Drama or comedy, religious or political allusions, the movies about Jesus Christ have given different testimony over the years of his life, the reasons of sacrifice… If some of the directors have tried to follow as closely the Savior image after evangelical point, others radically reinterpreted it, adapting the message as is often seen today.
10. Jesus Christ Superstar
Written and directed by Norman Jewison, this multiethnic version of the story of Jesus turns into a show due to the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber rock’roll and of the text writer Tim Rice. “Jesus Christ Superstar” is a rock opera from 1973 is performed by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. The album is a musical dramatization of the last week of the life of Jesus Christ, from entry into Jerusalem until the crucifixion. However, the initial production was censored by the BBC. The two producers are based on the four gospels and Fulton J. Sheen’s book, “The Life of Christ” being analyzed, especially the relationship between the main characters, Jesus, Judas and Mary Magdalene.
09. The Miracle Maker
“The Miracle Maker”, directed by Derek W. Hayes (2000) is a 3D animation that summarizes the story of Jesus. It’s a beautiful movie for children, with great special effects; the director intent is educational rather than aesthetics. The Christ’s vocie is assured by Ralph Fiennes, Michael Briyan is the voice of God, and William Hurt interprets that of Jairus.
08. Godspell
David Greene’s movie, “Godspell” is a musical that brings the “Gospel of Matthew” in contemporary pop-art, placing it on Jesus and the apostles to do in New York today. In the movie, John the Baptist gathers a bunch of young disciples, whom calls to follow Jesus. The song “Day By Day” is launched with this movie. The action is set in the ’70s, where the gospel choir of the church where St. Matthew recover, as a show of Jesus’ life.
07. Color of the Cross
More litigious than all the other productions in one place, Jean-Claude La Marre’s movie caused huge controversy. The Color of the Cross Bible character is represented as a black man and which is subject to persecution because of race arising. Marre is the first director that is showing this bold imaging theory. Although the route diverts political message, the movie is not impertinent to the Bible. The story is the same, the movie narrating the last two days of Jesus.
06. The Passion of the Christ
At least controversial, the movie “The Passion of the Christ” directed by Mel Gibson (2004) was banned for children under 14 years, being accused of excessive violence. Gibson manages to capture the very bloody vision of Jesus’ life, illustrating his pain intensity. The director manages to highlight both the human and the divine Saviour.
05. The Last Temptation of Christ
For his movie in 1988, the director Martin Scorsese was accused of blasphemy. The Last Temptation of Christ is a modern interpretation of the New Testament, screening after the book of Nikos Kazantzakis. In the hallucinations of crucifixion, God’s son sees his other life, of simple man. He married with Mary Magdalene having children – the last temptation is here the human.
04. The Greatest Story Ever Told
With a larger budget, the director George Stevens in 1965 made the most expensive movie until then, worth $20 million. Unexpectedly, “The Greatest Story Ever Told” was not a success for spectators and briefly discouraged the screenings of Bible. The film tells the story of Jesus from birth to resurrection, Jesus’ role was played by Max von Sidow.
03. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
William Wyler’s movie presents a collateral history, a representation of “deviant” about the life of Christ. Produced in 1959, “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ”, the movie is consumed between Judea and Rome, and moments interfere with the destinies of the protagonists, leading them to a “happy ending”. It is interesting to note that Jesus’s face is depicted, but only sees her reflection in awe of others, a trick which the director seeks to avoid the risk of assigning to Saviour a look less authentic.
02. Jesus of Nazareth
Designed in 1977 by Franco Zeffirelli, Jesus of Nazareth is the most famous and longest biblical movie ever told. The movie, impeccably made, presents the biblical drama and broad the evocation of life and suffering of Jesus Christ, from birth to the crucifixion. Zeffirelli emphasizes the human side of Christ. Moreover, the lead actor Robert Powell played the title brings the best interpreter of Jesus.
01. The Gospel According to St. Matthew
Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo is one of the most popular movies about Jesus Christ. Directed in 1965 by Italian Pier Paolo Pasolini – paradoxically, the director said he was an atheist – the movie is still considered a masterpiece of cinema. Pasolini focuses on Jesus’ mission to fight with evil, depicting the Savior disturbingly tragic figure. Apostles are portrayed as mere fishermen – with direct reference to poor peasants in southern Italy, and Romans remember the fascists. The Sermon on the Mount has remained in film history as a moral and semiotic gem of cinematic language.
