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The Chosen


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1 hour ago, Robert F. Smith said:

I watched the Pilot and then Episode 1 (which are not the same).  The Pilot made a lot of sense, whereas Episode 1 lost me -- couldn't make much sense of it.   I do like the casting.  At least the Jews look like Jews, which is usually not the case.

The recurring comic relief character Mel is constantly told, "Funny you don't look Jewish."

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4 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said:

I watched the Pilot and then Episode 1 (which are not the same).  The Pilot made a lot of sense, whereas Episode 1 lost me -- couldn't make much sense of it.   I do like the casting.  At least the Jews look like Jews, which is usually not the case.

You mean, they don't have blond hair and blue eyes? :o:blink:

;)

2 hours ago, CV75 said:

The recurring comic relief character Mel is constantly told, "Funny you don't look Jewish."

I haven't watched the show.  Does he have blond hair and blue eyes? ;)

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5 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said:

I watched the Pilot and then Episode 1 (which are not the same).  The Pilot made a lot of sense, whereas Episode 1 lost me -- couldn't make much sense of it.   I do like the casting.  At least the Jews look like Jews, which is usually not the case.

Where do you find the pilot.  I only found episodes 1-8 on the app.

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I have been watching in spare time which I admittedly have little of. I'm on episode 5. My stake president recommended it to members of the stake council. I have enjoyed it very much and it's very well done. I'm looking forward to season 2 as well. (I seem to remember another thread about this a few months ago?)

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On recommendation of my son Artisticosso, we watched it back around  Easter and enjoyed it very much. He loved the calling of Peter and the interaction with Mary Magdalene. I like the way it humanizes Jesus, for example cutting  himself while making toys for children and displaying a good sense of humor, while respectfully retaining his divinity. 

It tells the fictional backstories of the people who knew Jesus. Nicodemus’s story is interesting. The portrayal of Matthew is, well..., and the Centurion’s story is really good. 

Vidangel is a somewhat controversial group (started by LDS), but this production was crowdfunded. There’s none of the cheesiness or preachiness often seen in some such endeavors.

If you like The Chosen, you may also like the excellent movies of the four gospels directed by David Batty. Word-for-word narration of the Bible texts, characters speaking in Aramaic, authentic sets and costumes, excellent and believable casting, all treated with great reverence. 

Edited by Bernard Gui
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1 hour ago, Ahab said:

You mean Jews like Jerry Seinfeld, Daniel Day-Lewis. Al Franken, Jeff Goldblum, and Ben Stiller?

Or older Jews like Cecil B. DeMille, Edward G. Robinson, George Burns, Groucho Marx, and Jack Benny?

Aside from DeMille (Episcopalian) and Day-Lewis (raised Protestant), who were only half-Jewish, I expect casting to type.  They need to look and act like Jews in the roles they are assigned.  Similarly, I fully expect Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid to look and act non-Jewish, even though Paul Newman was a Jew.  Casting choices are crucial.  Another case was Roman Catholic Maximilian Schell being chosen to play the role of a Zionist Jew in "The Chosen" (1981 film from the book by Chaim Potok).

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42 minutes ago, Robert F. Smith said:

Aside from DeMille (Episcopalian) and Day-Lewis (raised Protestant), who were only half-Jewish, I expect casting to type.  They need to look and act like Jews in the roles they are assigned.  Similarly, I fully expect Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid to look and act non-Jewish, even though Paul Newman was a Jew.  Casting choices are crucial.  Another case was Roman Catholic Maximilian Schell being chosen to play the role of a Zionist Jew in "The Chosen" (1981 film from the book by Chaim Potok).

i was hoping you would see, when looking at the list of actors I listed, that not all Jews look and act the same way.  You seem to have a stereotypical idea of what a Jew looks and acts like, but that is not how reality is.

