The Gospel Road: A Story of Jesus

I was surprised to find out how old this film was (came out in 1973) at the time I first watched it with my next-door neighbor (either in October or November of 2014) who checked it out of the library.

Since both Johnny Cash and his wife, June, have been gone for several years, I knew that it wasn't made all that recently, but I was thinking that it was made sometime in the time period of the mid 1980s to sometime early in the 21st Century.

Anyway, I found it to be so moving that I would like to buy my own personal copy of it as soon as I'm able to afford to do so.

This movie makes Jesus very real instead of portraying Him as some kind of one or two dimension paper doll acting out living like a human being without really being one.

This was a blond-haired and blue-eyed Jesus, but that didn't take away from His real-ness, because His actions were so genuine (for example, how He related to kids -- like a little boy in a man's body in some ways while still playing a guiding role to them).

Jesus knew that, more likely than not (by some slim chance that the cup that He was to bear got removed from the direction of His life), He wouldn't live long enough to grow His first gray hair and that how He would die would be horrible, so He put as much life as He could into a short period of time.

I won't spoil it for you by telling you how, but I'm going to say that the message that Jesus died for people who hadn't even been born yet was presented in such a way that -- even as I sit here now -- I can feel goosebumps being raised on me.

I played the role of Andrew the Apostle in this movie. I'd just like to say how amazing Johnny Cash was as the producer, and often times the director. Bob Elfrstrom played Jesus, and also directed, but mostly Johnny gave us direction in each scene.

We, the ones acting as the Apostles, walked behind Bob, our Jesus, in Jericho, and in every shot that Johnny and Bob found for us. June Carter was there as Johnny's confident and constant companion

I know many critics hated this movie. They didn't like Johnny's pick for Jesus, they thought our Judas was too type cast. But had they been there, they would have seen Johnny's amazing passion and his kindness.

We actors worked 12 hours a day on the set. We helped carry props, we helped push trucks out of the sand and set up scenes. And Johnny took care of us. He invited us to Thanksgiving dinner, and to a final wrap up party in Tiberias. At the end, I think the bad acting is our fault, but none of us were actors. We were a bunch of travelers he found in Jerusalem, and he made it work.

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In all of the films I have seen, this has to be the single most beautiful rendition of the story of Jesus I have ever witnessed. If you can look past the bad wardrobe, effects and the Scandinavian Jesus, you will see a portrait of a man sent straight from heaven to give life to a fallen world. The music is touching, the narration is humble and moving, and the old King James translation of the Bible comes to life in the land of Israel.

Modern audiences might not be able to see the wonder of the story in such a low-budget rendering, but again I'd encourage anyone, believers and atheists, to watch it with a child's eyes. If a person can suspend his or her disbelief for a while, I think this movie has the power to change a person's life.

This is an entertaining look at the Gospel as presented by Johnny Cash (adorned in black, of course) who sings a lot and narrates a bit also. If you like Johnny Cash, this film is quite enjoyable. Also note the blonde depiction of Jesus in this work...just for fun, try to think of five Jewish men who have blonde hair...? Anyway, its a fun presentation of the greatest and most important story of all.

Simplistic look at the coming of the Messiah put to song and music by Cash, Carter, and Kristofferson. I liked the use of the original area in the Mideast for filming but couldn't they have found a more Jewish looking man to portray Christ? Near the end of the picture the cross scene leapt from Calvary to a modern city which was a nice touch depicting Christ's message moving through time giving all a chance at salvation. Obviously not a large budget production: unknown actors, very few money changers to be run off in the temple and even fewer wares to be thrown around, and hardly anyone showed up for the crucifixion. Even so Cash did manage to put forth the promise of salvation through Christ in an easily comprehensible manner.