Story Ever Told, etc. etc. Don't expect the kind of sweeping vistas, spectacular action, and attention to period detail here that you do in any of those. An Italian-American co-production, this does benefit from Robert Morley doing his plump/effete bit as a cruel slave holder and the sadly forgotten Belinda Lee (she died young in a car accident) as that man's gorgeous, sexually frustrated wife who throws herself at the slave Joseph. The entire Biblical story is told, dreams and all, but its a paint by numbers, run of the mill job, without so much as decent pacing much less good dialogue. What might have helped immensely is if the brothers had been developed as individuals rather than reduced to a mere mob. Too bad, because here's a story worth telling - and, from the evidence in Kwai, there was an actor worth developing!

Genesis 37-45

[dbdumonteil · 31 August 2014]

The first Italian movie by Irving Rapper.

The screenplay is rather faithful to Genesis ,which is much to the credit of the movie.Only Joseph and Benjamin are true brothers ,both Rachel's children, whereas the others share the same father with other mothers .

All that you learn in Sunday school is included: the brothers ' jealousy (which was justified,the Holy Writ tells us so -the robe-)Joseph's dream in which his brothers bow to him ,his interpretation of dreams which made him pharaoh's adviser ,and the coming of his family in Egypt.

Robert Morley is the stand out of a rather faceless cast:his tongue in chick playing works wonders in the scene of the slaves market .Putiphar and his wife are given more importance than in the Good Book .The hunting (in the jungle,with black warriors) becomes ridiculous.The opening of the floodgates so that the enemy gets drowned is a (very) poor man's "ten commandments" .The little arithmetic problem of the fifteen sheep is probably not a good way to introduce Joseph (generally,this little riddle concerns camels).

That said,this is an entertaining flick,in which you will not feel God's inspiration,and emotion is terribly lacking when Joseph meets again his bros ,but it is certainly not worse than the other Italian Peplums of the era.

The worst movie ever made?

[JohnHowardReid · 1/10 · 16 November 2012]

In translating Biblical stories to the screen, film-makers have rarely been tempted to leave good enough alone. That this tendency to illegitimize the legitimate, to exaggeratedly spectacularize the already wondrous, is not confined to Hollywood is grandly epitomized by this absurd "Giuseppe".

The "acting" could charitably be regarded as woefully inept, even from tried and true performers like Finlay Currie and Robert Morley. Their clownish misinterpretations have to be seen to be believed.

About halfway through, the movie discards the Biblical narrative altogether and throws aside all pretense to be taken seriously. It is in fact a monstrous charade, a farce. Yet even in this modest aim, it fails miserably, because it just isn't funny. Ridiculous, yes. Absurd, yes. Clumsily elephantine, yes. Illegitimate, yes. Sacrilegious, yes. Mind-bogglingly inept, yes.

"Giuseppe" is a total dud, presented neither with farcical flair nor the slightest trace of finesse.

I agree with Joseph Morgenstern of "The New York Herald Tribune" on this one. "It is hard to make a film of no merit... yet Rapper and his producers have come wondrously close to absolute zero." I'm sure Joseph would also agree with me that "Giuseppe" is the worst movie ever made -- by professional film-makers!

Good Actors are Going Slumming

[schweinhundt1967 · 4/10 · 30 April 2006]

The quality and texture of both the visual and auditory for the film remind me of many of the "peplum"films that so many of us misspent our youths with in the 50s and 60s.It certainly is entertaining,and can help us spend an afternoon if there isn't anything better to watch.And,seeing as how I've never heard of too many of the performers,it has provided them with chances to acquire experience for something more worthwhile.

Finley Currie played many roles in historical/costume dramas,and played a variety of characters similar to the patriarch Jacob in this.Wise,patient,compassionate,and benign,his portrayal isn't much different than those we've seen in at least a dozen others.But,he does it well,and carries it off with honors.

Robert Morley has also appeared in numerous historical dramas,such as "Cromwell,""Beau Brummell,"and "Roderick Some Thing or Other,"starring Robert Taylor.And,such are his talents,that he also managed to carry them off.But,in this one,he doesn't quite make it.He pouts,he tosses of witty epigrams,he makes clever remarks,he rolls his eyes,and other delights from his bag of tricks.But it's the sort of things that he's done in dozens of films from the 50s and 60s.He 's just doing Robert Morley,Elephantine Urbanity Inc.,such as we used to see in his ads for the British Airlines.There's no feeling of a character from antiquity.And,consequently,he sticks out like a sore thumb.

Took a great story and mostly botched it

[dsretail · 3/10 · 15 February 2022]

The biblical narrative of Joseph in Genesis is a wonderful passage in the Bible, and is worthy of both reading and study. This film had some resemblance of the historical script, and in those areas, it was somewhat satisfactory. However, many details were changed, including a number of very important details. Why do these writers think that they can write a better script than what is in the Word of God? Way too much liberty was taken in departing from the sacred text, mostly ruining what could have been a fine depiction of what actually happened. I was generous and gave it 3 stars.

