History has not been kind to this film. It suffered through an extended and sometimes turbulent gestation. It's birth was, at best, painful.
George Stevens, its director, producer, co-writer, and guiding force, spent the better part of a decade bringing this project to the screen. Even with all his considerable experience, it seems he was unable to translate his vision into the cinematic experience it deserved. At times we see flashes of what he must have had in mind. More often we see a film, for all its' moments of brilliance, stumble into exactly the sort of C.B. DeMille pomposity Stevens was surely trying to avoid. Much has been made of his "who's who of Hollywood" approach to the casting of smaller roles, which led to a "who's that" reaction in the theater. However, that approach to casting has been used before and since to positive effect. So the fault doesn't lie there. The fault lies, it seems, in an embarrassment of riches. Mr. Stevens simply had too much. Too much money. Too much talent. Too much time. Too much control. And too little willingness, it would seem, to accept input from others. Is the film a total failure? Of course not. There is much greatness in "The Greatest Story Ever Told". The cinematography is breathtaking. The Alfred Newman score, at least the portions Stevens left unadulterated in the film, is magnificent. Some of the individual performances are compelling. Could it have been better? Should it have been better? Absolutely.
It has always been my belief that there was a successful movie made, called "The Greatest Story Ever Told". Sadly no one ever saw it. Worst of all is the absolutely dreadful version of this movie currently on videocassette. It is nearly an hour shorter than the original road-show presentation, and, while letterboxed, is in the incorrect 2.35x1 "scope" aspect ratio rather than the correct 2.75x1 ratio the Ultra Panavision-70 cameras filmed in. In addition, regardless of what the box says, the soundtrack is in Hi-Fi Mono! Ken Darby, composer Alfred Newman's long time associate, wrote a book, entitled "Hollywood Holyland", which chronicles his first hand experiences working on this film. It is a "must-read" for anyone interested in the cinematic art.
George Stevens, its director, producer, co-writer, and guiding force, spent the better part of a decade bringing this project to the screen. Even with all his considerable experience, it seems he was unable to translate his vision into the cinematic experience it deserved. At times we see flashes of what he must have had in mind. More often we see a film, for all its' moments of brilliance, stumble into exactly the sort of C.B. DeMille pomposity Stevens was surely trying to avoid. Much has been made of his "who's who of Hollywood" approach to the casting of smaller roles, which led to a "who's that" reaction in the theater. However, that approach to casting has been used before and since to positive effect. So the fault doesn't lie there. The fault lies, it seems, in an embarrassment of riches. Mr. Stevens simply had too much. Too much money. Too much talent. Too much time. Too much control. And too little willingness, it would seem, to accept input from others. Is the film a total failure? Of course not. There is much greatness in "The Greatest Story Ever Told". The cinematography is breathtaking. The Alfred Newman score, at least the portions Stevens left unadulterated in the film, is magnificent. Some of the individual performances are compelling. Could it have been better? Should it have been better? Absolutely.
It has always been my belief that there was a successful movie made, called "The Greatest Story Ever Told". Sadly no one ever saw it. Worst of all is the absolutely dreadful version of this movie currently on videocassette. It is nearly an hour shorter than the original road-show presentation, and, while letterboxed, is in the incorrect 2.35x1 "scope" aspect ratio rather than the correct 2.75x1 ratio the Ultra Panavision-70 cameras filmed in. In addition, regardless of what the box says, the soundtrack is in Hi-Fi Mono! Ken Darby, composer Alfred Newman's long time associate, wrote a book, entitled "Hollywood Holyland", which chronicles his first hand experiences working on this film. It is a "must-read" for anyone interested in the cinematic art.