Jeremiah Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Jeremiah Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 6, 2017

Note: This film is available as part of the box set The Bible Stories Collection.

That oft quoted adage “the book was better” might never be more appropriate than in adaptations culled from the Bible. How can mere mortals hope to compete with what many believe is a Divinely inspired collection of writings? That of course hasn’t stopped a lot of mere mortals from trying, and Biblical stories have been a staple of first film and, later, television outings virtually from the time these media were invented. While the big screen Biblical epics of the 1950s and 1960s were often kind of silly ( David and Bathsheba), or alternatively overly reverential and therefore kind of stodgy (The Greatest Story Ever Told), they typically (though not always) brought audiences in to delight not just in the pomp and circumstance, but also perhaps to blandish any qualms of conscience that not going to church and/or shul “religiously” (so to speak) may have engendered. One of the more interesting films to come out of this adaptive fervor was the 1966 effort The Bible: In the Beginning..., a John Huston directed effort which presented several iconic tales from Genesis and which was initially planned as just the first installment for a whole series of Biblically oriented tales culled directly from scripture. Its failure at the box office put the kibosh on that plan, but several decades later, a similar plan was put into production, albeit on a much smaller scale, with a series of made for television films (many marketed as miniseries despite not being all that lengthy) that offered various Bible tales, usually with at least one marquee star attached. Many of the made for television entries included in this set were part of a series which ran on various Ted Turner owned networks starting in the 1990s, and some at least have long been favorites of those who like their Biblical adaptations on the more intimate and less epic side of things.

Okay, this is a Bible Stories collection, and who knows who (Who?) may be watching, so let’s be honest: how many of you actually know very much about Jeremiah? At least some who consider themselves passably acquainted with the Holy Book might be able to state (perhaps questioningly) that he was a prophet of some kind, but beyond that—well, as they say about “prayer in schools” when kids are about to be tested, it might be time to get some religion, in a manner of speaking. While Jeremiah’s tale is perhaps arguably the least generally known in the Bible Stories collection, it’s notable that in actual religious history Jeremiah is recognized as a prophet in all three “major” religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Since Jeremiah’s own name has become a noun (jeremiad) meaning a litany of woes, it’s not hard to predict the kind of prophesying this particular character ultimately provides in this fairly short entry in the Bible Stories collection (many of the so-called miniseries clock in at two to over three hours, while this one, like a couple of the others, barely makes it to the hour and a half mark). While a pre Dr. McDreamy Patrick Dempsey is on hand as the titular prognosticator, the film actually begins with Jeremiah as a child, traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate the restoration of Solomon’s temple, as well as the discovery of a scroll containing some of Moses’ own pronouncements. This is relatively uncharted territory for a character who is (as discussed above) one of the lesser known titans of the Old Testament, and may provide added interest for those who are better versed in prophets of yore than the general public.

Jeremiah does a rather good job of depicting how those around a supposed prophet react to his very prophesying, which in this case is typically with disbelief at best and outright derision (to the point of physical attack) at worst. It’s an interesting dialectic, with Jeremiah himself a little uncertain as to why some Divine Force has “reached out and touched” him, but convinced enough as to the veracity of the experience that he doesn’t hesitate to share his visions. Interestingly, given the typically cloistered feeling of family in many of these Bible tales, Jeremiah’s own brood isn’t especially helpful in promoting his claims, and in fact tends to shun him as much as the ordinary rabble.

The colorful supporting cast in this piece includes a glowering Oliver Reed as General Safan and an almost jaunty at times Klaus Maria Brandauer as King Nebuchadnezzar. Production values are generally high within the confines of a made for television entry, and elements like costumes and the (admittedly minimal) sets help to achieve at least a modicum of believability.

Jeremiah Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

All of the films in The Bible Stories Collection are presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.78:1. While most (perhaps all) of these efforts were broadcast in the United States in 1.33:1, it looks from scouring through the IMDb that many (perhaps all) of them did in fact have theatrical releases in various foreign markets, meaning they were most likely all shot with "safeties" and/or "shoot and protect" regimens in mind. That said, those who have seen the 1.33:1 versions which were released on videotape and DVD will no doubt notice quite a few "tighter" framings, framings which often tend to lop the tops or bottoms off of heads and/or faces, at least intermittently.

Jeremiah offers one of the more appealing transfers in this set, one which has at least at times a rather well articulated grain field (to the point that there's some actual good old fashioned yellow chunkiness in a few isolated sections), but which once again has moments of pretty wide variability, with some outdoor scenes especially offering minimal if visible at all grain. That said, once again detail levels are often very good, especially in close-ups where textures on parchment scrolls or the finely knit shawls is precisely rendered. The palette is quite nicely suffused throughout this presentation, and this particular film has some of the more colorful costumes in the entire Bible Stories collection. There are occasional soft moments that are scattered throughout this presentation, with even noticeable differences in detail levels between master shots and coverage at times. There's also some brief but noticeable wobble during the opening credits with regard to the map that's shown underneath the titles, but this calms down as soon as the film proper begins.

Jeremiah Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Jeremiah's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix provides good immersion courtesy of Bruce Broughton's beautiful score (this film again omits any reference to Ennio Morricone or the use of his theme music), while also offering at least intermittent surround activity courtesy of several scenes which are stuffed with extras. Dialogue, while typically front and center, is rendered cleanly and clearly for the most part on this problem free track, but there are occasional slight volume problems in a couple of scenes that may have been recorded live out of doors. As with the other films in this set, a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix is also included, but it sounds much less energetic than the 5.1 version.

Jeremiah Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material of any kind on this Blu-ray disc.

Jeremiah Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Of all the tales in the Bible Stories collection, my hunch is for the public at large Jeremiah's story will probably be the most generally unknown of the bunch. That probably gives this film a bit of an edge in terms of introducing new characters and ideas while also being able not to be compared to pre- existing ideas and even comparisons to other big screen (or television) treatments of the same subject matter. The film does a rather good job of showing how being chosen to be a prophet doesn't necessarily mean happily ever after, and can in fact lead to all sorts of misfortune. Dempsey is charismatic in the title role, and some of the supporting performances are excellent as well. Recommended.