The Power of Myth Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		2.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

The Power of Myth Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 7, 2025

Like a lot of academics, Joseph Campbell might have shuffled off this mortal coil to Valhalla, Elysium or any other heavenly abode with attendant if limited fanfare and appreciation from a probably small but devoted contingent of acolytes who may have been familiar with his scholarly treatises. A little film called Star Wars and this very television series under discussion inalterably changed all of that, making Campbell an unlikely "household name" and one whose death in 1987 was covered by mass media in a way that suggested Campbell had become something akin to an A list movie star. The Power of Myth was first broadcast by Public Broadcasting in 1988, shortly after Campbell had passed, and it became something of a sensation for the network, so much so that it resulted in a tie in book which was a bestseller and probably led to the series being a staple of "pledge week" in subsequent years. You might not think of a six part documentary which is comprised of conversations between Campbell and Bill Moyers as being "must watch TV", but the series manages to be amazingly engaging even given its undeniably "talky" format, and the information contained in these episodes will be a treasure trove to anyone who, like me, has been fascinated by what used to be called "comparative religion" and/or the histories and intertwined nature of various global myths and folklore.

The six episodes of this series are listed below with summaries from the insert sleeve. My thoughts follow after the summaries.

Episode 1: The Hero's Adventure

Moyers and Campbell begin their groundbreaking conversation with an examination of the classic hero cycle, including the consistent and enduring hero patterns in both literature and real life.

Episode 2: The Message of the Myth

Campbell and Moyers compare creation stories from around the world, and talk about how religions and mythologies need to change with time in order to maintain their relevance.

Episode 3: The First Storytellers

Campbell explores how ancient myths put us in accord with the natural rhythms and cycles of life, including the acceptance of death as rebirth in the myth of the buffalo and the story of Christ.

Episode 4: Sacrifice and Bliss

Campbell explains the role of sacrifice in myth, which symbolizes the necessity for rebirth, while revealing the need for us to find our sacred place in the midst of today's fast paced, technological world.

Episode 5: Love and the Goddess

From kama to agape to courtly romance, Campbell and Moyers discuss the mythology of love and the role of the female as the giver of life and form - as goddess, virgin, Mother Earth.

Episode 6: Masks of Eternity

Campbell provides insights into the common experience of God across cultures, as revealed in Christian teaching as te beliefs of Buddhists, Navajo Indians, Schopenhauer, Jung and others.

As can probably be gleaned from the above information, this is an incredibly wide ranging and incisive conversation between Campbell and Moyers, and perhaps the only caution that should be exercised is by those believing whatever nook and/or cranny of faith to which they personally subscribe is the "one true way" and who may therefore be distressed to discover that their favorite tropes have been utilized countless times throughout untold millennia by any number of belief systems. That may be especially true for devout Christians (as Moyer discusses in one of his introductions, Campbell was a Roman Catholic) who may be shocked to find out how much of the Jesus story is part and parcel of other global hero myths.

The Power of Myth Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Movement with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.33:1. As upscales go, this isn't horribly shoddy looking, at least in most of the conversation sequences between Moyers and Campbell in a beautiful library setting, but expectations need to be set reasonably for the video side of things on this release. The upscaling is probably most noticeable in the glut of archival snippets of video that are utilized to help get the series "out and about" at times. But there are combing artifacts noticeable even in the sit down sections between Moyers and Campbell. Detail levels are pretty variable, ranging from decent (if never great) on close-ups during the conversation moments, and devolving to "blob" status in some of the interstitial video snippets. Even the conversation sections are a bit on the blurry side at times. With expectations reasonably adjusted, things are certainly watchable, if undeniably "vintage" in appearance.

The Power of Myth Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers features an LPCM 2.0 Mono track that perfectly handles the undeniably limited sonic attributes of this series. As should probably be clear by now, the vast bulk of the six episodes is simply a conversation between Campbell and Moyers. Occasional cutaways have audio that can include everything from tribal music making to brief moments of dramatized events, but even those interstitial sequences don't have outsized audio ambitions. All spoken material is delivered without any problems whatsoever. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Power of Myth Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• The Mythology of Star Wars with Bill Moyers and George Lucas (HD; 56:15) is a really interesting piece shot at the time Lucas was preparing his Star Wars "comeback" with The Phantom Menace.

Disc Two

• Bill Moyers' Journal "Joseph Campbell: Myths to Live By" Part 1 (HD; 59:04) is an interesting archival piece from 1981 featuring Moyers and Campbell which has some fascinating information. This was sourced from what appears to be an older work tape with a fun header (with countdown) and "fixed version" on a clapper board.


• Bill Moyers' Journal "Joseph Campbell: Myths to Live By" Part 2 (HD; 47:27)

Additionally, a nicely appointed insert booklet contains a previously unpublished essay by Campbell entitled Belief and the Power of Myth, along with a couple of other interesting pieces by Stephen Gerringer, and a biography of Campbell.

The Power of Myth Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As I've mentioned in various reviews, including in my recent write up about Heretic, I had a probably somewhat unusual upbringing with one Jewish parent, one Methodist parent, and a childhood in the then almost completely Mormon Utah, with even more influences delivered courtesy of years in an Episcopalian parochial school. So to say the least, a "universalist" like Joseph Campbell spoke to me rather strongly by indicating how "cross cultural" certain tropes in religion and/or myth are, something I had probably subliminally understood from my earliest memories, even if it hadn't been "formalized" to any great degree until people like Campbell and their immense understanding started entering my life. Even those with a more "standard" religious upbringing will find this series undeniably informative, though as mentioned above those who insist there's only one "true religion" may need to steel themselves as Campbell repeatedly draws parallels between otherwise widely disparate traditions. Anyone with even a passing interest in worldwide myths and of course Star Wars fans should also find this release (including the fun supplements) to be highly enjoyable. Video quality here is marginal, but with that qualm aside, this is otherwise an outstanding release. Highly recommended.