- Jesus of Nazareth (miniseries)
Infobox Television Film
name = Jesus of Nazareth
image_size =
caption =Robert Powell as Jesus of Nazareth
format =Biographical film
director =Franco Zeffirelli
producer = Vincenzo Labella
writer =Anthony Burgess
Suso Cecchi d'AmicoFranco Zeffirelli
narrator =
starring =Robert Powell Anne Bancroft Ernest Borgnine
music =Maurice Jarre
cinematography =Armando Nannuzzi David Watkin
editing =Reginald Mills
distributor =ITC Entertainment
released =April 3 ,1977
runtime = 371 (UK: 2x 180mins)
country =Italy /U.K.
language = Assyrian Neo-Aramaic
English
budget = Estimates vary between $12 million to $18 million
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 26102
imdb_id = 0075520"Jesus of Nazareth" is a six-hour long Anglo-Italian
television miniseries of the birth, life, death, and resurrection ofJesus based on the accounts given in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.The movie was produced by
Lew Grade through hisITC Entertainment company, directed byFranco Zeffirelli , and written by Zeffirelli,Anthony Burgess and Suso Cecchi d'Amico, after Zeffirelli was approached byPope Paul VI to make a film about Christ."Jesus of Nazareth" premiered in 1977 on
Palm Sunday andEaster Sunday on the BritishITV network courtesy of ITC'sparent company ATV and continues to be broadcast every Easter andChristmas on theHistory Channel .For its fifth airing on US television at Easter 1987,
TV Guide called it "the best miniseries of all time" and "unparalleled television.".Newsweek writer Harry F. Waters remarked that:Rev. Patrick Sullivan of the U.S. Catholic Conference ("New Look at Jesus," April 4, 1977) was quoted as saying:
A review in Variety read:
The miniseries received two
Emmy nominations, neither of which it won. The big winner that year was the miniseries "Holocaust".Cast
Starring
*Robert Powell asJesus Guest Stars
*Anne Bancroft asMary Magdalene
*Ernest Borgnine as the Romancenturion
*Claudia Cardinale as the Adulteress
*Valentina Cortese asHerodias
*James Farentino as Peter
*James Earl Jones asBalthazar
*Stacy Keach asBarabbas
*Tony Lo Bianco as Quintillius
*James Mason asJoseph of Arimathea
*Ian McShane asJudas Iscariot
*Laurence Olivier asNicodemus
*Donald Pleasence asMelchior
*Christopher Plummer asHerod Antipas
*Anthony Quinn asCaiaphas
*Fernando Rey asGaspar
*Ralph Richardson asSimeon
*Rod Steiger asPontius Pilate
*Peter Ustinov asHerod the Great
*Michael York asJohn the Baptist and
*Olivia Hussey asMary, the mother of Jesus Also Starring
*Cyril Cusack as Yehuda
*Ian Holm as Zerah
*Yorgo Voyagis as JosephWith
*Ian Bannen as Amos
*Marina Berti as Elizabeth
*Regina Bianchi asSaint Anne
*Maria Carta asMartha
*Renato Rascel as The Blind Man
*Oliver Tobias as JoelCo-Starring
*Norman Bowler as Saturninus
*Robert Beatty as Proculus
*John Phillips as Naso
*Ken Jones as Jotham
*Nancy Nevinson as Abigail
*Renato Terra as Abel
*Roy Holder as Enoch
*Jonathan Adams as Adam
*Lorenzo Monet as Jesus as 12yrs old
*Robert Davey as Daniel
*Oliver Smith as Saul
*George Camiller as Hosias
*Murray Salem asSimon the Zealot
*Tony Vogel asSaint Andrew
*Michael Cronin as Eliphaz
*Steve Gardner asPhilip the Apostle
*Derek Godfrey as Elihu
*Renato Montalbano asJairus
*John Duttine asJohn the Apostle
*Michael Haughey as Nahum
*Keith Skinner as Obsessed Boy
*Cyril Shaps as Obsessed Boy's Father
*Jonathan Muller asJames, son of Zebedee
*John Tordoff as Malachi
*Bruce Lidington as Thomas
*Keith Washington asMatthew the Evangelist
*Mimmo Crao as Saint Jude Thaddeus
*John Eastham asBartholomew
*Sergio Nicolai asJames, son of Alphaeus
*Francis De Wolff asSimon the Pharisee
*Antonello Campodifiori as Ircanus
*Paul Curran as Samuel
*Tim Pearce as Rufus
*Mark Eden as Quartus
*Bruno Barnabe as Ezra
*Simon MacCorkindale as Lucius
*Forbes Collins as Jonas
*Lionel Guyett as Haggai
*Martin Benson as Pharisee
*Peter Harlowe as Valerius
*Carl Forgione as Plotinus
*Donald Sumpter as Aram
*Pino Colizzi as Jobab
*Harold Bennett as Elder
*Immad Cohen as Jesus as Toddler
*Robert Mallard asQuazra
*Andrew Manson as Zealot
*Isabel Mestres asSalome
*Christopher Reich asCircumcision -PriestRatings
*
Argentina - 13
*Australia - G - (Cut Version) M - (Original Uncut Version)
*West Germany - 12
*Singapore - PG
*USA - Not Rated
*UK - PGPortrayal of Jesus
Notably, Powell never
blink s during eye contact with others throughout the entire film, as didH.B. Warner in 1927's "The King of Kings ", andMax von Sydow in 1965's "The Greatest Story Ever Told ", giving his character a somewhat unearthly and transcendental air.See also
* "
Brother Sun, Sister Moon " (1972) by Franco ZeffirelliFurther reading
* "Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus: A Spiritual Diary" (1984, Harper & Row) by Franco Zeffirelli ISBN 0-06-069780-6, an account of the film from conception (and Zeffirelli's main motivation for making it - removing sole
responsibility for the death of Jesus from the Jews) to final edit, and audience reactions to it
* "Man of Nazareth : A Novel" (1979) byAnthony Burgess . Full-length novel based on his screenplay for the movie but containing much additional material.
* "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977, Collins) by William Barclay ISBN 0-00-250653-X, An adaptation of the screenplay, illustrated with color photos from the film.External links
*
* [http://www.excerptsofinri.com/jesus_of_nazareth.html webpages dedicated to the movie called "Jesus of Nazareth" by Franco Zeffirelli]
*" [http://artsandfaith.com/t100/2005/entry.php?film=40 Jesus of Nazareth] " at the [http://artsandfaith.com/top100/ Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films] list
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