FILMAKERS LIBRARY

ARTS & RELIGION

A Kessler Brothers Film

This entertaining film tells the story of Barry Moser, one of America's greatest book artists. Moser is a big bear of a man with a full, white beard and the Tennessee accent of a Bible Belt preacher which, at 19 is exactly what he was. He's also a master book designer, illustrator, publisher and virtuoso wood engraver. Now, he has completed the project of a lifetime, a limited edition Bible. It is the only Bible of the 20th century to be illustrated by a single artist, who believes "the problems of good and evil are still to be fought today".

Moser's visually stunning, intensely personal interpretation of Western civilisation's central text is fascinating. Many of the Old Testament stories are never told because of the terrible "travails of the human spirit and human warts" found in the Bible. Moser does not shy away from these stories and indeed enjoys illustrating the blood and gore described in the Bible. His images of the characters in the Bible are arresting and original; for example, his model for Jesus is a chef in an Italian restaurant!

After being brought up in a southern fundamentalist background, Moser became disillusioned with the church and moved north, studying printing and typography at the Gehenna Press. His own Pennyroyal Press has published books like Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. He also designs for other publishers, such as Arion Press for whom he did Melville's Moby-Dick.

Best Documentary Award, Northampton Film Festival 2000
Telly Award Winner 2000
DoubleTake Documentary Film Festival, 2000
Cucalorus Film Festival, Wilmington, N.C. 2000

"A beautiful documentary" Imagine 2000
"A loving and entertaining tribute to an artist's magnum opus." DoubleTake Film Festival
"...a spirited look at a truly ambitious endeavor...demystifies the artistic process." The Valley Advocate
"This delightful, award-winning documentary…engenders a deep appreciation for the quiet power of Moser's illustrations…highly recommended for academic and large public libraries or specialized collections." Library Journal

54 min. Video or DVD. Sale $195. Video rental $75.

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