Wikipedia

Prophet Joseph (TV series)

(Redirected from Prophet Joseph (film))

Prophet Joseph (Persian: یوسف پيامبر, romanized: Yūsofe Payāmbar, lit. 'Joseph the Prophet') is a historical drama Iranian television series produced, written, and directed by Farajollah Salahshoor. It first premiered on December 27, 2008, in Iran. It is based on the Islamic account of Joseph from Quran and Islamic traditions.[2] The series, dubbed in several languages, is sometimes regarded as the world's most watched Iranian TV series.

Prophet Joseph
International Poster
Persianیوسف پیامبر
GenreReligious
Historic
Biography
Created byFarajollah Salahshoor
Written byFarajollah Salahshoor
Directed byFarajollah Salahshoor
Starring
ComposerPeyman Yazdanian
Original languagePersian
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes45
Production
ProducerRasool Ahadi
CinematographyNasser Kavousi
EditorHossein Zandbaf
Running time45–57 minutes
Production companyIRIB
Original release
NetworkIRIB TV1
Release27 December 2008 (2008-12-27) –
May 1, 2009 (2009-05-01)[1]

Plot

edit

The story follows Joseph's journey from being sold by his brothers to Egypt, his trials in Potiphar's house, imprisonment, rise to power interpreting dreams, reunion with his family after proving his brothers' remorse.

Cast

edit
  • Ahmad Harhash as Hazrat Yusaf

    • Series description

    edit

    Prophet Joseph is a Persian-language series originally broadcast in 2008, which tells the story of prophet Yusuf (or Joseph) according to the Islamic tradition. Realistic depictions of everyday life are represented. Each episode in the series begins with a poly-phonic recitation of the first four verses (ayah) of the chapter (surah) on Yusuf.

    The 45 episodes of the series are replete with themes on filial love, personal journey through life (within family and on one's own), personal character, submission, prayer, prophethood, idolatry, monotheism, loyalty, betrayal, carnal desires, nature of various kinds of love, separation, abandonment, slavery, social organizations at various levels, nature of political authority, governance, strategy, various ideologies (and their implications), anticipation, and finally, forgiveness and salvation.

    The series explores the existential lives of three principal characters (Yusuf, Zuleikha and Ya'qub) with dozens of other major and minor characters.

    The story in the series starts in the south of Babylon, in the second millennium BC, depicting Ya'qub's battle against idolatry (of Ishtar) in Mesopotamia and the miraculous birth of Yusuf.

    Production

    edit

    All episodes are created by Al-Baraka Production, Al-Baraka Media and published by HispanTV on YouTube.

    The 16-DVD distribution from Soroush.tv contains a bonus, last DVD describing the making of the movie, including interviews with many of the production crew and a number of assistants to the director.

    In this DVD and subsequent interviews,[3] the director, Farajollah Salahshoor, gives his production account, as follows:

    • The preparation of the script took between three and four years.
    • The first conceptual draft of about 27 pages ended up in a final scene plan and script draft running about 5000 pages long.
    • Besides the sources available in Persian, hundreds of pages were translated from Arabic and English.
    • The movie set was spread over three mock cities built in space of about 35,000 square meters.
    • In these sources, Salahshour emphasized that without such a concerted effort on completing the script, making the movie within the budget would have been impossible. The writing crew included the director, a head of research with multiple assistants and an artistic adviser. Upon completion, the script was also reviewed by a 5-person committee composed of experts in the arts as well as production crew to ensure quality.
    • About 3000 actors were tested and 200 were selected. The selection involved team work.
    • Every team included consultants and leads. Consultants played a constructive role.
    • The movie was made with more than 1000 clothing elements and 10 trucks of accessories.

    Salahshoor describes his reasons for making the movie in an interview, with a concurrent translation into English.[4]

    Distribution

    edit

    The series, dubbed in English, can be viewed on Iran's iFilm movie network.[5]

    The original series, in Persian, can also be obtained in a 16-DVD, two-box set from its official distributor, Soroush Multimedia Company of Iran (Soroush.tv). First 15 DVDs contain 3 episodes each. Last DVD contains 3 episodes on the making of the series.[6]

    The series has been fully dubbed and subtitled in several languages, such as English, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish and more.[7]

    Reception

    edit

    Prophet Joseph has been aired and released in over 60 countries around the world.[8] The series is very popular in the Muslim world, Latin American and African countries.[9] International networks such as iFilm and Al-Kawthar TV have aired the series many times, which have been well received. The series has been aired multiple times during the month of Ramadan in Iran and other countries.[10]

