Executive Producers Roma Downey (Touched By An Angel) and husband Mark Burnett (The Voice) realized that the tales of the Bible needed to address this 21st century generation. Out of this endeavor came The Bible: The Epic Miniseries that is a four-disc, ten-part Blu-ray miniseries of powerful performances, exotic locales, and dazzling visual effects that breathe spectacular life into the dramatic recounting of stories from Genesis through Revelations.
The Bible: The Epic Miniseries was composed of an international cast and crew of Christian believers and non-believers that shared a deeply connective spirit in being a part of something very important. Richard Bedser (Discovery's Ocean of Fear) was the third executive producer of The Bible, and three different directors covered the ten-part production. Every detail was thoroughly researched to present truth and authenticity. The cast was chosen not only because of their presence and skill, but because they revealed the heart of the characters they played. The role of Jesus was played by Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado, who admitted that he had a unique spiritual experience upon the cross during the filming. Burnett explained that Roma, with a great devotion to Mary, was emotional as she experienced what Mary must have felt watching her son endure the unimaginable torture of the Roman execution. Make-up artist Christa Schoeman had an awakening to the brutality of the punishment as she created the multiple wounds inflicted upon the King of the Jews during his crucifixion journey. And, after his body was removed from the cross and the scene ended, Morgado collapsed from exhaustion and huddled for a long time because he was so emotionally and physically drained.
Because of the historical aspect of The Bible: The Epic Miniseries, much violence was expressed in the movie, and parents need to be aware of the content of this film to observe the viewing ages of their children. However, these stories bring hope, strength, forgiveness, and kindness to the audience. The Blu-ray and audio aspect of the History Channel Miniseries played true and clear. Special Features included: The Bible: Genesis; The Cast of the Bible; The Bible: Creation; Scoring the Bible; Believing in Miracles; The Bible: Visual Effects; and Music Video for the inspirational "Mary, Did You Know?" Crew, cast and executives shared emotional, visual and technical insights to the making of the film. Locations, sets, costumes, construction, graphic art, visual effects, music and make-up and much more offered comments on filming. There were even special needs like the employment of a snake expert to canvas the scene to remove sometimes over 100 poisonous snakes from a location before shooting.
The Bible: The Epic Miniseries was considered a beautiful and blessed journey, and an epic and major work destined to play a crucial part in the world today as an extension and expansion of the Bible for a new generational audience. Morgado said the event was so unique that it changed him, and he grew up as a person... as a spirit with the role of Jesus.
