Two Other “Jesus” Movies Worth

Two Other “Jesus” Movies Worth Watching: Part One

Franco Zefirelli’s 1977 “Jesus of Nazareth” is a seven hour mini-series that covers the story of Jesus from birth to resurrection. It is easily the most ambitious “Jesus” project ever attempted. The movie uses a whole generation of great actors, including James Mason, Lawrence Olivier, Anne Bancroft, Ernest Borgnine, Ralph Richardson, James Earl Jones and Anthony Quinn. The screenplay was written by Anthony Burgess, and the script follows material in all of the Gospels, with a nice harmonizing of John and the Synoptics. Fictional characters are used effectively and sparingly, but the script isn’t afraid to go where the Bible doesn’t provide information.

One of my favorite things about Jesus of Nazareth is the creative placing of material in believable contexts. Mary Magdalen finds forgiveness at the feeding of the five thousand. Thomas is skeptical that Jesus can raise the daughter of his master, Jairus. Barabbas is a zealot who asks Jesus to lead a revolt, and instead hears Jesus’ words to “love your enemies.” Most effectively, the parable of the Prodigal Son is placed in a party at Matthew’s house, where a conflicted Peter finally decides to come to a party for prostitutes and tax collectors. In other words, rather than just “hang” passages out in space, Zefirelli creates a place in the story for these events to happen.

Robert Powell’s Jesus is alternatively accessible and charming, but also mysterious and intense. Some have found Powell to be somewhat “otherworldly,” but I believe he balances out the various opposites in the personality of Jesus in a way that is quite Biblical. Jesus could be the guy next door, and he could scare you with majesty and power. Powell lives and dies with believablity as the savior.

This movie shows exorcisms and miracles throughout the Galilean ministry, and also pauses for short doses of Jesus’ teachings. We get a good feel for how Jesus attracted crowds wherever he went, as Zefirelli used large numbers of extras to make real crowds. The relationship between Jesus and the disciples is front and center, with James Franciscus playing a first rate Simon Peter. Ample time is given to John the Baptist and the political undercurrents in Judaism. Christopher Plummer has great fun as a lustful, maniulated Herod Antipas.

An outstanding feature of this film is the major attention given to Judas. The story provides a full, and plausible, explanation of Judas’ action. Judas is a political dreamer who thinks that Jesus will be proclaimed King- if the Sanhedrin ever hears him up close. It is Judas who is betrayed by the authorities who have decided to kill Jesus all along. The fictional character of Zera makes the Sadduccees understandable.

I have used this movie as a teaching tool for almost a decade and it is very accessible and understandable. The birth section is wonderful and moving. The Passion is done tastefully, though modern audiences used to sophisticated make up and effects will be disappointed at the lack of gore. Surprisingly, even with 7 hours, much is left on the cutting room floor or was never filmed, and one of the few complaints I have about the movie is some sloppy editing. Also, at least one scene of overt adoration of Mary is bizarre, especially when Mary says “Who is his mother and brothers, etc.”, a line actually spoken by Jesus as a criticism of his mother in Mark 3. And she doesn’t age.

The soundtrack is a bit redundant. The production values are excellent. Some performances are stunning in their power. I think Ann Bancroft’s Mary Magdalen and Rod Steiger’s Pilate are particularly well played. Peter Ustinov as Herod the Great is beyond compliment.

The movie was written with an awareness of the issue of anti-Semitism, but the Jewish bad guys are very bad, and without their persistent stalking of Jesus, and their insistence that Pilate kill him, the death wouldn’t have happened. It is the religious leaders who double-cross Judas, and it is the religious leaders who overrule sympathetic council members to insist on Jesus death. Interestingly, the movie shows NO deliberation about sending Jesus to Pilate, while the Gospels tell us there were hours of debate on what to do after Jesus was condemned.

This movie will, I believe, survive the current interest in “The Passion”, as THE movie to present the whole story of Jesus. This is a film that is cinematically and artistically well done, and spiritually satisfying. It has aged very well, and now that it can be owned on DVD for about $25, needs to be in every Christian’s library.