The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)

Magnificent epic on the life of Jesus Christ

The Greatest Story ever told

We wanted to own this movie so we can share it with young adults that are in the process of understanding and defining their religious belifs.

While rather lengthy, this George Stevens directed film provides an in depth view into the life of Jesus Christ, touching on all aspects of the story. The cast of characters is simply superb and we found ourselves trying to identify the cameo appearance of our favorites, including John Wayne, Max von Sydow, Pat Boone, Charlton Heston, Martin Landau, Angela Lansbury, David McCallum, Sidney Poitier and Telly Savallas.

The film delves into the life of Christ with great reverence and respect, recreating his path through life, crucifixion and resurrection. The scenes are filmed in Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah with Pyramid Lake in Nevada used to represent the Sea of Galilee, Lake Moab in Utah used to film the Sermon on the Mount and Death Valley in California as the setting where Jesus spends 40 days in the wilderness. Back in 1962, the explanation provided by the producer was that none of the scenes could have been filmed in the Middle East to provide the background of grandeur required to recreate the life of Jesus Christ.

Premiering on February 15th, 1965 at the Warner Cinerama Theatre in New York City, this film became a classic and now we can share it with family and friends during the holiday season. Don't miss it!

After researching, here is a list of actors that played the main characters:
1. Jesus = Max von Sydow
2. Young man at the tomb = Pat Boone
3. Barabbas = Richard Conte
4. Mary Magdalene = Joanna Dunham
5. Herold Antipas = Jose Ferrer
6. John the Baptist = Charlton Heston
7. Caiaphas = Martin Landau
8. Judas Iscariot = David McCallum
9. Simon of Cyrene = Sidney Poitier
10. Pontius Pilate = Telly Savalas

We dare you to find... John Wayne!

December 1, 2008

He is what the world needs today

This movie more than any other has always brought tears to my eyes. It is so close to the real Jesus and gives a better idea of the Man that He was in life on earth. His goodness, His kindness, and His holyness is of a Person we can and should try to follow. If we did this, the world would be a much better place today. I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would like to see Him taken out of schools or His Ten Commandments tossed, for they are not that hard to follow, and they keep us "civilized" and better able to get along with one another. July 4, 2008

Mediocre Performance

It appeared to me that this film had high expectations in the 60's especially with the lavish production, but there are obvious faults. First, it appears it was filmed around Arizona and perhaps near the Colorodo River or possibly the Grand Canyon areas. Acting is terribly weak and I could not push my belief beyond these faults to allow the film to move me. With the spiritual theme such as this film portrays, the acting should have be somewhat distant of American dialect but it is clearly too American. One area that I will give some basic credit was the Crucifixion scene at the end. These were filmed well, but again the acting was just mediocre. The centurian who said "Surely this man was the son of God" was just so predictable and appeared to have read it from a cue card or was overdubbed badly. There was no genuine portrayal above the actors abilities here even with these notable actors. I think casting was thoughtless.

In comparison to this production, I much prefer "Jesus of Nazareth" which itself was a made for TV miniseries film, but had much more emotional depth to the characters. Also Christ is portrayed in such a close yet mystical quality. Robert Powell ranks as one of the best in my view that trully stepped outside himself into the sublime.

There are other notable epic biblical themed productions. I recommend Ben Hur with Charlton Heston, The Ten Commandments, Jesus of Nazareth & even the 70's production of Godspell.
April 27, 2008

The Greatest Story Ever Told (Movie Only Edition)

The Greatest Story Ever Told

To begin: the desert cinematography reminded me of a John Ford's western.
In fact it was filmed in some of the same locales. The American Southwest is a beautiful place, but it was not the right choice for a biblical epic.

Of course, the music of Alfred Newman was beautifully performed with parts of Handel's Messiah and Verdi's Requiem tossed into the mix. The Messiah's pieces were a bit jarring to one's concentration.

The music and the cinematography were nominated for academy awards. Dr. Zhivago would take these Oscars.

The cast was a Who's Who of Hollywood from Charleston Heston as John the Baptist to John Wayne as the Roman Centurion. Unfortunately, the famous cast was one of the movie's primary weaknesses.

Max von Sydow, the great actor, looked totally uncomfortable in the role of Jesus. Those vivid blue eyes of his throughout the film detracted from the simple story of the carpenter from Nazareth whose message of peace and love changed the Roman World.

Charleston Heston's John the Baptist had moments of credence, but there were too many moments where the portrayal bordered on the comical. The man who played Moses, Ben Hur, and El Cid deserved a better script.

The talented David McCallum's Judas was well done, even though the depth of Judas' struggle with his soul was only briefly touched on in this film. His symbolic death at the altar was the last act of a movie which could have been the greatest story ever told. Since the law of God denounced human sacrifice and suicide, this was Judas' final act of blasphemy.

This was one of George Stevens' last films. One can tell that he placed a great emphasis on reverence in this film, especially with the soft spoken words of the Gospels, the lavish sets and the piety on the faces of those who believed in Jesus. It must have pained him greatly that the viewing public did not embrace his vision of the Christ. Perhaps the problem was the turbulent mid-1960's. This film was the last of the biblical epics for a long time to come.

With these failings, the movie became just one of the tales of the Christ in the film vaults of the world. Overall, it was a disappointing film with rare moments of beauty and pathos. For those who are not concerned about historical and biblical accuracy and just want an Easter treat, this would be a good film.
March 23, 2008

The Greatest Story Ever Told

A ponderous retelling of the life of Christ with Swedish actor Max von Sydow in the role of Jesus. Swedish Jesus is hard to accept. Even von Sydow admitted difficulty. He comes off as a spaced-out caricature. Maybe a man who never sinned has to be this way. I have wondered why it was no sin when Jesus angrily drove the moneychangers from the temple with a whip. The cast is a "Who's Who in Hollywood," and the fun part is to pick out famous people. John Wayne is the Roman Centurion at the cross. "Truly, this man was the Son of God." This film ushered out the era of big budget Bible pictures.

February 23, 2008

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