Son of God (2014)

The life story of Jesus is told from his humble birth through his teachings, crucifixion and ultimate resurrection.

Director:

Christopher Spencer

Writers:

Richard Bedser, Christopher Spencer

Stars:

Diogo Morgado, Amber Rose Revah, Greg Hicks

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Diogo Morgado	...	Jesus
Greg Hicks	...	Pilate
Adrian Schiller	...	Caiaphas
Darwin Shaw	...	Peter
Sebastian Knapp	...	John
Joe Wredden	...	Judas
Simon Kunz	...	Nicodemus
Paul Marc Davis	...	Simon the Pharisee
Matthew Gravelle	...	Thomas
Amber Rose Revah	...	Mary Magdalene
Roma Downey	...	Mary, Mother of Jesus
Paul Knops	...	Adam
Darcie Lincoln	...	Eve (as Darcie)
David Rintoul	...	Noah
Gary Oliver	...	Abraham

Storyline

The life story of Jesus is told from his humble birth through his teachings, crucifixion and ultimate resurrection.

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Plot Keywords:

resurrection | reference to god | loincloth | male protagonist | mother son relationship | 

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Taglines:

Their Empire. His Kingdom.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense and bloody depiction of The Crucifixion, and for some sequences of violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Twitter

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hebrew

Release Date:

28 February 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hijo de Dios

Filming Locations:

Morocco

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$25,601,865, 2 March 2014

Gross USA:

$59,700,064

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$67,800,064

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hearst Entertainment Productions, LightWorkers Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min 170 min (Extended Version)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie is made of episodes of the mini-series The Bible (2013).

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Goofs

When Jesus is in the Synagogue Friday night, the cantor is chanting the contemporary Friday night prayer, "Lecha Dodi." This prayer was composed in the 16th century by Rabbi Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz, some 1500 years after Jesus's time.

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Quotes

Peter: What are we going to do, then?
Jesus: We are going to change the world...

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits, clips from the movie and the television series "The Bible" are shown.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Lena Dunham/The National (2014)

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Soundtracks

Mary, Did You Know?
Written by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene
Performed by CeeLo Green
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp./Warner Music UK Ltd.
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV licensing

User Reviews

Hollywood's Risk: a year of bible movies

Big, daring movies with Russell Crowe's Noah, Brad Pitt's Pilate and Christian Bale's Exodus are all a part of Hollywood's year of the Bible. Risk is at the heart of great story--especially this, the "greatest story ever told."

Every Jesus film will have faithless critics that caricature the movie. Every Jesus film will have some of "the faithful" bickering over whatever artistic license filmmakers employ.

So, is Son of God worth the risk? Financially, Hollywood will likely say yes. The buzz for Son of God is big. Perhaps it will match viewership with The Bible miniseries that the movie is derived from.

But is the Son of God worth a trip to the cinema? It depends on perspective.

The dramatic introduction, as with the rest of the story, is narrated by John--Jesus' closest friend and disciple. Seeing everything from the garden to the promised land in a minute is dazzling. We have The Bible miniseries to thank for this.

Some blame the miniseries adaptation for disjointed early parts of the movie. I actually found it unified and quick-paced in the scripting…though not in the editing. Dramatic pauses between lines could have been cut throughout. However, the miracles, teachings and confrontations with pharisees, political revolutionaries and Roman forces are woven tightly. Nicodemus (and Matthew) gave dimension to the pharisees. Unfortunately the Barabbas, Malchus and Pilate characters lack depth.

Nearing the crucifixion, the tension ramps well. There was a poignant contrast of prayers by Roman rulers, the Jewish High Priest and Jesus. The whipping and journey to Golgotha was less intense than Gibson's Passion of the Christ. Still, I noticed several weeping in the theater.

After Jesus' last words, "Go into all the world and preach the good news..." Peter gives what I took as the point of this film, "My brothers…my sisters, we have work to do."

For people of faith, I believe we should work to extend grace toward filmmakers, understanding their humanity and forgiving whatever errors we perceive. Major motion pictures about faith stories will be blessings--not perfect miracles.

For filmmakers who are eying this type of production, I'd say there is much more work needed to create authentic stories that will resonate with this audience's sensibilities.

For this year of the Bible to be worth the risk, and go beyond 2014, filmmakers and the faith community alike will need to work out differences in artistry and theology to make successful films that will endure.