Jesus of Nazareth

Jesus of Nazareth, directed by Zino Zeffirelli ★★★★★
Of all the films on the life of Jesus Christ, this has to be not only the longest, running a good 6 hours, but also the best done, with superb acting and very expensive props. It is clear that an attempt for historical accuracy from a Biblical perspective was attempted, even though there is a moderate amount of directing freedom that has occurred. The film does have a touch of a Catholic “ring” to it, with Jesus running around as though he were a mythical character, but this film paints more humanity into Jesus than any of the other films available. Also, compared to the Jesus film, it is not so occupied with “in the face” emotionalism but attempts a review of Christ’s life more akin to what you might see on tv with investigational reporting. Thus, it ranks in my estimate as much better than the Jesus film. This is a must-see, long and demanding several nights to make it through the whole series, but is well worth it.