The Bible: In the Beginning... () is a 1966 religious epic film produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Huston. It recounts the first 22 chapters of the Biblical Book of Genesis, covering the stories from The Creation and Adam and Eve to the binding of Isaac.
Released by 20th Century Fox, the film's ensemble cast features Huston, Michael Parks, Richard Harris, Franco Nero, Stephen Boyd, George C. Scott, Ava Gardner, Peter O'Toole and Gabriele Ferzetti. The screenplay was written by Christopher Fry, with uncredited contributions by Orson Welles, Ivo Perilli, Jonathan Griffin, Mario Soldati and Vittorio Bonicelli, photographed by Giuseppe Rotunno in Dimension 150, a variant of the 70mm Todd-AO format. The musical score was by the Japanese composer Toshiro Mayuzumi, with additional cues by an uncredited Ennio Morricone.
Premiering in New York City on 28 September 1966, the film received generally positive reviews from critics. The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures included the film in its "Top Ten Films" list of 1966. De Laurentiis and Huston won David di Donatello Awards for Best Producer and Best Foreign Director, respectively. Toshiro Mayuzumi's score was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. The film was originally conceived as the first in a series of films retelling the entire Old Testament, but these sequels were never made.
Plot
Part I
The film begins with the Creation. God (voiced by John Huston) creates everything that exists, including the first man, Adam (Michael Parks) and the first woman, Eve (Ulla Bergryd). Both live in the utopical Garden of Eden until a Serpent convinces Eve to disobey God by eating a fruit from the tree of knowledge, and in turn Eve convinces Adam to do the same. God punishes all three of them harshly and banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden.
They have two children: Cain and Abel. When they are older, both make regular ritual sacrifices to God. God favours the sacrifice made by Abel (Franco Nero), so Cain (Richard Harris) grows jealous and murders Abel and runs away. Adam and Eve mourn the loss of both their sons. Generations come to pass, and most of the descendants of Cain grow evil.
God is displeased by his creation and intends to destroy it all via a global flood. He makes contact with a good man named Noah (John Huston) and commands him to build an Ark in order to save himself from the flood, as well as his family and a pair of each animal of the world. Noah obeys and, after the ark is ready, everything in the world is covered by water and every living thing outside the ark dies. The occupants of the ark survive the catastrophe. Noah's wife is the only one able to count the days inside. After a while, they find dry land again and God promises to never again destroy his creation by water. This promise is symbolized by a rainbow.
Part II
The second part begins with a visual representation of Noah's descendants and a brief depiction of the story of the Tower of Babel, in which the king Nimrod (Stephen Boyd) defies God by ordering the construction of a colossal tower and firing an arrow from the top of it towards the sky. God responds by making people speak different languages from then on, making them disperse across the Earth.
The remainder of the film tells the story of the patriarch Abraham (George C. Scott), who always wanted a child who would inherit his position, but his wife Sarah (Ava Gardner) is barren. Sarah offers her handmaiden Hagar (Zoe Sallis) to bear Abraham's children instead. Hagar becomes pregnant with Ishmael, but God promises that Abraham will have another child with Sarah despite all, and that this child will be called Isaac and will inherit Abraham's position instead of Ishmael. Hagar and Sarah begin to grow resentful of each other.
The men of Abraham start quarreling with those of his nephew Lot (Gabriele Ferzetti), and so they agree to part ways. Lot decides to try and live with his family in the city of Sodom, but it is full of sinners. Abraham receives the visit of three angels (all played by Peter O'Toole), who announces God's plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah by fire. Abraham intercedes for the sodomites. Two of the angels go visit Lot, but ultimately decide to go ahead with the destruction of the cities, only saving Lot's family if they flee the city without looking back. Lot's wife looks back and she is turned into a pillar of salt.