Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

A.D. The Bible Continues Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 20, 2015

There is absolutely no shortage of books turned into motion pictures, television shows, or television miniseries. Literary works seem just as prominent in the visual entertainment landscape as original creations, and as with everything else the end product's quality varies greatly and there's a wide chasm between the successes and failures that transcend pure cinematic assemblage, often going all the way back to the audience's familiarity with the source material. Maybe that's why Biblical epics have been so popular through the years and big moneymakers for studios. Whether in the Hollywood Golden days of The Ten Commandments or the modern era of Biblical filmmaking that began with The Passion of the Christ, audiences have flocked to theaters to witness The Good Book's filmed adaptations, in hopes of quenching a hunger for greater understanding of the Bible's teachings, in search of a closer connection with the characters and stories, or simply to witness the large-scale spectacle these often provide. Producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, the former of whom is best known for his role in the hit reality show Survivor and the latter as the character "Monica" in Touched By an Angel, have collaborated on two of the most popular Biblical adaptations of the 21st century: the feature film Son of God and the sprawling television endeavor The Bible. They've returned to the Bible as inspiration for A.D. The Bible Continues, a twelve-part miniseries that aired on NBC from April 5 to June 21, 2015 that covers the early writings of The New Testament beyond the four Gospels, beginning with Christ's crucifixion and resurrection and moving on through the first chapters of Acts.

"It is finished."

A.D. The Bible Continues begins with Christ's (Juan Pablo Di Pace) trial where one of His disciples, Peter (Adam Levy), denies him. It follows on with the gruesome crucifixion, organized by Caiaphas (Richard Coyle) and ordered by Pontius Pilate (Vincent Regan), an act witnessed by his mother Mary (Greta Scacchi) and Mary Magdalene (Chipo Chung). The story examines Christ's resurrection on the third day and his instructions to His disciples. The series further follows the fallout of Jesus' death and resurrection through the eyes and actions of Caiaphas and Pilate. Peter and John's (Babou Ceesay) trials, Saul's (Emmett J. Scanlan) persecution of the church and change of heart following an encounter with Christ, and James the Just's (Alastair Mackenzie) role in combating persecution shape the series' later episodes.

There's good and bad that comes with any Biblical adaptation, particularly those that choose to offer a more sprawling, multi-book or multi-story structure. Burnett and Downey's The Bible, for example, suffered from an inability to really get to the heart of a number of key Biblical stories, not by a fault of the filmmakers but thanks to simple limitations of time. In ten episodes, one cannot possibly recreate the entire Old Testament, and the life and death of Christ, and find more than a basic thematic current, particularly when a few words, lines, or paragraphs necessarily need be expanded greatly in length to accommodate key events, especially when only 50% of the series (episodes one through five) deals with the Old Testament stories. That's far less a problem in A.D. The Bible Continues, a series that offers a more detailed chronology and reproduction of New Testament characters and events from the immediate aftermath of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, sourced from the first ten chapters of the Book of Acts (the book that follows the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the Bible). There's more of a core focus here on how Christ's life, death, and resurrection altered the immediate (and historical) social, political, and spiritual landscape. There's plenty of room for the show -- its characters and stories -- to breathe. The greater focus is most welcome, particularly considering that the core tenants of modern New Testament Christianity are often seen to begin and end with Christ's time on Earth, with the immediate aftermath often feeling like an afterthought.

The focused narrative and oftentimes gripping character and story lines are met with outstanding production values. While some visual effects are hardly up to par with those seen in the latest summer blockbusters, the series more than makes up for them with its amazingly detailed world. Locations have been painstakingly recreated, with every brick, stone, grain of dirt and sand, and bit of vegetation in order. Granted it's all anybody's guess as to how, exactly, everything looked, at least down to the finest level of detail, but even if it's probably a bit more crude than it is precise, more artistic license than pure historical recreation, there's no mistaking the series' painstaking production design and insistence on a total sense of character and audience absorption into the post-Christ Biblical world. That translates to wardrobe, too, where the diverse range of regal fabrics to tattered robes look amazing. The direction is fluid and involved though mostly allows the cast to tell the story and the story to build and sell itself. There's no mistaking that not just a section of The Bible but its core narrative and spiritual arcs are the chief focuses, not the supportive filmmaking and production elements. Everything else is merely there to help it in the visual medium, which the show does remarkably well, including a number of performances that build the characters from mere names on pages and key players in Sunday School lessons to living, breathing people who would shape the world's historical and religious landscape for millennia to come.

