Joseph Smith - Volume 1: Plates of Gold

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Audience Member This movie is great for anyone seeking a better understanding of the prophet Joseph Smith. It gives a realistic view of Joseph that is in line with known descriptions of the prophet's character and personality. For those who frequently watch Mormon movies, you will recognize the actor portraying the prophet at the same that portrayed him as a boy in The Restoration. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member movie about a scam artist that brainwashed a bunch of stupid americans Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe that the story portrayed in this movie is true and expected a lot. That being said, I was very disappointed in this film. The acting was immature and unemotional. Moments that were supposed to be moving and tender came off as cheesy, for lack of a better word, while scenes that were supposed to be emotional and meaningful lacked the depth and commitment to bring these emotions across. In general the direction was awkward and amateur at best. All of this completely distracted from what is actually a very moving and important event in religious history. I do not recommend this movie. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Saw the movie last night in Long Beach... Acting was good, great cast (the kid who plays Joseph looks just like him!!), and it seems like they used a quality HD camera to shoot the movie (makes the film look modern). My only beef with this film - and most other LDS films - is that it skipped or glazed over a lot of important details. Like, instead of *showing* you what happens to Joseph they instead make him verbalize what happens to his friends. I dunno, I was pretty disappointed. I want a film that I can show to non-members so that they can understand our church better, but this film is very much for members only. "Members" as in those who were born in the church or have read the Book of Mormon a million times... I'm a convert of 2 years and *I* struggled to make sense of what was going on or who was who. Again, very disappointing. Another frustration of mine is that - like other LDS films - they don't give the main characters any flaws. Like, I was told that in real life Joseph & Emma got in a fight one day and because of this Joseph couldn't translate the plates until he made up with Emma. Perhaps the filmmakers are scared to put such details in because they don't want to put their main character in a bad light, but I think just the opposite! I feel details such as these put them in a GOOD light because it makes the characters and story seem more REAL. It's not normal to NEVER fight with your spouse. People aren't perfect, they won't always see eye-to-eye at times. But when you make your characters ALWAYS happy and in love it comes off very fake and turns people off from taking the movie seriously. Along these lines I think it's also funny that in every LDS film I've seen about Joseph Smith, when they talk about his vision of God & Jesus in the forest they ALWAYS skip over the part that BEFORE he saw them he was first stricken with an evil spirit/force of some sort. Again, maybe the filmmakers don't want to scare off viewers, but I think this would (again) make the movie seem more 3-dimensional in storyline. There is good and there is evil. It's not normal to always have good. But to the movie's credit it does show Joseph giving the Lehi manuscripts to his partner and him being an idiot and losing them. But (AGAIN) they don't *show* you this... the character just tells you what he did. Augh, frustrating... I wanna make some sort of rule that no more LDS films can be made without script approval by ME. haha! :P Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member Enjoyed the movie. The actors seem to display the emotions and maturity that would be associated with the young ages of Joseph and Emma when these events occurred. Reminded me of how persecution Joseph got from the very beginning. Non-believers, then as now, couldn't seem to simply ignore him. Production values of the film, i.e. locations, cinematography, details are very good and a step above the standard "made for Mormons" movies. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member this fairy tale is super interesting. it's really quite amazing to me that people believe it, actually. great tall tale, bad religion. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Joseph Smith - Volume 1: Plates of Gold

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