    Due to its huge success, the series was later fully dubbed in several languages, such as English, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish and more. The series has also been released on several major YouTube channels with tens of millions of views, which indicates its high international popularity.[11][12][13][14][15]

    Propeht Joseph has also been aired in European countries such as Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.[16] The series is sometimes regarded as the world's most watched Iranian TV series.[17]

    Controversies

    edit

    Some scholars in Egypt's Al Azhar theological school have been reported by a Saudi-owned television station to have advocated the banning of Yusuf in Egypt.[18]

    The director's daughter who grew up in a religious family criticized her father's work publicly, she believes that promotion of polygamy is planned by IRIB.[19] She said, "… we are not monitoring anyone and everyone has his personal interpretation." She added, "I, as a normal audience, without considering my relation with the director, am very worried about the youths of this country and how the religion is defined for them, worried about the future of this generation, religion, morality and the Quran. What should youths choose?"

    Salhashoor commented, "Polygamy had existed in past religions and theological schools. If for some reasons it has been changed is due to the modern world. The prophets and the Prophet's predecessors had second and third wives. It had been in the past and in many Islamic countries, there is still this culture though some Shiites want to revise it. There was polygamy in the past, I could not ignore the fact to please the feminists, again I emphasize that we do not promote polygamy. It is not our intention we just express a historical document."[20]

    See also

    edit

    References

    edit
    1. ^ "فردا: آخرین قسمت سریال یوسف پیامبر" [Tomorrow: The last episode of the series "Prophet Joseph"]. Asr Iran. 30 April 2009. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
    2. ^ Hamid, Naqib (30 January 2013). "ANALYSIS: Sanctity and sensitivity". Daily Times. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
    3. ^ "The Making of Prophet Yusuf a.s The Movie - Interview with Director of Movie - English". Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
    4. ^ "The Making of Prophet Yusuf a.s The Movie - Interview with Director of Movie - English". Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
    5. ^ "Prophet Joseph". ifilmtv.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
    6. ^ "Prophet Joseph". soroush.tv. Archived from the original on 3 June 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
    7. ^ 4K Prophet Joseph | English | Episode 01. 27 March 2024. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via YouTube.
    8. ^ kayhan.ir (8 May 2024). "Mystery Behind Popularity of Prophet Joseph Series". en. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
    9. ^ "Kuwaiti newspaper praises Iranian series "Prophet Joseph"". Mehr News Agency. 4 March 2009. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
    10. ^ iqna.ir (8 May 2024). "'Prophet Joseph' TV Series Broadcast in Tunisia in Ramadan". en. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
    11. ^ 786 STORIES 4 U (16 May 2020). Hazrat Yusuf (A.S.) Episode 44 H.D. حضرت یوسف (ا س) ای پی हज़रत यूसुफ़ (अ.स.). Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
    12. ^ Prophet Yousuf - Joseph The Prophet (23 June 2023). حضرت یوسف قسط نمبر 1 | اردو ڈب | Urdu Dubbed | Prophet Yousuf. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via YouTube.
    13. ^ Featured Series (14 September 2020). Prophet Joseph - Part 1 | مسلسل يوسف الصديق - الحلقة 1. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via YouTube.
    14. ^ Prophet Yousuf - Joseph The Prophet (29 March 2024). حضرت یوسف تمام ابواب | اردو ڈب | Urdu Dubbed | Joseph The Prophet All Episodes. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via YouTube.
    15. ^ DigiStudio (25 December 2021). Serial Yusuf Payambar - Part 1 | سریال یوسف پیامبر - قسمت 1. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via YouTube.
    16. ^ ""Joseph, the Prophet" TV Series to Be Broadcast in Belarus". AhlulBayt News Agency. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
    17. ^ "محبوبیت سریال «یوسف پیامبر(ع)» در آمریکای لاتین". مشرق نیوز (in Persian). 18 April 2017. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
    18. ^ "Azhar wants ban on Iranian Prophet Joseph show".
    19. ^ Salahshur's daughter: "Polygamy promotion is planned in TV." Association of Iranian Women magazine. Revised on May 15, 2009.
    20. ^ "Network of Iran - the Prophet Joseph is not made to advertise Ahmadinejad." Institute of press. Revised on May 15, 2009.
    edit
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prophet_Joseph_(TV_series)&oldid=1246288231"