A.D. The Bible Continues Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A.D. The Bible Continues arrives on Blu-ray with a solidly performing 1080p transfer. Generally, the image is excellent with only a few shortcomings, including a fairly steady layer of noise evident primarily in lower light shots and a mild, yet frequent, haziness that pushes black levels down a few notches towards an unwanted brightness. Otherwise, the digital source material looks terrific and can nearly pass for film at its best. Details are almost alway outstanding. Period clothes, particularly some of the more frayed and tattered ones, reveal exquisitely fine little textures. Faces, likewise, are complex across all manner of tangible detailing, and stone and brick work, sand, dirt, and vegetation present with remarkable attention to fine detail and appear with plenty of natural sharpness. Colors are satisfying. Bright clothing shades are the standout, particularly up against the predominance of earth tones that define most of the backdrops. Skin tones appear neutral and full. Despite a few issues, this is a very good, sometimes striking, image from MGM.

A.D. The Bible Continues Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A.D. The Bible Continues features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack that emphasizes music over everything else. Music play with gusto, spilling notes into the stage with prominent volume and a front-heavy posture that never relegates surrounds to support element rather than, mostly, equal partner. Unfortunately, music tends to overwhelm even the most chaotic sequences. Whether guards clashing with protesters or various crashes, smashes, and other action effects, there's a failure to balance the elements that always leaves action playing well underneath music. Surrounds don't carry a large percentage of the most aggressive ambient support elements, either. Crowd chants, for example, play with a fairly heavy up-front presence, though quieter ambient effects, like chirping birds or simple little sonic details like a closing door, feature much more prominently around the stage rather than straight up the middle or off to the front-sides. Dialogue delivery is clear and focused and without most of the prioritization and balance issues found in the clash between action and music.

A.D. The Bible Continues Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

A.D. The Bible Continues contains extras on all four discs.

Disc One:

• Continuing The Bible (1080p, 5:41): Roma Downey and Mark Burnett look at this follow-up's origins, working with NBC, the filmmakers' close collaboration with religious scholars and leaders, this series' intimacy compared to the more sprawling series The Bible, the familiarity of human nature, and Downey and Burnett's ability to work together as a husband and wife team.

Disc Two:

• Casting A.D. (1080p, 11:20): A look at a brand new cast for the show, assembled in light of Diogo Morgado's inability to return to play Jesus. Various character and cast details are examined, including interviews with key cast and footage from the set.

Disc Three:

• The Past Comes Alive (1080p, 14:41): A closer look at productions details, including shooting locations, life on the set, costumes and makeup, technical aspects of the shoot, making various scenes, the challenges of the shoot, and more.

Disc Four:

• Touring the Sets (1080p, 11:12): As the title suggests, this piece pours over some of the details of key sets, including locations around a recreated Jerusalem, Pilate's palace, and the temple.
• The Fabric of the Time (1080p, 8:43): A wardrobe examination with Costume Designer Luciano Capozzi.
• Recreating the Power of God (1080p, 5:38): A quick look at the series' visual effects with VFX Supervisor Martin Davison.

A.D. The Bible Continues Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Blu-ray copies of The Bible and A.D. The Bible Continues won't replace the family Bible, but they're good supports that offer an imaginative, detailed, and lovingly recreated look through some of the key figures and stories and the broader arcs that serve as the foundations of modern Christianity. A.D. is a big, sprawling production that looks great and plays with enough energy and passion to mask some of the necessary shortcomings that come even with a ten-hour Biblical adaptation. MGM's Blu-ray release of A.D. The Bible Continues features good video and audio. A handful of featurettes are included. Recommended.