The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

Fulton Oursler (book)
Henry Denker (source writings)

Release Date:

9 April 1965 (UK)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Plot:

The life of Jesus Christ.

Plot Keywords:

Epic | Jesus Christ | Faith | John The Baptist | Narration

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars.

Cast

Max von Sydow	...	Jesus
Michael Anderson Jr.	...	James the Younger
Carroll Baker	...	Veronica
Ina Balin	...	Martha of Bethany
Victor Buono	...	Sorak
Richard Conte	...	Barabbas
Joanna Dunham	...	Mary Magdalene
José Ferrer	...	Herod Antipas
Van Heflin	...	Bar Amand
Charlton Heston	...	John the Baptist
Martin Landau	...	Caiaphas
Angela Lansbury	...	Claudia
Pat Boone	...	Angel at the Tomb
Janet Margolin	...	Mary of Bethany
David McCallum	...	Judas Iscariot

Also Known As:

George Stevens Presents The Greatest Story Ever Told (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

199 min (edited version) | USA:141 min (re-issue version) | USA:225 min (premiere version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.76 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) | Mono (35 mm prints)

Certification:

South Korea:All | West Germany:6 (f) | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1972)

Filming Locations:

Arches National Park, Moab, Utah, USA

Company:

George Stevens Productions

Trivia:

Alec Guinness was sought for a cameo.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In the film Judas Iscariot kills himself by jumping into a fire, but the Gospel accounts of this story say he hung himself. Also, after the Gospels, at the beginning of the Book of Acts, it is reported that Judas also died when he fell and his body split open, perhaps in the act of hanging himself. No where is his death associated with a fire. However, the director certainly was aware of these reports. As in other scenes in the movie, he may have decided to use a theatrical device to suggest something to the audience. Because Hell is popularly linked with fire, the implication may be that Judas sent himself to Hell, as if he literally jumped into it.

Quotes:

Narrator: [first lines]
Narrator: In the beginning was the word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. I am He. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him, was made nothing that has been made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of man. And the light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness grasped it not. The greatest story ever told...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: The Best of Saturday TV Funhouse (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Messa di Reqiuem

Did you Know...?

The reasons for the sacrificial well in the city's temple have to do with the archaeological research of the time the movie was made. Not much, then or now, is really known about the Temple, except that Herod the Great (played by Claude Rains) built it to largely to appease the Roman conquerors. The Temple had Grecian (not Hebraic) architecture and supposedly had a well for animal sacrifices. The Hebrews were a very sophisticated ancient people who mostly, by that time, considered themselves above animal sacrifices--however much had been written about such practices in their earlier times, like the days of Genesis, Exodus, etc. While it may have appeased Romans, it probably did not please Herod's own subjects.

This is a carefully made motion picture. If one finds it too subdued, at least it doesn't suffer from the highflown melodramatics that other Christ movies have. Speaking as someone who is not a Christian, I find it deeply moving.