In association with

The Greatest Story Ever Told [1965]
from MGM Entertainment
starring Max von Sydow, Dorothy McGuire, Charlton Heston, Michael Anderson Jr., Carroll Baker
directed by David Lean, George Stevens, Jean Negulesco

Features:

• Dubbed
• PAL
• Widescreen

Editorial Review:

The life of Christ got an excessively long treatment (260 minutes, later trimmed to 195) in this 1965 film directed by George Stevens (The Diary of Anne Frank). Max von Sydow does beautiful work as Jesus--his spontaneous mourning at discovering his friend Lazarus has died is not like anything in other New Testament epics--and Stevens renders the familiar tale with a handsome authenticity. But the project is nearly undone by an unwise gimmick in which seemingly half of Hollywood's living stars at the time make brief cameo appearances, some of which are ridiculous (who can forget the sight of John Wayne as a Roman Centurion solemnly intoning, "Truly he was the son of Gaaad"?). But there is a lot to like in the film, and Von Sydow's sensitive nobility sticks in the memory. --Tom Keogh

The life of Christ got an excessively long treatment (260 minutes, later trimmed to 195) in The Greatest Story Ever Told, the 1965 film directed by George Stevens. Max von Sydow does beautiful work as Jesus--his spontaneous mourning at discovering his friend Lazarus has died is not like anything in other New Testament epics--and Stevens renders the familiar tale with a handsome authenticity. But the project is nearly undone by an unwise gimmick in which seemingly half of Hollywood's living stars at the time make brief (often very brief) cameo appearances, some of which are ridiculous (who can forget the sight of John Wayne as a Roman Centurion solemnly intoning, "Truly he was the son of Gaaad"?). But there is a lot to like in the film, and Von Sydow's sensitive nobility sticks in the memory. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• Fantastic
  This is the best film about Jesus that I have ever watched.
  It will take you through a roller coaster of emotions as you watch it. The actor who plays Jesus is brilliant. In one scene where he is asked if he is really the son of god, Jesus replies 'I am HE!'. Simply great. Another great scene, and there are pleanty, is when he is in a church in Jerusuleam and stands up and starts teaching the others in the church about god. Everyone should seriously watch this film, you will enjoy it emensley.

• The most reverential of all of the movies about Jesus
  "The Greatest Story Ever Told" is certainly the most reverential treatment of the life of Jesus. The 1965 movie was based on the book by Fulton Oursler, which integrated the four Gospels into a single narrative. To appreciate this task just look at the different versions of what Jesus said on the cross according to each Gospel. Reconciling the various versions is not an easy task and while viewers may question some of the specific choices, the only really significant alteration is the death of Judas by... more info

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