The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)

An all-star, large scale epic film that chronicles the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

Directors:

George Stevens, David Lean (uncredited)

Writers:

Fulton Oursler (book), Henry Denker (source writings)

Stars:

Max von Sydow, Dorothy McGuire, Charlton Heston

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Max von Sydow	...	Jesus
Michael Anderson Jr.	...	James the Younger
Carroll Baker	...	Veronica
Ina Balin	...	Martha of Bethany
Victor Buono	...	Sorak
Richard Conte	...	Barabbas
Joanna Dunham	...	Mary Magdalene
José Ferrer	...	Herod Antipas
Van Heflin	...	Bar Amand
Charlton Heston	...	John the Baptist
Martin Landau	...	Caiaphas
Angela Lansbury	...	Claudia
Pat Boone	...	Angel at the Tomb
Janet Margolin	...	Mary of Bethany
David McCallum	...	Judas Iscariot

Storyline

"My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?" It is towards this climactic crossroads that the story of Jesus of Nazareth leads, and to which, at the final moment, it again looks back in triumphant retrospect. It is the anguishing crossroads where the eternal questions of faith and doubt become resolved.

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Plot Keywords:

biblical epic | epic | 1st century | religion | jerusalem | 

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Taglines:

A Richly Rewarding Entertainment Experience for the Entire Family

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 April 1965 (UK)

Also Known As:

George Stevens Presents The Greatest Story Ever Told

Filming Locations:

Glen Canyon, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$15,473,333

Company Credits

Production Co:

George Stevens Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

260 min 199 min (edited) 141 min (re-issue) 225 min (premiere)

Sound Mix:

3 Channel Stereo (Westrex Recording System) (5.0) (L-R)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.76 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

George Stevens originally offered the role of Mary Magdalene to Elizabeth Taylor, but she was unavailable.

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Goofs

When King Herod and his courtiers move around his throne room, the set floors sound distinctly like wood and plaster, instead of the solid stone they're supposedly made of.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: In the beginning was the word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. I am He. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him, was made nothing that has been made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of man. And the light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness grasped it not. The greatest story ever told...

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Alternate Versions

Original Cinerama version ran 260 minutes, subsequently cut over the years. The shortest version runs 141 minutes. Numerous versions have been shown on television. Network television print has only the main cast credits at the beginning and the technical credits at the end shown page-by-page (not "rolled up" as most prints), including a credit for "Cinerama". The most common version of the film shown today runs 195 minutes with all the credits rolled up at the beginning, and the end titles showing only the words "Released through United Artists". That particular version has been available on home video and cable TV.

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Connections

Referenced in Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967)

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Soundtracks

Requiem
Music by Giuseppe Verdi (as Giuseppi Verdi)

User Reviews

Valiant and worthy attempt

Clearly this film comes off as an epoch. Magnitude, grandeur and dignity drip from every scene. Being personally familiar with the biblical account of the life of Jesus, I was at times quite impressed with the almost-inspired interpretation of many hard-to-picture moments in the gospel narratives brought to the screen. Yet on the other hand, I had painful difficulty agreeing with other scenes.

For example, Jesus heals a hopelessly bitter cripple in a dark synagogue: of course the biblical story is very brief, leaving a lot of room for the imagination to color in details- however, the scene seems to cheapen christ's awesome power and divinity. As Jesus leaves the synagogue, the camera zooms in on a facial expression so quizzical the viewer is left feeling that perhaps even Jesus himself didn't believe the healing was possible either...

Although "personifying" the devil was a very workable technique throughout the entire film, dropping available details about tempting a starving savior to eat bread and omitting christ's excellent response left me disappointed.

Another valiant and worthy attempt, but again the novel was better 8)