KJV: The Making of the King James Bible Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.0
Audio		2.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

KJV: The Making of the King James Bible Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 1, 2020

The single most influential volume in the history of the English language.

Today, Biblical translations of varying levels of "literalness" and "readability" line store shelves (or fill digital sales floors, as the case may mostly now be) with each translation promising something different from the others yet all claiming to be the same Word of God at the fundamental level. The New International Version has long been a standard in the marriage of "literalness" meets "readability" (though the 2011 translation has certainly ruffled some feathers within the church and in Biblical scholarship). The Christian Standard Bible, a relatively new offering on the marketplace (once the Holman Christian Standard Bible), claims to offer the perfect intersection between literal and readable. The New Living Translation sacrifices textural grace and strict adherence to the structure of the original sources for a more leisurely readable text while still maintaining faithfulness to the intrinsic content. Other translations such as the English Standard Version veer a little more towards literal interpretations though still with an eye towards readability. But the standard for centuries in the English-speaking world as been the King James Bible, commissioned by England's James 1 to become a standard translation for the English church. The text may be more formal and even archaic by today's written word standards and has since been reworked into, but not replaced by, the more reader-friendly New King James Version. KJV: The Making of the King James Bible explores the story behind the original King James Version, the most famous translation in the world: its origins, its reception, its place in history then and now.

The translators.

The film explores the King James Bible’s 400 years of influence in the world but is primarily concerned with the history behind the translation and the actual process of translating it. It runs through the stories behind, and the supporters of, the more popular Bibles of the time, including the Latin Vulgate and the Geneva Bible. The film explores the spiritual and political influences that shaped the Bible's creation and James' purposes in commissioning it. Unfortunately, it offers little in terms of the text's legacy; a follow-up in that regard, perhaps with a broader scope to include the work of translating the Bible into the numerous versions available today, particularly the NKJV, would itself make for a fine companion to this.

While the film lacks absolute depth, it's a terrific primer on the essentials behind the King James Bible. It explores the process of, and problems with, translating the early Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic text into English. And, it looks at logistical issues: to what and to whom must the material cater? What specifically does the original text say, and who is the audience? Are they seeking spiritual “feelings” and “comfort” or the literal interpretations written to then radically different audiences in a different time and in a different tongue?

The film also delves into the process of printing and distributing the Bibles and the business of selling them. It explores the Bible’s initial reception and the Puritans’ rejection of it in favor of the Geneva Bible. There is even a humorous anecdote sharing the story of an early printing that erroneously permitted adultery, dubbed "The Sinner's Bible." The film crams a lot of history into 45 minutes, too much to sort through in the small space allotted to this review, but there’s plenty of minutia concerning the ins-and-outs of text ambiguity and how small alterations in translations can drastically alter the meaning of a text. It’s fascinating stuff that could have been expanded into a much larger program, but within its scope the content as presented herein is largely excellent, even if the production values suffer from obvious budget constraint.

KJV: The Making of the King James Bible Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

FillmRise translates KJV: The Making of the King James Bible to burned BD-R Blu-ray with a 1080i transfer the is best called "sufficient." The digitally sourced image is of an inherently lower quality than even the most modest studio films. It's flat and lifeless, finding adequate detail in period costume and facial close-ups but failing to offer anything visually expressive. The close-ups of Bibles do show impressive textural delights on the pages and the intricacies of the type, but there's certainly no sense of tangible, tactile depth and detail to be found. Colors are fairly pedestrian, offering only essential tones without any appreciable depth. Even reds lack punch. Skin tones and shadow details are decent enough. The image's chief drawback comes in the form of relentless macroblocking that is not often so dense as to distract but just visible enough to take note. It's most obvious in historical recreations filmed in front of a green screen. This is just not a very good looking film, but the Blu-ray is probably close to best case scenario.

KJV: The Making of the King James Bible Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

KJV: The Making of the King James Bible shares the message via a Dolby Digital 2.0 lossless soundtrack. Like the corresponding video it's extremely basic, offering essentials in good working order but delivering nothing of any intrinsic sonic value beyond. Dialogue images well enough to the middle and is adequately clear, whether overlaid narration or in-film dialogue, be they interviews with scholars or historical recreations. Music is a bit shrilly but acceptable in raw detail. it's nicely spaced to the sides. And that's about it. There is little in the way of atmosphere for supportive sound effects. It conveys the material well enough, fit for classroom duty or to satisfy personal curiosity in the subject, but don't expect this track to test any home theater's audio capabilities.

KJV: The Making of the King James Bible Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

KJV: The Making of the King James Bible contains four bonus features: an abridged version of the film and additional interviews with three of the scholars who appear in the film. No DVD or digital copies are included. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• KJV - Abridged (480i, 24:23): A condensed version of the film.
• Ward Allen (480i, 7:06): Additional interview content with Ward Allen.
• Leonard Greenspoon (480i, 11:58): Additional interview content with Leonard Greenspoon.
• Adam Nicolson (480i, 9:59): Additional interview content with Adam Nicolson.

KJV: The Making of the King James Bible Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

KJV: The Making of the King James Bible is not a particularly engaging film in terms of structure and delivery, but the content is terrific. It manages to both plow through a significant amount of material but explore it all in some depth and with sharp critical analysis while maintaining a general watchability. The video and audio content suffer from inherent limitations. A few extras are included. Recommended solely for the program content, which is historically fascinating but not quite so in-depth as it might have been.