Historias de Samsonanddelilah

The thirty-fourth entry of the 2020-2021 Film Journal is "Samson and Delilah (1949)". Here, I recount the old mentor who first recommended this Cecil B. DeMille film, consider the unique nature of truly old-timey cinema, and the definition of strong, meaningful religious pictures. (Poster image by Original Vintage Movie Posters)

From the biblical book of Judges comes the tragic love story of Samson and Delilah. Born to the Israelite tribe of Dan, Samson was called by God since birth to deliver the people of Israel from the evil Philistines. Before he was born, God told his mother, Hazella, to not eat any grapes or drink alcohol, nor any strong drink, and no unclean food. The vows Samson was given were these; do not eat grapes or drink wine, do not touch any dead thing, and no cutting of his hair. For most of his life, Samson followed the Lord's rules, if a little begrudgingly, and the Lord gifted him with superhuman strength. Strength that he would use to fight against the Philistines and deliver his people. But he was not always willing to follow God's directions. Soon, he became arrogant and strayed from God, eventually breaking two of his three vows. The only one that he kept was no cutting his hair, still retaining his God-given strength. He eventually meets a Philistine woman named Delilah and falls in love with her. Eventually, his love for Delilah is used against him when she betrays him to the Philistines for 5500 pieces of silver. She has his hair cut and, by extension, breaks Samson's third and final vow, causing the Lord to drain Samson's strength. He's enslaved and mocked by the Philistines but eventually gets his revenge by pushing apart the main 2 pillars of the building, killing everyone there, including himself and Delilah. Defeating more Philistines with his death than with his life, Samson finally followed God's will for his life and delivered the Israelites from the wicked Philistines. Enjoy the story, readers! P. S.: The image for the story is from the 1949 classic, Samson and Delilah. In the Bible, Manoah's wife (Samson's mother) is not named. In this story, I named her Hazella. Also, please read Judges 13-16 for yourself.

Great conversations tells the real story behind some of the dialogues through history. In a compilation of short transcripts, we finally find out the truth about how some interactions went and what really happened.