My favorite actor to play Jesus was Max von Sydow, in The Greatest Story Ever Told.  He was born in Sweden and had short hair when acting in that role. But he still looked and acted like how I think Jesus might have looked and acted.

Edited by Ahab
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54 minutes ago, Ahab said:

i was hoping you would see, when looking at the list of actors I listed, that not all Jews look and act the same way.  You seem to have a stereotypical idea of what a Jew looks and acts like, but that is not how reality is.

My favorite actor to play Jesus was Max von Sydow, in The Greatest Story Ever Told.  He was born in Sweden and had short hair when acting in that role. But he still looked and acted like how I think Jesus might have looked and acted.

Bob lived in, and has visited Israel numerous times, speaks Hebrew among other languages and is a scholar in that discipline

When he speaks about the Jewish people he knows what he is talking about.

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1 hour ago, Ahab said:

You seem to have a stereotypical idea of what a Jew looks and acts like, but that is not how reality

I think that before the diaspora around 70 AD things were a little different when most Jews lived in Palestine together.

Edited by mfbukowski
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1 hour ago, mfbukowski said:

Bob lived in, and has visited Israel numerous times, speaks Hebrew among other languages and is a scholar in that discipline

When he speaks about the Jewish people he knows what he is talking about.

Then I expect that he knows as I do, if not better than I do, how people are different even if they have common ancestors.

20 minutes ago, mfbukowski said:

I think that before the diaspora around 70 AD things were a little different when most Jews lived in Palestine together.

Fortunately none of those people are available as actors for any role that is or is likely to be cast for any movie or TV show these days.  If they were, as mortals, they would be in pretty bad shape.

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4 hours ago, Anijen said:

Where do I watch this?

 

You could watch it on VidAngel or you could just download the app called, “The Chosen.”  If you download the app you could make it play on an Apple TV if you have one.

Its worth checking out.  I was really blown away at how competently made it is.

Edited by Rivers
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11 hours ago, Ahab said:

Then I expect that he knows as I do, if not better than I do, how people are different even if they have common ancestors.

Fortunately none of those people are available as actors for any role that is or is likely to be cast for any movie or TV show these days.  If they were, as mortals, they would be in pretty bad shape.

Actually most Jews living in Israel today (there are 6.8 million of them living there now) have the same basic DNA as their Palestinian and Lebanese neighbors.  They  may hate each other, but they are all descendants of the Canaanites who lived there before they split up into various peoples and tribes.  They all originally spoke Canaanite, which is the language of the Hebrew Bible.  Naturally, in the course of the last two thousand years, many Jews have married outside the faith or converted for financial and social reasons (many were forcibly converted), but most of those assimilated to the non-Jewish population, and thus were lost to the tribe.  One of the reasons the Nazis were so successful in caricaturing Jews in their anti-Jewish posters and propaganda, was because they did look different.  The notion that Jews look just like Scandinavians, or Chinese, etc., is just silly, except in very extraordinary cases.

When culturally specific films are made, they are usually cast to type.  It is no accident that "The Godfather" was cast with numerous Italians, or that "Apocalypto" was cast with many Mexicans who could be made up to look like authentic ancient Maya.  Two LDS films about John Groberg's missionary exploits were shot on location, with real Tongans.

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16 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said:

I guess you missed what I actually said:  Casting is everything.  I expect those cast as Jews to look and act like Jews.  You are suggesting that this is not possible, which is a major error.  It is not hard to find actors who fill the bill, and I even gave several examples of people who fit casting needs -- including non-Jews playing a Jewish role, and Jews playing a non-Jewish role.  Perhaps you don't understand casting, or the nature of authenticity in film, and you have confused that with stereotyping, which does occur.  When stereotyping is damaging to a film or play, then it should be criticized.  The biggest problem by far, in my experience, is in casting someone to play Jesus who does not look or act like a Jew.  In fact that happens so often that it is absurd.  I really appreciate it when a director is honest enough to seek authenticity in his filmmaking, which includes much more than just casting decisions.

