Jesus of Nazareth
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Movie Reviews of Jesus of Nazareth
Movie Review: BUY THIS! The BEST, Most IN-DEPTH Story of Christ on DVD!
Summary: 5 Stars
I highly recommend this DVD. If my house burned down, this would be the first DVD I would buy again!
This DVD is not perfect, but it is the best story of Jesus that I have ever seen in one place. Sets, costumes, scenery and the actors are all great!
It opens with a 30 minute story of Joseph and Mary's marriage and the nativity, then takes off with the most complete dramatization of the life of Jesus that I have ever seen on DVD.
The worst element that I can think of is the poor way that they portray the crosses in the crucifixion scene, which looks like they are nailed to scaffolding instead of crosses. This is probably due to the lame scholarship of the 1970's that proclaimed "new" revelation discoveries about crucifixions during the Roman era. Also, though Mary is well cast for the young years, she looks too young during the crucifixion section, using the same actress under heavier make-up.
The guy playing Jesus is very thoughtful and serious, and he LOOKS like a Jesus painting from the Middle Ages. Many Jesus films blow it by choosing an actor who is too short, or too awkward, or "awesome-dude", or something distracting. JESUS OF NAZARETH gets the casting of Jesus correct, in my opinion.
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST had a great actor portraying Jesus, too, but that film only covered such a short (though infinitely important) part of the story of Jesus. This DVD is better because you get pretty much the whole story of Jesus.
JESUS OF NAZARETH is six hours long, a television mini-series from 1977, so don't try to see it all in one sitting, you will be unfairly fatigued from the marathon TV viewing. This DVD is best over at least two nights of viewing, an hour or two per night would be more reasonable and thoughtful.
Movie Review: The Story of the Life of Jesus
Summary: 5 Stars
Jesus of Nazareth, although made for television, is the pinnacle of Franco Zeffirelli's illustrious directing career, which includes such masterpieces as Romeo and Juliet and Brother Sun Sister Moon, and the definitive film about the story of the life of Jesus Christ.Beginning with the lives of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph before the Infancy Narrative, Zeffirelli does a wonderful job of blending the four Gospels together, recounting the life of Jesus from the Nativity through His Ministry as he proclaims the Kingdom of God and gathers the Apostles about him to His Passion and glorious Resurrection. There are a very few events from Jesus' life which have been omitted, for example the Wedding at Cana, but on the whole Jesus of Nazareth is remarkable for it's thoroughness.
Zeffirelli's choice of locations and use of scenery recreate biblical Palestine, and the actors portray the socio-political climate of the area, providing the backdrop of political and religious unrest against which Jesus would begin His ministry. The cinematogrophy is stunning, as is usual for a Zeffirelli film.
The cast is splendid, with Robert Powell giving a breath takingly powerful performance as Jesus of Nazareth, Olivia Hussey as the Blessed Virgin Mary, Anne Bancroft as Mary Magdelene, Anthony Quinn as the High Priest Caiaphas, Peter Ustinov as King Herod, Christopher Plummer as Herod Antipas, Ernest Borgnine as the Centurion, Michael York as John the Baptist, James Farentino as Simon Peter, and Rod Steiger as Pontius Pilate.
Jesus of Nazareth is a wonderful telling of the story of Jesus, full of hope and emotion. Whether your interest in the life of Jesus is from the perspective of faith or of history, you must see this film.
Movie Review: Epic of the Greatest
Summary: 5 Stars
In his slim book of his account of the making of JESUS OF NAZARETH, Director Franco Zeffirelli said that he felt the need to bring the story of Christ to the screen after a car accident left him asking questions about the meaning of his life.(I just watched the ABC interview with Mel Gibson this week, one week before his film THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST opens, and he also speaks of the "spiritually bankrupt" crisis that led him to his film).
I haven't seen THE PASSION yet but I have a feeling it will become the companion film to JESUS OF NAZARETH for me: both will be bold visions of the greatest story ever told.
