The Greatest Story Ever Told

Rating:
Summary: Ambitious but flawed
Review: Visually magnificent, George Stevens' epic retelling of the life of Christ has much to recommend it, particularly the performance of Max Von Sydow as Jesus, but it seems so much in awe of its subject that, though it succeeds in presenting Jesus as God, it fails in presenting Him as God in human form. Did Jesus really walk this Earth? He certainly did, but I doubt that the Jesus depicted here would have ever been put to death. It is entirely too obvious that He was the Son of God. Who would have doubted Him? "The Greatest Story Ever Told" reminds me of a stained glass window: It is truly beautiful to look at, yet it never succeeds in appearing three dimensional. The film's biggest handicap, however, is the endless parade of "guest stars" (especially such incongruous figures as John Wayne and Pat Boone) whose appearance cheapens the subject matter, putting it on a par with such all-star extravaganzas as "Airport" and "The Poseidon Adventure." The film is still very much worth seeing (probably more so in the widescreen edition), but falls far short of its intentions. Franco Zefferelli's "Jesus of Nazareth" is vastly superior.

Rating:
Summary: I love movies about Jesus
Review: Very thoughtful retelling of the great and true story of Jesus of Nazereth. I like Max Von Sydow in the role and loved Charlton Heston as John the Baptist, he was very entertaining!

Beautifully filmed and very pious movie. Check out my other Jesus movie reviews, I love religious movies.

Rating:
Summary: MY FAVORITE TREATMENT OF THE LIFE OF JESUS
Review: I prefer this movie to the garish, strident, and overdone Jesus of Nazareth precisely because of its understated and almost minimalist presentation. This is an admirable rarity in Old/New Testament films, many of which strain so much for the pretentious "Biblical" scope that they totally sacrifice their humanity.

One particular scene I found thoroughly original, even brilliant: Pilate's asking Jesus, "What is truth?" Here, Telly Savalas as Pilate delivers up the line rhetorically, not ranting like his counterpart in J of N.

The exchanges between the great Claude Rains (Herod) and the Magi are also excellent.

There is humor as well, such as Pilate and Herod Antippas sizing each other up; John the Baptist (Charlton Heston) dunking Herod's soldiers in the Jordan bidding them to "repent"; and several other instances.

The movie is filled with many, many likewise appealing vignettes. Not that The Greatest Story Ever Told has no flaws; there are quite a few. But it does hold up well after almost forty years.

This DVD includes fascinating behind-the-scenes features and interviews.

I highly recommend this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Under rated "Jesus Film"-
Review: "The Greatest Story Ever Told" is, in my opinion, one of the best, if not the best, Jesus films to come out of Hollywood. It may not be 100% accurate, but it certainly follows the Gospel story more closely than other films, such as "King of Kings".Max Von Sydow is very good as a quietly dignified Jesus of Nazareth, and Charlton Heston gives a great performance as John The Baptist. Indeed, Heston almost steals the show in the first half of the film. Telly Savalas is also very good,as a calculating and sinister Pontius Pilate.This film is often singled out for criticism by viewers and critics alike, due to all the cameos in the picture. And it does seem that every actor in Hollywood of this period appears in one role or another. But don`t let this ruin your enjoyment of the movie.The cameo thing was a common Hollywood ploy in epic, high budget films of the `60s. "How the West Was Won,"The Longest Day,"and certain other films of the time used the same gimmic, to draw in theater goers.Taken as a whole,'The Greastest Story Ever Told" is a very moving film on the life of Christ, with above average acting and a beautiful music score.Definately worth a look.

Rating:
Summary: one of the greatest movies ever made
Review: the greatest story ever told is certainly one of the greatest movies ever made. it is certainly my favourite film(along withking of kings, the 1961 version). but its a shame hollywood isn't really a Catholic cultural city, or this would've won best picture, best actor in a lead role(max von sydow) and best actor in a support role(charlton heston). max von sydow as Christ is brilliant. his sensitivity at Lazarus' death is a real great moment in movie making history. Also, Heston gives the most powerful and best performance of john the baptist ever. not only were the performances spectacular, but also the music. the Via Dolorosa scene, is definitely a great moment in moviemaking history, but also, the scene showing bar armand(van heflin)the cripple made well(sal mineo) and old aram(ed wynn) proclaiming the news that Jesus resurrected Lazarus is an all time classic and is the best moment of the film. the song "alleluia" i beleive should've atleast been nominated for best song.

this is one of the true classics, which is true to the Bible, and is highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: one 'saving' grace
Review: this film has an absolutely beautiful, poignant performance from max von sydow as christ.
now, that aside...
goerge stevens made innumarable,laughable blunders.
the first is his decision to film in the grand canyon(?!?).
the second, the elephantine length.
the last and most laughable is to see kojak as pilate (thank god he left his sucker at home), chuck heston as the baptist (and thank god he left his guns at home), and john wayne looking in to merely say in his 'duke' voice, 'surely this was the son of god' (thank god he didn't say 'pilgrim' at the end of it).
the hollywood cameos are too numerable to count, but good luck in finding any reason, other than sydow's performance, to sit through this.

