Taking in a screening of the Kaua’i-made IMAX-format film “The Testaments” has meant a long trip to Salt Lake City or Washington D.C. Now the mega-screen film is playing a little closer to home, giving local cast and crew members,
Taking in a screening of the Kaua’i-made IMAX-format film “The Testaments” has meant a long trip to Salt Lake City or Washington D.C.
Now the mega-screen film is playing a little closer to home, giving local cast and crew members, plus anyone interested in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints story behind the story, a chance to see the movie.
“The Testaments” used Kaua’i backdrops during location filming in 1999 and is now playing in Hawai’i at the IMAX theater at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie in windward O’ahu.
The film was directed by Kieth Merrill, who won an Oscar in 1974 for the documentary the “Great American Cowboy.”
Production on Kaua’i featured a set Merrill said was the largest ever built in Hawai’i except for the one constructed at Kawaihae Harbor on the Big Island for filming in 1994 for “Waterworld.” Crews recreated the center of the ancient Book of Mormon city of Zarahemla in an area 450 by 300 feet in a field outside of Kilauea town.
“These were the biggest and most elaborate sets built on Kaua’i in at least the last 10 years and many Kaua’i crew and artisans were employed for what was an unusually lengthy construction phase,” said Kauai Film Commissioner Judy Drosd.
“Because the film was shot in 70mm film (twice the size of a normal 35mm feature film), the designers’ attention to detail was extraordinary,” said Drosd. “They wanted to make sure that every frame was full of visual information. And it really shows when you see the movie projected on the big screen.”
Production on Kaua’i lasted for 6 months, including construction and wrap time, according to figures provided by. Filming lasted for 42 days, between March 29 and May 5, 1999. A total crew of 220 included 184 locally-hired crew members. The cast on Kaua’i numbered 2,500, with the film company paying for 4,000 hotel nights. The total expenditures on Kaua’i for the filming of “The Testaments” totaled about $5 million.
Merrill said the film could not be made where the events likely occurred, in Central America, because of security and logistical problems.
Merrill said church leaders let him rewrite the script when they brought him into the project. The film includes no credits for the director, production staff or actors.
“I was given tremendous latitude,” he said, although church President Gordon B. Hinckley had final approval. “I endeavored to try to create a film that captured the vision of President Hinckley as he described what he wanted the film to say.”
The biblical-era film tells the story of a fictional character who is at the appearance of Jesus Christ in ancient America circa 33 A.D. The LDS church’s “Book of Mormon” is the source for the plot.
Made to Hollywood standards, but not filmed for widespread commercial release, “The Testaments” features Kaua’i set as what could be southern Mexico or Guatemala, places in an area generally called “Ancient Americas” when speaking of the ancient past.
“The Testaments” depicts events from the Book of Mormon that church members believe took place in the Americas during Christ’s time. They parallel biblical events, including Christ’s crucifixion which Mormons believe brought earthquakes, storms and days of darkness on the other side of the world from Jersusalem.
Mormons believe that followers of the Old Testament prophets migrated under God’s direction from the East to the New World centuries before Christ and taught the same beliefs, including prophesying Christ’s birth.
“Think of it as Star Wars. It’s a very interesting premise,” Merrill said in an interview at the premiere. “What if people of ancient America had access to scripture that had actually come from the ancient world … and then Christ actually showed up.”
The showings are free at the LDS-owned Polynesian Cultural Center’s IMAX theater, while showings of other IMAX films at the center are by paid admission. This week the film is playing once at 10:30 a.m. and once at 7:30 p.m. every day except Sunday. Starting next week the film will show on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with a special Saturday morning showing at 10:30 a.m. Tickets are available by calling (808) 293-3117.
The film was produced under the direction of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Utah-based church has about 55,000 members in Hawai’i.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
