Jesus of Nazareth (miniseries)

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Jesus of Nazareth

Robert Powell as Jesus of Nazareth
Genre Biographical film
Running time 371 (UK: 2x 180mins)
Distributor ITC Entertainment
Written by Anthony Burgess
Suso Cecchi d'Amico
Franco Zeffirelli
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli
Produced by Vincenzo Labella
Starring Robert Powell
Anne Bancroft
Ernest Borgnine
Editor(s) Reginald Mills
Music by Maurice Jarre
Budget Estimates vary between $12 million to $18 million
Country of origin Italy / U.K.
Language Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
English
Release date(s) April 3, 1977
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Jesus of Nazareth is a six-hour long Italian-British television miniseries of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus based on the accounts given in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The movie was produced by Lew Grade through his ITC Entertainment company, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and written by Zeffirelli, Anthony Burgess and Suso Cecchi d'Amico, after Zeffirelli was approached by Pope Paul VI to make a film about Christ.

Jesus of Nazareth premiered in 1977 on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday and continues to be broadcast every Easter and Christmas on the History Channel.

For its fifth airing on US television at Easter 1987, TV Guide called it "the best miniseries of all time" and "unparalleled television.".

Newsweek writer Harry F. Waters remarked that:

Rarely have the humanity and divinity of Christ been evoked with as much passion, sensitivity, and ecumenical deference as Zeffirelli has brought to the story.

Rev. Patrick Sullivan of the U.S. Catholic Conference ("New Look at Jesus," April 4, 1977) was quoted as saying:

Zeffirelli has succeeded admirably in making Christ's story understandable to a modern secular audience.

A review in Variety read:

Passion, beauty, and brilliant storytelling are all on display in this six-hour-plus epic from Italian director Franco Zeffirelli. Robert Powell is superb in the title role, and with the overwhelming success of this TV movie throughout the world, has perhaps become what Jesus looks like in many people's minds. The story begins with the arrangements of the wedding between Joseph and Mary, and chronicles the nativity, the encounter with John the Baptist (a ferocious Michael York) and everything up to the crucifixion and resurrection. This film is beautifully shot on actual locations, with haunting music by Maurice Jarre and an all-star cast, including Anne Bancroft, Laurence Olivier, Ian Holm, Ernest Borgnine, Peter Ustinov, James Mason, Anthony Quinn, Rod Steiger and Christopher Plummer. Zeffirelli has created a thorough, but never dull or dogmatic, retelling of the story, and the result is a uniquely transcendental film that holds the power to inspire no matter what the viewer's beliefs or background.

The miniseries received two Emmy nominations, neither of which it won. The big winner that year was the miniseries Holocaust.

Contents

[edit] Cast

Starring

Guest Stars

and

Also Starring

With

Co-Starring

[edit] Ratings

[edit] Portrayal of Jesus

Notably, Powell never blinks during eye contact with others throughout the entire film, as did H.B. Warner in 1927's The King of Kings, and Max von Sydow in 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told, giving his character a somewhat unearthly and transcendental air.

[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

  • Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus: A Spiritual Diary (1984, Harper & Row) by Franco Zeffirelli ISBN 0-06-069780-6, an account of the film from conception (and Zeffirelli's main motivation for making it - removing sole responsibility for the death of Jesus from the Jews) to final edit, and audience reactions to it
  • Man of Nazareth: A Novel (1979) by Anthony Burgess. Full-length novel based on his screenplay for the movie but containing much additional material.
  • Jesus of Nazareth (1977, Collins) by William Barclay ISBN 0-00-250653-X, An adaptation of the screenplay, illustrated with color photos from the film.

[edit] External links