Barabbas (1961)
"Barabba" (original title)

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

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Christopher Fry (screenplay), Pär Lagerkvist (novel),

Stars:

Anthony Quinn, Silvana Mangano, Arthur Kennedy

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Epic account of the thief Barabbas, who was spared crucifixion when Pilate manipulated the crowd into to pardoning him, rather than Jesus. Struggling with his spirituality, Barabbas goes through many ordeals leading him to the gladiatorial arena, where he tries to win his freedom and confront his inner demons, ultimately becoming a follower of the man who was crucified in his place.

---

Plot Keywords:

barabbas | crucifixion | thief | jerusalem | remake | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Barabbas

Filming Locations:

Arena di Verona, Verona, Veneto, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica, Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

137 min 137 min (TCM print) (DVD release)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The solar eclipse that takes place during the crucifixion scene was the real thing, an event for which director Richard Fleischer delayed shooting in order to capture the ethereal nature of the phenomenon.

---

Goofs

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...
[...]

---

Connections

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

User Reviews

Extraordinary peplum about the biblical story of "Barabbas."

"Barabbas" Fleischer poses as an inducement primordial vision of those early years of Christianity through the objective and skeptical eyes of a thief, murderer, and quarrelsome, "Barabbas." A man who saved his life at the expense of Jesus Christ, and whose fate would be inextricably linked to the progressive spreading of the word of Christ.

Unlike other films of a more sobering, Fleischer commitment to focus their story on the terrible stigma that will support lifelong Barabbas, who along with spectacular sequences such as the collapse of the sulfur mines, and gladiator fights is essence of this film.

Richard Fleischer, epic and adventurous, this film used for the Fabien Pär Lagerkvist novel, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1951. Lagerkvist, of deep religious tradition, focuses much of his work, as Zarathustra twentieth century, the question of good and evil, to face this dichotomy through the eyes of perhaps the most famous outlaw of the Holy Scriptures,

The fantastic thing about Fleischer's film, in my opinion, is the transformation that occurs in the first Templar of world history. "Barabbas," an uncertainty passes first day on which Jesus' death allowed him to save his life, a definite rearward impulse that takes part in the burning of Rome in the belief that Christians are those who are perpetrating the sad action. The poor Barabbas with hard and wild head, only death is enough to finally understand the message of Jesus and the profound difference that separates good from evil. Formidable Anthony Quinn, the great Gasmann memorable (criticized for his atheism), playing the most Christian "Sahek" immense evil Jack Palance as gladiator and beautiful Mangano