Classic Film Restored for DVD

May 1, 2003 - "The Hiding Place," acclaimed by movie critics as one of the 10 best films of 1975, remains the most popular film produced by World Wide Pictures, the motion-picture ministry of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

by Amanda Knoke

The true story of one family's plight after the Nazi invasion of Holland during World War II, "The Hiding Place" highlights the valiant efforts of Corrie ten Boom and her family to save Jewish families through an underground resistance. Arrested and put into a concentration camp themselves, the ten Boom family members cling to their faith in Christ during their ordeal.

Having undergone extensive frame-by-frame restoration and remastered audio, "The Hiding Place" will be re-released May 6 as a two-disc set. The DVD version will feature behind-the-scenes footage of Corrie ten Boom and three other shorts featuring the prison-camp survivor.

The DVD version also will include five dubbed languages (English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese), and the format will be open-coded, so that the DVD will be viewable in other countries. This feature will be especially helpful to missionaries, says Tim Morgan, World Wide Pictures representative.

There's a whole generation of people who haven't seen "The Hiding Place," says Barry Werner, managing director of operations for World Wide Pictures. "There's renewed interest in foreign affairs and issues of personal rights," Werner says. "This classic shows the greatness of God in [a wartime] situation to a generation that's hungry for spiritual things."

When Forgiveness Seems Impossible ...
The World Wide Pictures film "The Hiding Place" is based on the 1971 book of the same name. The following is an excerpt from the best seller written by Corrie ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill.

"It was at a church service that I saw him, the man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. Suddenly it was all there—the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, my sister Betsie's pain-blanched face.

He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. 'How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein,' he said. 'To think that, as you say, [Christ] has washed my sins away!'

He thrust out his hand to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.

Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. I breathed a silent prayer. 'Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.'

As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. Into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.

And so I discovered that when Christ tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself."

Buy These Products Online Now:
  "The Hiding Place" DVD
  "Messages of God's Abundance"