This account of the life of Daniel traces his encounters in Babylon with 4 Kings. Nebuchadnezzar the Great, Belshazzar the Foolish, Darius the Deceived and Cyrus the Shepherd. It is faithful to scripture and gives insight into the prophecies of Jeremiah and Isaiah as well as words on the lips of Daniel from the Psalms, especially in the Lion's den. Daniel gives us a great model and inspiration to how to live wisely and well in a secular society. His tact, respect and patience are good examples for those who serve in public office. Worth watching at any age and then to dig into the scriptures for the latter chapters of Daniel 7-12 which are not covered in this film.

The Book of Daniel dramatizes the Biblical record of the same name, and does so very well. Built primarily around the story of the Hebrew people's captivity in Babylon and under several different kings, the movie uses the narrative of its title character to portray how even when all seems lost, God is still with His own. The film is fundamentally quite well done, very well-written and refreshingly respectful of its Scriptural source, but as this is clearly a low budget production there are inevitably some cinematic weaknesses. There are no earth-shattering special effects and the overall sweep is somewhat limited. Quality of acting varies, though fortunately both of the actors portraying Daniel--Andrew Bongiorno as the "young" Daniel and Robert Miano as the "old" version of the same--are outstanding and capture the essence of the Biblical character excellently. Conversely, much of the rest of the cast seems a bit cobbled together, with a lot of bizarre American-English accents thrown into the supposedly Middle Eastern setting. Lance Henriksen is the most recognizable "name" actor in the cast, and while there's no doubt Henriksen is an outstanding performer it's questionable if he's the best choice to play the Persian King Cyrus, who holds a great respect for Daniel and fulfills Biblical prophecy by allowing the Hebrews to return to their homeland. It's also a bit disappointing the movie never explores the more Apocalyptic prophecies in the latter portions of the Biblical book, though including them would certainly have meant expanding the scope of the film considerably. But these are small criticisms, and overall The Book of Daniel is an inspiring and often moving cinematic portrayal of one of the most fascinating figures of the Old Testament. And the movie's overarching message--that God will always take care of His people, no matter how hostile or wicked the world around us seems to be-- remains a relevant one today and for all time.