Rating:
Summary: A huge sprawling Biblical epic
Review: The Greatest Story Ever Told is a huge epic movie that boasts an impressive cast full of Hollywood notables. The movie follows the life of Jesus from his birth in a stable in Bethlehem to his teachings with his disciples all the way to his crucifixion and Resurrection. Because the film is so huge, many parts of the life of Jesus are just skipped over and talked about later by characters who saw it happen or heard about it. This is surprisingly effective to show how quickly Jesus' notoriety spread throughout the area. There are several very good scenes done with no sound except for Alfred Newman's fantastic score even though we know people in the background are screaming at Jesus as he walks by carrying the cross. One particularly effective scene involves Simon of Cyrene, played by Simon Poitier, helping Jesus carry the cross after he has fallen. As Jesus gets up, he grabs onto Simon's arm who helps him go on. It is a very short scene, but nonetheless very moving.

The cast for this movie could go on for pages. Max von Sydow gives an excellent performance as Jesus Christ, although he might not look like the usually accepted idea of Jesus. Charlton Heston and Telly Savalas also give very good performances as John the Baptist and Pontius Pilate. The film also stars David McCallum as Judas, Jose Ferrer as Herod Antipas, Dorothy McGuire as Mary, Martin Landau as Ciaphias, Donald Pleasence as Satan(although he is credited as the Dark Hermit), and many others. The film also stars Michael Anderson JR, Roddy McDowall, Victor Buono, Ed Wynn, Sal Mineo, Ina Balin, Carroll Baker, Van Heflin, Jamie Farr, and so many more. There are several very small cameos most notably John Wayne, Shelley Winters, Sidney Poitier, and Claude Rains all of which are pretty good for how small they are. The Special Edition DVD offers the widescreen presentation, theatrical trailer, making of documentary, an altered scene during the crucifixion scene, still gallery, and a filmmaker's documentary. For an excellent look at the life of Jesus, if somewhat sanitized, check out The Greatest Story Ever Told!

Rating:
Summary: I have orders to bring you to God, heathen.
Review: Notorious for Charlton Heston and John Wayne, The Greatest Story gets unfair treatment due to several items that could be improved: Length:Look at "Gone with the Wind", "The Great Escape", "The Ten Commandments". Epic movies are supposed to be long. Of course some more dramtic action could have helped.

Actors: Most of the actors are great in their roles: Claude Rains, Jose Ferrer, Dorthy McGuire, Sidney Poiter, Roddy McDowell and of course, Charlton Heston as John the Baptist. On the other hand, some are a stretch, and then there's John Wayne.

Scenery: Beatiful scenery. Why be upset that it isn't the war torn Holy land? However, just because John Wayne is in it, doesn't mean parts of it had to be shot in John Ford's Monument Valley.

Jesus: Played with reverance by Max Van Sydow who could use contacts, long dyed dark hair, and a tan to fit the ethnic.

Music: Alfred Newman's score is great. I love Handel's Messiah, but Stevens got a little carried away with it.

Over all, a great movie with a lot of sincerity whose weakness are its strengths. The DVD contains some nice extras, a good documentary, and then a bad documentary that is a [spin] off of the first one. The producers should be crucified for not showing the deleted scenes cut from the movie, about an hour's worth.

Rating:
Summary: Jesus Christ Never Existed.
Review: 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' is a famous film that a number of people know about or have seen. Most people fail to realize all of that doesn't matter because Jesus Christ never existed!! Jesus Chirst is a mythological figure the chruch has exploited for hundreds of years and now the film industry has for almost a hundred years. There is absolutely no archeological or historical evidence that he existed. Even if he did exist, it would be highly unlikely he would have received that kind of punishment.
It is a shame that a con artists like these filmmakers are using this mythological figure to make millions of dollars. People have to start swaying away from the chruch and its manipulations and start looking at the hard facts. Jesus Christ and the crucifixion never happened.

Rating:
Summary: The Longest Story Ever Told
Review: Having seen this movie twice now on TCM (in widescreen, no less), I still found my attention wandering away from the characters and towards the magnificent scenery. George Stevens last film was considered the biggest box office flop in Hollywood history until "Heaven's Gate" came out in 1980.

And no wonder, while Max Von Sydow is fine as Jesus of Nazareth, the supporting cast and cameo appearences run the gamut from inspired (Ed Wynn as an blind old man) to the insane (John Wayne as a thoughtful Roman centurian).

At times, this film seems more like a stylized retelling, rather than a faithful account. Take for example the scene of Jesus riding into Jeruselam on a donkey. Notice how nearly everyone is wearing spotless white garments. I guess the laundromat was just off camera.

But the major problem is the elephant-walk pacing of the film. It simply takes way too long to tell it's story, despite how great it is.

However, if there is a standout, it's the incredable scenery shot in perfect color hues and tones. What's even more inspired is that the film was shot on location in the American southwest. The mountains in the backgroud actually augment the "more than human" atmosphere that is the life of Jesus.

So, while it takes forever to get there, we at least get to take the scenic route.