The Bible Stories: Samson and Delilah

The greatest events from The Bible come to life in The Bible Stories, a series of full-length films presenting powerful and moving tales of faith and glory.

The tale of Samson and Delilah becomes a riveting narrative of betrayal and redemption in this lively adaptation. Chosen by God to defeat the Philistines, Samson (Eric Thal) is imbued with tremendous strength: but when he is charmed by the seductive Delilah (Elizabeth Hurley), the mighty Samson is brought to his knees. Only through divine forgiveness can he regain what he has lost in order to stand against the tyranny of the Philistines. 

The Bible Stories: Samson and Delilah is the incredible Biblical story of the Old Testament strong-man Samson brought to life on film. A judge from the Biblical book of Judges, Samson was a very unique character, known for his rebellious nature and uncontrollable anger. In this story, a simple shepherd becomes well-known for his unbelievable strength and has several violent encounters that only help to further his name as the strongest man alive. While he may have seemed generally uncouth and completely useless for God’s will, God was still able to work incredible things through the bizarre life of this man.

As Samson grew up, he ended up meeting a Philistine woman by the name of Delilah. Succumbing to her beautiful looks and sultry personality, he ended up marrying her. After many attempts at finding out what gave Samson his supernatural power, he eventually revealed it to be his long hair that had never been cut. Quickly after telling her, Samson found himself tied up with Philistines cutting his hair. Delilah, a spy for the Philistines had uncovered his secret and had sent the Philistines in to finish him off. Rendered useless after having his hair cut, Samson becomes a prisoner to Philistines. A trophy to the Philistine army, Samson is taken and humbled. Here, he works his last and greatest deed, affirming his title as a judge of Israel.

Dennis Hopper, Michael Gambon, and Diana Rigg also star in this dynamic entry in the Bible Stories series of films.

This is pretty realistic stuff and pretty brutal making this film not recommended for children. The performances are all around solid. With the exception of two steamy scenes, it sticks to the story. The scenery and costumes are wonderful.There were several inconsistencies and the order of some events were completely wrong. Samson seemed very weak. It has three great lead actors and a famous director, but it is greatly weakened by too much fictionalized filling-in around what the Bible says about the story. The movie is based on the three chapters of the book Of Judges from Chapters 13 to 16.

I would not recommend this movie if you are looking for an accurate portrayal of the Samson and Delilah story based on the Bible. I think it is not really a family friendly movie depending on the age of your children.

 I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

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