What I am having a problem with is the idea that there is only one way to "look and act like a Jew".  Or that there is some way to not "look and act like a Jew".  If you're saying a Jew would not have red hair, or purple hair, or look like a punk rocker, because no Jew ever has or ever will look like that, then I suppose I could go along with that idea, but as far as "normal" looks go I would say a Jew could look like any normal person albeit he or she would probably have dark hair.  So yes, I think we might be in agreement now.  It would not be hard to find actors to fit the bill, as far as looks go, and it would be even easier to find someone who acts like a Jew considering the fact that Jews do not all act the same way.

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7 hours ago, Robert F. Smith said:

Actually most Jews living in Israel today (there are 6.8 million of them living there now) have the same basic DNA as their Palestinian and Lebanese neighbors.  They  may hate each other, but they are all descendants of the Canaanites who lived there before they split up into various peoples and tribes.  They all originally spoke Canaanite, which is the language of the Hebrew Bible.  Naturally, in the course of the last two thousand years, many Jews have married outside the faith or converted for financial and social reasons (many were forcibly converted), but most of those assimilated to the non-Jewish population, and thus were lost to the tribe.  One of the reasons the Nazis were so successful in caricaturing Jews in their anti-Jewish posters and propaganda, was because they did look different.  The notion that Jews look just like Scandinavians, or Chinese, etc., is just silly, except in very extraordinary cases.

When culturally specific films are made, they are usually cast to type.  It is no accident that "The Godfather" was cast with numerous Italians, or that "Apocalypto" was cast with many Mexicans who could be made up to look like authentic ancient Maya.  Two LDS films about John Groberg's missionary exploits were shot on location, with real Tongans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Germany

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_China

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asian_Jews

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/why-we-dont-need-jewish-actors-to-play-jewish-roles

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1 hour ago, Ahab said:

I guess you missed the point entirely, once again, Ahab.  I have no problem with the non-Jew Maximilian Schell being cast as a Jewish intellectual.  He looks the part.  We are talking about casting to type.  If we have a Jewish film, we want to present it with authentically Jewish types.  Same for Italian or Sicilian mafia films.  Occasionally, someone like Anthony Quinn (who is not Greek) can be cast as Zorba the Greek, because he looks the part.

You appear to be denying that any of that is possible, even though that is how Hollywood does its casting everyday.  That is how Spike Lee's 1992 film about Malcolm X was cast -- he chose Denzel Washington to do the lead.  That's how Barbra Streisand was cast as Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl."  For you, casting Jews in Jewish themed films is not possible or necessary, even though it has been done for generations.  So for you, Jesus may as well be cast as lord of the Vikings or Lord of the Rings.  No need for authenticity, since it isn't possible anyhow.

 

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3 minutes ago, Robert F. Smith said:

I guess you missed the point entirely, once again, Ahab.  I have no problem with the non-Jew Maximilian Schell being cast as a Jewish intellectual.  He looks the part.  We are talking about casting to type.  If we have a Jewish film, we want to present it with authentically Jewish types.  Same for Italian or Sicilian mafia films.  Occasionally, someone like Anthony Quinn (who is not Greek) can be cast as Zorba the Greek, because he looks the part.

You appear to be denying that any of that is possible, even though that is how Hollywood does its casting everyday.  That is how Spike Lee's 1992 film about Malcolm X was cast -- he chose Denzel Washington to do the lead.  That's how Barbra Streisand was cast as Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl."  For you, casting Jews in Jewish themed films is not possible or necessary, even though it has been done for generations.  So for you, Jesus may as well be cast as lord of the Vikings or Lord of the Rings.  No need for authenticity, since it isn't possible anyhow.

 

No, it seems that you do not understand what I have been saying.  I think it's quite easy to cast someone as a Jew because there isn't just one type of person who "looks and acts like" a Jew.  Jews look and act like most people.

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