Inspiring

[thurow-99853 · 9/10 · 17 April 2021]

This movie gives insight into life as seen by Joseph. From his father's favorite son. To beaten and left for dead, captured and sold into slavery. But Joseph was a wise man. He deciphered dreams, made wine, saves lives with medical wisdom. Lived life in a dungeon but rose to become second in command in Egypt. This is the story of how you can rise up and prosper if you are kind and intelligent.

Joseph AND HIS BRETHREN (Irving Rapper and Luciano Ricci, 1960) **

[Bunuel1976 · 4/10 · 19 March 2008]

In the wake of the adoption of the Widescreen process and the consequent increase in popularity of the Biblical subgenre within the realm of the Epic, stories from the Old and New Testament became a much-raided Hollywood commodity during the 1950s and 1960s. It was only a matter of time before the ultra-Catholic Italians got onto the bandwagon and grew another branch into their own in-house brand of the epic that was renamed the peplum.

As would eventually became the custom, veteran Hollywood film-makers – among them Frank Borzage, Raoul Walsh, Jacques Tourneur and Edgar G. Ulmer – were engaged to supervise the production of these cheaper Italian epics and so it is that Irving Rapper – best-known for the schmaltzy but solid Bette Davis vehicles NOW, VOYAGER (1942) and DECEPTION (1946) – became involved with bringing to the big-screen the story of Joseph; subsequently, he would be employed in a similar capacity on PONTIUS PILATE (1962). While the co-director here was one Luciano Ricci – who would later (under the alias of Herbert Wise) be the officially credited director of THE CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD (1964) despite the reported intervention of two others! – the actors who came on board Joseph AND HIS BRETHREN were far better known. Chief among them were Robert Morley (ludicrously hamming it up as Potiphar) and genre staple Finlay Currie (as a dignified Jacob), while the younger roles were entrusted to an eclectic bunch: Geoffrey Horne (in the title role), Belinda Lee (as Potiphar’s deceitful wife, she featured in several of these Italian cheapies and would eventually die tragically within a year in a road accident), Arturo Domenici (as Potiphar’s ambitious counsellor), Terence Hill (as Joseph’s younger brother Benjamin) and Dante Di Paolo (as the main schemer among Joseph’s jealous brothers).

One may wonder why I’m talking about everything else but the film and, unfortunately, that’s because it is no great shakes. While the story was good enough to be remade thrice on celluloid – as a 1974 TV movie by Michael Cacoyannis, yet again for TV in 1995 and as a Dreamworks animated feature in 2000 – not to mention revamped as a musical extravaganza on the stage, the version under review is dreary, dull and unmemorable. Small wonder, then that the film has fallen into public domain and is available on various budget DVDs in an English-dubbed, pan-and-scan, washed out print which further serves to alienate the viewer.

Not bad, but you may want to watch the ALW musical instead!

[Poseidon-3 · 26 April 2005]

Following "The Bridge on the River Kwai", young Horne seemed poised for a strong career in feature films. Though he appeared in one or two more significant movies, he wasn't able to carve out a major career in film. Here, he plays the Biblical role of Joseph, favored son of Jacob (played by Currie), who is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and eventually becomes right-hand man to the Pharaoh of Egypt. This Anglo-Italian epic has some surprising opulence in the settings and costumes. It also suffers from a weak and fairly trite script and some clumsy use of stock footage (some of this is unnecessarily graphic in the depiction of elephant hunting! It's pure exploitation as there is no call for it in the story.) Horne is attractive and appealing, but lacks the magnetism to really conquer a role this big in a movie this expansive. Also, he wavers between charming expressiveness (at the beginning) and near woodenness (much of the rest of the time) and lacks the strong voice which might have carried him further in the cinema. Morley turns up as Potiphar, one of Horne's owners, and is mercilessly hammy and comedic (both intentionally and unintentionally!) He does, however, add some verve to the sometimes staid film. As his seductive, sensuous wife, Lee is attractive and striking, though she does get one piece of wacky headgear during a chariot ride. Silenti, as Horne's wife, looks way too old for him, though she was only two years his senior in real life. Her role is quite peripheral and unclearly defined. Currie brings a certain amount of class to the table in his role. One visual treat is the appearance of Hill, near the end of the film as Horne's brother Benjamin. Easily one of the most beautiful men ever to be shown on screen, he is a likable and jaw-droppingly handsome presence. The film has some stirring music and some eye-filling production values, but falls short in the editing. The film sometimes seems longer than it is due to a dullness in direction and story thrust, but it's still worth seeing for fans of the genre. The same basic material has been covered in the sprightly and energetic stage musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Sadly, Lee would be dead within a year due to a car accident. Horne eventually became an acting teacher.

Joseph's story on film

[Johnny B · 30 October 1998]

Surely not the best biblical story put on film, however this American-Italian production is quite good. Definitely better that any film of the same genre that came out of Italy in that decade. Even though leading man Borromel is quite stiff and severe looking, still other performances, namely from Belinda Lee, cover this drawback. Much of the story is as it is found in the Bible, but a little space for love and originality is given. I remember watching this movie on an Italian channel some days before a rival channel broadcasted the latest adaptation of this story, called "Joseph". Though it is by far inferior to the Emmy award winner, still it is enjoyable.