If you ignore The Life of Brian and Jesus Christ Superstar, then The Greatest Story of All Time in terms of production and cast is probably one of them one of the most unusual Jesus film adaptations. Despite being a cinema flop, the three-hour epic also made it into our top 7 best Bible films.
In keeping with the upcoming Easter, there has been one since March 14, 2024 new collector’s edition in limited quantities on Amazon *. The media book includes two Blu-rays and an additional DVD with the film. Bonus material includes a 24-page booklet, the featurettes “He Walks in Beauty” and “The Makers of the Film” as well as an alternative scene.
The Greatest Story of All Time (Limited Collector’s Edition)
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Epic Bible Movie: The Greatest Story of All Time
Like many film adaptations of its kind, The Greatest Story of All Time from 1965 by giant director George Stevens tells the life and suffering of Jesus from his birth under poor circumstances, through his apprenticeship, to the crucifixion and resurrection. The epic adaptation of this Bible story is considered reverent, artistically sensitive and admirably reserved.
The film features Max von Sydow as Jesus in his first Hollywood role with many other stars including Charlton Heston as John the Baptist or John Wayne as a Roman centurion and Telly Savalas as Pontius Pilate. Some scenes of the monumental film, which was nominated for five Oscars but ultimately came up empty, were also directed by legendary director David Lean.
Our top list of Bible films linked at the beginning states that The Greatest Story of All Time uses the concept “Hollywood is making a “Jesus film” reduced to absurdity and is therefore a curiosity. This is mainly due to the many cameos from numerous stars from back then, “who look nothing like residents of the Holy Land“, but there is also “brilliant individual moments“, including “sublime landscape shots that would also suit a western“.
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