Jesus of Nazareth **** (1977, Robert Powell, Anne Bancroft, Ernest Borgnine, Claudia Cardinale, Stacy Keach, Peter Ustinov, Ian McShane, Michael York, Olivia Hussey, Rod Steiger) – Classic Movie Review 6,008

Franco Zeffirelli’s distinguished 1977 British-Italian religious drama film Jesus of Nazareth finds a perfect star in Robert Powell as Jesus, in this deservedly much acclaimed and widely shown, all-star biblical epic.

Director Franco Zeffirelli’s distinguished 1977 British-Italian television religious drama film Jesus of Nazareth [Gesù di Nazareth] finds a perfect star actor in Robert Powell, who is excellent as Jesus of Nazareth, in this deservedly much acclaimed and widely shown, all-star biblical epic.

It is made as a serial or miniseries for TV, either as five episodes or two parts, but is done on a grand scale with a real cinematic sweep and grandeur. It is a work of rare stature from the Lord Grade organisation ITC and from Italian TV RAI and American TV NBC, with a marvellous cast seen at around their best.

There is a fine literate and intelligent screenplay by Zeffirelli, Suso Cecchi d’Amico and Anthony Burgess, striking cinematography by David Watkin and Armando Nannuzzi, a notable score by Maurice Jarre, and a marvellous production designed by Gianni Quaranta.

The screenplay tells the story of Jesus’s birth, life, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection, and includes the miracles of Jesus’s healing of Jairus’s daughter, healing the centurion’s servant, the blind man and the crippled woman on the Sabbath, the feeding of the multitude, and the raising of Lazarus.

Zeffirelli handles it commandingly and sincerely, while on the performing front, there is real power from Anne Bancroft as Mary Magdalene, Stacy Keach as Barabbas, Peter Ustinov as Herod, Ian McShane as Judas, Michael York as John the Baptist, Olivia Hussey as the Virgin Mary and Rod Steiger as Pontius Pilate.

Running 382 minutes, this devout film represents a very considerable achievement.

It premiered on 27 March 1977 on the Italian channel Rai 1 in five weekly episodes.

The day the second episode was screened on Palm Sunday, 3 April 1977, Pope Paul VI  endorsed the series in his public address and recommended it to the faithful.

The drama was conceived when Lew Grade was received by the Pope, who congratulated him on making his 1974 TV film Moses the Lawgiver, and told him he hoped his next project would be about the life of Jesus. Grade dined with an RAI executive two weeks later, and told him he intended their companies to produce such a film.

It was shown in two parts by the ITV network in the UK and by NBC in the US, the first part on 3 April and the second on Easter, 10 April 1977. In the UK, it had an estimated 21 million viewers.

Producer Lew Grade’s wife Kathie Moody suggested casting Robert Powell after seeing him and his ‘wonderful blue eyes’ in the 1971 BBC TV serial Jude the Obscure. A dark blue eyeliner was applied to accentuate those blue eyes.

As instructed by Zeffirelli, Powell rarely blinks throughout the film, like H B Warner in 1927’s The King of Kings and Max von Sydow in 1965’s The Greatest Story Ever Told. 

Powell starved on a diet of only cheese for 12 days before shooting the crucifixion scene ‘in order to look worn’.

Principal photography took place in Morocco and Tunisia from September 1975 to May 1976. The standing sets were later used for the 1979 religious satire Monty Python’s Life of Brian.

It became a massive critical and commercial success as one of the most acclaimed films about Christ’s life. Despite its lavish budget, Lew Grade said it made a net profit of $30 million.

The cast are: Robert Powell, Anne Bancroft, Ernest Borgnine, Claudia Cardinale, Valentina Cortese, James Farentino, James Earl Jones, Stacy Keach, Tony Lo Bianco, James Mason, Ian McShane, Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Quinn, Fernando Rey, Ralph Richardson, Rod Steiger, Peter Ustinov, Michael York, Olivia Hussey, Cyril Cusack, Ian Holm, Ian Bannen, Oliver Tobias, Lee Montague, Norman Bowler, Robert Beatty, John Phillips, Roy Holder, John Duttine, Marina Berti, Yorgo Voyagis, Cyril Shaps, Derek Godfrey, Martin Benson, Francis de Wolff, Ken Jones and Simon MacCorkindale.

Robert Powell (born 1 June 1944) is best known for the title roles in Mahler (1974) and Jesus of Nazareth (1977), and as secret agent Richard Hannay in The Thirty Nine Steps (1978).

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 6,008

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