The battle of the Maccabees

Movie
German title	The battle of the Maccabees
Original title	Il vecchio testamento
Country of production	Italy , France
original language	Italian
Publishing year	1962
length	112 minutes
Age rating	FSK 12
Rod
Director	Gianfranco Parolini
script	Ghigo De Chiara ; Luciano Martino; Gianfranco Parolini ; Giorgio Prosperi ; Giovanni Simonelli
production	Mario Damiani ; Mario Maggi ; Luciano Volpato
music	Angelo Francesco Lavagnino
camera	Francesco Izzarelli
cut	Edmond Lozzi
occupation
	Brad Harris : Simon ; John Heston; Margaret Taylor; Mara Lane : Diotima; Philippe Hersent : Namele; Carlo Tamberlani : Mattatias ; Jacques Berthier : Apollonio; Djordje Nenadovic : Judas ; (as George Nenadovic ); Ivy Holzer; (as Ivy Stewart ); Enzo Doria : Gionata; Isarco Ravaioli : a Maccabees; Vladimir Leib : Trifons; Nicola Stefanini : a Maccabees; Giuseppe Mattei : Jakar ; (as Pino Mattei ); Ray Martino; Vladimir Bacic : Rakis; Sava Severova : Leah ; (as Sava Sever ); Irena Prosen : Appolonius' companion; Fulvia Gasser : Miza ; (as Susan Paget );

The fight of the Maccabees (original title: Il vecchio testamento ) is an Italian-French co-production by Gianfranco Parolini from 1962.

The film tells the story of the apocryphal First Book of the Maccabees and Second Book of the Maccabees extremely freely .

action

Around 150 BC: The Syrians have occupied Jerusalem and are demanding that Zeus be worshiped in the temple . But the Jewish priest Mattatias calls on the people to oppose this demand. A large part of the population complies with Mattatia's demands and refuses, starts an uprising and flees into the desert. But the Hebrews are persecuted and attacked by their tormentors into the desert. The attack kills many and those who stayed behind now know that they have to continue the fight. Judas Maccabeus , a son of the priest Mattatias, takes over the command among them, but this falls in the fight and so his brother Jonathan takes over the command. But even this dies immediately and his brother Simon takes his place. After much hardship, the Hebrews finally succeeded in recapturing Jerusalem under Simon Maccabeus and driving out the Syrians.

At the end of the film, Simon celebrates victory with his people. A Syrian woman, his bride, is at his side. In a speech he announced that the captured Syrian soldiers should be released so that they could report on the power and gentleness of Jerusalem.

background

The film was produced by the Cinematografica Associati (CI.AS.) in collaboration with the Comptoir Français du Film Production (CFFP). The distributor Four Star Television took over the distribution in the USA .

The film was released in German cinemas in 1964.

In the opening credits of the German version of the film “The Battle of the Maccabees” only the Italian title “Il Vecchio Testamento” (translated: The Old Testament ) can be found. The film was also distributed in the FRG under the misleading name: "Goliath - The Battle of the Maccabees", although there is no role in the film with the name "Goliath". The film was first shown on German television on May 30, 1991 on ARD .

In 2005 the film was released on DVD in Germany.

In 2004 Mel Gibson planned to film the story of the Maccabees uprising a second time. However, these plans have not yet been implemented. So is the fight of the Maccabees still the only film version of the story.

Inaccuracies compared to the original book

Antiochus was not the governor of Jerusalem but the Seleucid ruler over the entire Syrian empire.

The Maccabees' struggle for liberation lasted for many years and Antiochus IV died during this time . He was replaced by successors.

In the film, the story of the Maccabees was embellished with love stories and other personal fates.

The film shows a large number of other inaccuracies which can be quickly recognized by looking at the apocryphal Book of the Maccabees and Book Two of the Maccabees .