This film probably really should have been called PAUL AND OCCASIONALLY PETER because it focuses more on Paul than Peter. This was first aired in 1981. Though not a great film by any means and, at times, uneven, it's still a good film, mostly because Anthony Hopkins superb performance as Saint Paul. Robert Foxworth mades a good, if not great, Peter. (My favorite portrayal of Peter is James Farentino in JESUS OF NAZARETH.) There are some really good supporting actors in it: Herbert Lom as Barnabas, John Rhys-Davis as Silas,David Gwillim as Mark and Jon Finch as Luke. Jose Ferrer, Raymond Burr, and Jean Peters appear in, more or less, cameos. Eddie Albert plays Roman Procurator Festus and he is nowhere near as good an actor as Hopkins. The costume designs and set designs were good. The makeup was quite good and this film won an Emmy for it. It is a long film, it was originally aired over two nights. Despite being long, I felt it was the right length for the story.
There are two things I wish were shown but weren't. One was baptism was a big part of the early church. That was and still is the initiation into most Christian churches, whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant. They have, at least, showed Paul being baptized, but they didn't. They also should have shown or, at least, mentioned the fire of Rome. The Romans persecuted the Christians because Nero used them as a scapegoat saying they started the fire to direct any criticism away from him. There was a rumor he started the fire.
Interesting tidbit. James Faulkner has a small role as one of the Jewish Christians who are critical of Paul preaching converting Gentiles. Faulkner would later go on to play Paul in the 2017 film PAUL, APOSTLE OF CHRIST.
There are two things I wish were shown but weren't. One was baptism was a big part of the early church. That was and still is the initiation into most Christian churches, whether Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant. They have, at least, showed Paul being baptized, but they didn't. They also should have shown or, at least, mentioned the fire of Rome. The Romans persecuted the Christians because Nero used them as a scapegoat saying they started the fire to direct any criticism away from him. There was a rumor he started the fire.
Interesting tidbit. James Faulkner has a small role as one of the Jewish Christians who are critical of Paul preaching converting Gentiles. Faulkner would later go on to play Paul in the 2017 film PAUL, APOSTLE OF CHRIST.