This two-part mini-series covers the life of Jesus even before the beginning. It's long, but holds your interest to the end, and some passages are absolutely riveting, although there is no way that such a telling could avoid controversy.
It shows how powerful the story can be in the hands of gifted writers, Anthony Burgess among others, and an inspired director, Franco Zeffirelli.
With that said though, this is probably the least spectacular of the three big productions that tell the traditional life of Jesus; the others being Nicholas Ray's epic "King of Kings" and George Steven's measured "The Greatest Story Ever Told". "Jesus of Nazareth" is photographed in a no frills manner, and avoids conventional depictions of many of the events, especially the crucifixion.
Maurice Jarre's effective score has a crisp sound, halfway between the symphonic scores for "King of Kings" and "Greatest Story", and Peter Gabriel's new-age opus for "The Last Temptation of Christ".
The film has major stars in many of the roles big and small, as did Steven's "Greatest Story". Zeffirelli's film seems more successful in fitting the big names into their characters although Peter Ustinov was such a distinctive personality that his Herod seems rather tongue-in-cheek, even when he is ordering something as horrendous as the slaughter of the innocents.
However, Robert Powell's performance is fascinating. How does any actor interpret Jesus? There are no acknowledged physical descriptions of the historical Jesus so who is to say that he didn't have auburn hair and blue eyes? Unlikely of course, but beyond appearance, Powell and Zeffirelli saw him as an ethereal being, as though he is constantly aware of the fate that awaits him.
Most portrayals of Jesus tend to do that, and you could argue that it is too obvious an approach, but it probably captures the way his disciples and followers must have seen him - a unique man seemingly existing on a higher plane. Otherwise, why would they have followed him when it was so dangerous to do so?
Although some characters were invented for the purposes of the drama, I think the series as a whole presented the story of the Gospels in an honest and accessible way, but obviously made by a director with a deep faith.
Of course, it's such a powerful story with a massive influence on the history of mankind, that the door is always open for another interpretation.
It shows how powerful the story can be in the hands of gifted writers, Anthony Burgess among others, and an inspired director, Franco Zeffirelli.
With that said though, this is probably the least spectacular of the three big productions that tell the traditional life of Jesus; the others being Nicholas Ray's epic "King of Kings" and George Steven's measured "The Greatest Story Ever Told". "Jesus of Nazareth" is photographed in a no frills manner, and avoids conventional depictions of many of the events, especially the crucifixion.
Maurice Jarre's effective score has a crisp sound, halfway between the symphonic scores for "King of Kings" and "Greatest Story", and Peter Gabriel's new-age opus for "The Last Temptation of Christ".
The film has major stars in many of the roles big and small, as did Steven's "Greatest Story". Zeffirelli's film seems more successful in fitting the big names into their characters although Peter Ustinov was such a distinctive personality that his Herod seems rather tongue-in-cheek, even when he is ordering something as horrendous as the slaughter of the innocents.
However, Robert Powell's performance is fascinating. How does any actor interpret Jesus? There are no acknowledged physical descriptions of the historical Jesus so who is to say that he didn't have auburn hair and blue eyes? Unlikely of course, but beyond appearance, Powell and Zeffirelli saw him as an ethereal being, as though he is constantly aware of the fate that awaits him.
Most portrayals of Jesus tend to do that, and you could argue that it is too obvious an approach, but it probably captures the way his disciples and followers must have seen him - a unique man seemingly existing on a higher plane. Otherwise, why would they have followed him when it was so dangerous to do so?
Although some characters were invented for the purposes of the drama, I think the series as a whole presented the story of the Gospels in an honest and accessible way, but obviously made by a director with a deep faith.
Of course, it's such a powerful story with a massive influence on the history of mankind, that the door is always open for another interpretation.