The 1936 film Green Pastures — a fascinating retelling of a number of stories from the Old Testament — has just been released today on DVD by Warner Home Video. This film was innovative for its day in that black actors fill every role — from God to Moses, Noah to Pharaoh. The film was adapted from Marc Connelly’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play. It has been available on VHS for a while, but this is the first time on DVD.

• The Green Pastures (Director: Marc Connelly and William Keighley, 1936).
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Modern viewers may be uncomfortable with some of the racial stereotypes in the film, though I am not sure it warranted a disclaimer such as Warner put at the beginning.

At any rate, it has to be understood and appreciated as a product of its time. Order yours today… I know I did!

For an exhaustive listing of films based on the Hebrew Bible, see my Old Testament on Film pages.