There’s so much to be in awe of, so much to be grateful for when it comes to Jerusalem, its history, and its symbolism. So I jumped at the opportunity to watch National Geographic’s documentary about this holy land.

Release Date: December 1, 2015
Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 43 Minutes

The National Geographic documentary JERUSALEM is “an awe-inspiring and intimate portrait” (The Washington Post) of one of the world’s most beloved cities. Discover why this tiny piece of land is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims through the experiences of three young Jerusalem women – one Muslim, one Jewish and one Christian – as they celebrate the city’s vibrant life and various holiday traditions.

Join world-renowned archeologist Dr. Jodi Magness as she explores underground tunnels and ancient ruins to solve some of the city’s greatest mysteries. Find out why, after thousands of years,Jerusalem and the Holy Land continue to stir the imagination of billions of people. Unprecedented access to the city’s holiest sites, as well as rare and breathtaking aerial footage combine to make JERUSALEM “a mesmerizing vision” (The Boston Globe).

JERUSALEM seeks to increase public understanding and appreciation for the city’s historical, spiritual, cultural and artistic uniqueness, as well as highlight some of the intersections between Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The film is narrated by acclaimed actor Benedict Cumberbatch, the Oscar-nominated star of The Imitation Game, Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness and 12 Years a Slave. It was executive produced by Oscar-winning producer Jake Eberts (Chariots of Fire, Gandhi, Dances With Wolves, Driving Miss Daisy).

I am a Christian and I am fascinated by what Jerusalem means to Christians, the Jewish people, and Muslims so it was great to see Jerusalem through the eyes of all three faiths by following a local young woman of each faith in their homeland. Great job on casting the women by the way. I can’t even express how happy it made me seeing young women leading this story. It’s exactly as it should be.

From traditions and holidays to a number of significant historical and cultural landmarks and many historical tales, this documentary does a fine job at giving viewers an in depth overview of how timeless and truly precious Jerusalem is. I stress the word “overview” because this is only 43 minutes long and services each faith quite evenly so while I wish this documentary had been a three parter, each part focusing on each faith, we have a pretty solid overview of each faith’s relationship with Jerusalem instead.

By pretty solid, I mean the Christian part leaned more towards Catholicism rather than an overall non-denominational view, which was interesting to say the least. Also, it didn’t show any negativity/tension/heavy politics between faiths which must not have been easy because there is so much overlap. Great job on showing the beauty of the world’s city without all of the noise.

I really loved the overall tone of the documentary and the general route it went. Seeing the unity, the hope in humanity through these faiths is simply breathtaking. Divided faith united because the parallel stories all lead to the same holy land. It’s quite something. I loved the visuals of this beautiful city most of all. Absolutely stunning. I wish I had seen this in IMAX. And while I wish this doc had gone even more in depth, I think this serves as a great 43 minutes well spent. It’s a documentary one can play in the background around the holidays, which makes the timing of this release perfect!

Bonus Features:

Making Of (8 minutes) – This features the creative team talking about the goal behind creating this documentary and its strong desire to show multiple narratives since Jerusalem means something unique to more than one group of people. We do see plenty of behind the scenes footage here which is great to see on top of the talking.

Appearing in this Feature:
Producer, Taran Davies
Writer & Director, Daniel Ferguson
Producer, George Duffield
Narrators, Nadia Tadros, Farah Ammouri, Revital Zacharie

Deleted Scenes (7 minutes) – There are three deleted scenes, “The Furthest Mosque,” “The Music of Jerusalem,” in which we are treated to a beautiful song and “The Second Temple” which was very informative so it’s unclear why this couldn’t have fit into the documentary. This feature comes with the option to play all, which I did. If you liked the documentary, you’ll enjoy the deleted scenes.

Media Interviews (43 minutes) – There are three very engaging interviews on the bonus features. The first interview (5 minutes) is Canada AM with Director, Daniel Ferguson and Narrators, Nadia Tadros, Farah Ammouri, and Revital Zacharie. The second interview (28 minutes) is The Mimi Geerges Show with Producer, Taran Davies. The final interview (10 minutes) is MyETVMedia.com Interview with Director, Daniel Ferguson. If you have the time to watch these, I’d say it’s worth checking out.

Visual Effects Behind the Scenes (2 minutes) – Whether you saw this documentary in IMAX or not, this behind the scenes feature is absolutely fascinating as it briefly breaks down the visual effects of the film which alone were mighty and worth the watch. Very cool!

Additional Featurettes (7 minutes) – There are five extra features with the option to play including: “The Ceremony of the Holy Fire,” “Hezekiah’s Tunnel,” “The Priestly Blessing,” “Ramadan Nights,” and “The Tombs in the Church.” Since these are so short, it’s best to just play all. There’s not too much more here that viewers are given an inside look into but they’re neat behind the scenes glimpses of some favorite moments from the documentary as a whole.

Appearing in this Feature:
Producer, Taran Davies
Writer & Director, Daniel Ferguson
Rabbi David Stern

Own Jerusalem on Blu-ray and DVD today.