When JESUS played as a mini-series in the 70's, I found many things to admire about it.
The casting was inspired. Robert Powell plays Jesus with such sincerity and intensity that he appears other-worldly at times. James Farentino as Simon Peter makes the moving transition from salty fisherman to broken saint. Rod Steiger has the perfect cruel befuddlement as Pilate. Michael York is manic and almost unrecognizable as John the Baptist. Anne Bancroft is marvelous. Laurence Olivier, Ernest Borgnine, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Quinn--the cast is just the best.
The script has been written with reverrent conviction to the Bible and an eye for maximum drama.
This was also one of the first "religious movies" that worked to have a realistic look to the Israel of 2000 years ago (it was actually filmed in Tunisia).
If you go see THE PASSION and want to see more of the story, then definitely check out JESUS OF NAZARETH.
(My only complaint: even though the closed caption symbol appears on the package, there is no option for it on the DVD).
Movie Review: A lenten retreat for your family
Summary: 5 Stars
We've been watching Franco Zeffirelli's classic 1977 mini-series Jesus of Nazareth this Lent. I recall it being quite an event when it premiered and was completely smitten by Olivia Hussey as Mary. Despite the 70s vibe -- the apostles look like unkempt hippies, and the rarely smiling Jesus sometimes comes off as a guru -- it holds up rather well. Two scenes stand out, then and now. The first is apocryphal and features the child Jesus mounting a tall ladder to reach a rooftop. He finishes His ascent and stares into the distance. Joseph sees Jesus as He reaches the top of the ladder. He initially panics and starts to run, and then catches himself and smiles contentedly as he looks upon Jesus. What is the purpose of this scene? To show Jesus the creator surveying His creation? To show how "far-seeing" He is? To demonstrate the full measure of Joseph's faith? The second scene comes later. Jesus arrives at Matthew's house for supper. The setting is one of raucous debauchery. Earlier, Peter is shown to be incensed that Jesus would accept such an invitation and fraternize with Matthew and other public sinners. As Matthew welcomes Him, Jesus takes a seat next to a woman dressed as a harlot. He tells the story of the Prodigal Son, and the camera alternates between closeups of Matthew and Peter while Jesus pointedly describes the prodigal son and his resentful brother. The assembly is speechless, spellbound. The scene ends with Jesus looking upon Peter and Matthew and the two of them embracing in reconciliation. This setting is apocryphal, but it drives home a key aspect of the parable: the indispensability of mercy. Powerful stuff. We hope to finish the final two hours during Holy Week.Movie Review: Best Jesus movie, but still incomplete.
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't think that until someone makes a movie that's at least 20+ hours long (which will be a long time from now), the complete story of Jesus will never be fully captured in any movie. Jesus Of Nazareth however, is the most extensive and most brilliantly acted and directed telling of the story yet. Robert Powell's work is second-to-none, and the backgrounds and location shooting make for the most authentic scenes ever. Most major stories of Jesus' miracles and teachings were well captured, and even most of the extra plot added that is not mentioned in the Bible made sense as to what could have really been going on behind the scenes.Despite all the praise this movie deserves, there are some things that should have received more recognition. Some of the best stories and miracles of Jesus were not included (calming the waves, turning water into wine, walking on water), and some historically inaccurate tellings made me forget about watching the movie and focus on the error of the director (Nicodemus meeting Jesus during the day and asking about being born again, the nails being driven into Jesus' hands and not his wrists, etc.) Luckily though, despite the length of the movie, most 2-3 hour versions of Jesus include a lot more flaws, so these can be overlooked.
In the end, the point of the story coincides with what Jesus' teachings were all about. Love your enemies do good to those who persecute you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. And love your neighbour as you ou would love yourself.
No matter how you look at it, you can't deny that Jesus Of Nazareth is the most extensive and most detailed telling of the story of Jesus to date.