Rent The Bible: Samson and Delilah (1996)

Lots of sand - The Bible: Samson and Delilah review by SB

It's the usual thing with the Chosen People – God makes sure they are saved, but goes about it in a very mysterious way, with lots of suffering involved. In this Old Testament epic, one of a series in which well-known actors in need of money appear in films made by surprisingly high profile directors whose careers have faded, Samson deals with the Philistines. Presumably Nicolas Roeg did his best, but as usual it's hard not to laugh when these people roam around the desert. The story is well known and need not be repeated here. There's lots of sand and lots of killing. A little bit of loving too, but not too much as it's only certificate 12.

Denis Hopper does his best to be the cynical old general, Michael Gambon does his world-weary father with a stupid son, and Elizabeth Hurley tries to act. She is outshone in that and even in the beauty stakes by Debora Caprioglio and Jale Arikan in much smaller roles as women who in their different ways really love Samson. It doesn't matter who plays Samson, all he has to do is kill lions, flex his muscles a lot and complain about not hearing God's signal. At three hours, it's a bit over-extended and would have benefitted from the editor's knife being wielded more often. But if you have those three hours spare, then there are worse DVDs to watch.