Barabba (1961)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Christopher Fry (screenplay)
Pär Lagerkvist (novel)

Release Date:

10 October 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Biography | Drama

Tagline:

"The motion picture that begins where the other big ones leave off"

Plot:

Barabbas, the criminal that Pontius Pilate induced the populace to vote to set free, so that Christ could be crucified, is haunted by the ghost of the prophet for the rest of his life.

Plot Keywords:

Crucifixion | Ancient Rome | Religion | Christianity | Gladiator

Cast

Anthony Quinn	...	Barabbas
Silvana Mangano	...	Rachel
Arthur Kennedy	...	Pontius Pilate
Katy Jurado	...	Sara
Harry Andrews	...	Peter
Vittorio Gassman	...	Sahak
Norman Wooland	...	Rufio
Valentina Cortese	...	Julia
Jack Palance	...	Torvald
Ernest Borgnine	...	Lucius
Arnoldo Foà	...	Joseph of Arimathea (as Arnoldo Foa')
Michael Gwynn	...	Lazarus
Laurence Payne	...	Disciple
Douglas Fowley	...	Vasasio
Guido Celano	...	Scorpio

Also Known As:

Barabbas (UK) (USA)

Runtime:

137 min (TCM print) (DVD release)

Country:

Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

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

Certification:

Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Italy:VM14 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Not Rated | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Arena di Verona, Verona, Veneto, Italy

Company:

Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica

Trivia:

Average Shot Length = ~8.2 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~7.4 seconds.

Goofs:

Continuity: The gladiator that Tovald kills from the two-horse chariot remains on his back. The next shot, however, shows him on his chest.

Quotes:

Peter: [Arrested for arson, Barabbas has been brought to the dungeons housing the Christians falsely accused of the act] This burning city is no work of ours. This isn't how the new kingdom is going to be made. You were wrong.
Barabbas: Who are you to tell me I'm wrong?
Peter: Many years ago, we spoke together. Do you remember?
Barabbas: No.
Peter: You asked me why I was making a net so far from the sea.
Barabbas: Jerusalem. The street of the potters.
Peter: You were as mistaken then as you are again now.
Female Christian: We didn't set fire to the city.
Male Christian: You've done the work of the wild beasts of the emperor.
Female Christian: Are you a lunatic?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Wild World of Batwoman (#6.15)" (1993)

An Intelligent, Sane, Thoughtful, Moving Film: Mel Gibson Had Nothing To Do With It

This is a first-class, reverent film that doesn't fall into Hallmark-card empty kitsch on one hand, or Mel Gibson's sado-masochistic porn on the other. This movie does not insult the subject-matter or the audience, and that's rarer than we might like.

Special credit goes to Aldo Tonti's Rembrandt lighting, consistently a joy. Mario Nascimbene's musical score rises above his usual brutality to real eloquence. The acting is without weakness, Quinn, Borgnine, Jurado and Andrews putting aside their sometimes numbing predictability for this special occasion. Richard Fleischer's direction is punchy without being vulgar, serious but not ponderous.

There are some awful religious films out there. This is thankfully not one of them. It's definitely worth the viewing for Christians and non-Christians alike.