After the four Gospels, if one text is more influential than any other in the tone of Jesus of Nazareth, it might be the Vatican II declaration on the Church in. Jesus-of-Nazareth-movie-690x450.jpg' alt='Jesus Of Nazareth Movie' title='Jesus Of Nazareth Movie' />Jesus of Nazareth miniseries Wikipedia. Jesus of Nazareth Italian Ges di Nazareth is a 1. British Italian television miniseries directed by Franco Zeffirelli and co written by Zeffirelli, Anthony Burgess, and Suso Cecchi dAmico which dramatises the birth, life, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. It stars Robert Powell as Jesus. His extraordinary acting was highly praised by critics. The miniseries features an all star cast of famous American and European actors, including eight Academy Award winners Anne Bancroft, Ernest Borgnine, Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer subsequent winner, Anthony Quinn, Rod Steiger, James Earl Jones subsequent honorary Academy Award winner, and Peter Ustinov. Jesus of Nazareth Videos. Movie Info. Because director Franco Zeffirelli noted publicly that he intended to depict Jesus Christ as a human being rather than a religious icon, his expensive madeforTV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth fell victim to protestors long before its April 3, 1977, debut. Extra biblical traditions were used in the writing of the screenplay and some characters such as Zerah and situations were invented for the film for brevity or dramatic purposes. Notably, Jesus of Nazareth depicts Judas Iscariot as a well intentioned man initially, but later as a dupe of Zerah who betrays Jesus largely as a result of Zerahs false platitudes and pretexts. However, in accordance with the Gospels, the film depicts Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea as sympathetic members of the Sanhedrin. Many of the miracles of Jesus, such as the changing of water into wine at the wedding at Cana, the transfiguration, and the calming of the storm are not depicted, although Jesus healing the blind man and the crippled woman on Sabbath, the feeding of the multitude, and the raising of Lazarus from the dead are presented here. Jesus of Nazareth premiered on the Italian channel Rai 1 on 2. March 1. 97. 7 and was first aired in the United Kingdom on the ITV Network on 3 April 1. It is generally highly praised. Plot summaryeditThe storyline of Jesus of Nazareth is a kind of cinematic Diatessaron, or Gospel harmony, blending the narratives of all four New Testament accounts. It takes a fairly naturalistic approach, de emphasising special effects when miracles are depicted and presenting Jesus as more or less evenly divine and human. Remove Logo Now 1.5. The familiar Christian episodes are presented chronologically the betrothal, and later marriage, of Mary and Joseph the Annunciation the Visitation the circumcision of John the Baptist the Nativity of Jesus the visit of the Magi the circumcision of Jesus the Census of Quirinius the flight into Egypt and Massacre of the Innocents the Finding in the Temple the Baptism of Jesus the woman caught in adultery Jesus helping Peter catch the fish the Parable of the Prodigal Son Luke 1. Jesus and Barabbas non biblical Matthews dinner party the Sermon on the Mount debating with Joseph of Arimathea the curing of the blind man at the pool the Raising of Lazarus John 1. Feeding of the Five Thousand the Entry into Jerusalem Jesus and the money changers dialogue with Nicodemus the Last Supper the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Peter denying Christ and repenting of it the judgment of Jesus by Pilate Ecce Homo the Johannine Passion Narrative John 1. Agony in the Garden the Carrying of the Cross the Crucifixion of Christ Laurence Oliviers Nicodemus recites the Suffering Servant passage Isaiah 5. Messiah the discovery of the empty tomb and an appearance of the Risen Christ to his Disciples. Full Version Games For Pc Offline more. The films storyline concludes with the non Biblical character Zerah and his colleagues gazing despairingly into the empty tomb. Zerah laments Now it begins. It all begins. Starring. Guest Stars. And. Also Starring. With. Co Starring. ProductioneditThe miniseries was conceived when Lew Grade was received by Pope Paul VI, who congratulated him on the making of Moses the Lawgiver 1. Burt Lancaster and which was produced by Grades ITC Entertainment and the Italian television network RAI. At the end of the interview, the Pope told him he hoped his next project would be about the life of Jesus. Two weeks later, while dining with an RAI executive, Grade told him he intended their companies to prepare such a film. The role of director was offered to Franco Zeffirelli a religious Roman Catholic who knew the Pontiff from his days as the Archbishop of Milan, when he often visited Zeffirellis school on the Popes initiative, who insisted that either he would make Jesus of Nazareth or no one else. The director rejected the proposal at first, but Grade finally convinced him to agree 3 he accepted the job shortly before Christmas 1. Scriptwriter Anthony Burgess later recounted the launching of the project in an essay entitled Telejesus or Mediachrist The notion of making a six hour television film on the life of Jesus Christ was proposed by an enobled British Jew, with the golden blessing of an American automobile corporation. The project struck some as blasphemous, others as ecumenical. Lord Grade, who was then Sir Lew Grade, presided over a massive press conference in the Holy City, Rome, and said all that was available to be said namely, that there would be this film, that Zeffirelli would direct it, and that Burgess would write it. Fired by this announcement, the Romans laid on a great, as it were, First Supper, which the Chief Rabbi of Rome attended, as well as various cricket playing British ecclesiastics. Sir Lew Grade was made a Cavaliere of the Republic. The Pope was noticeably absent. Both Grade and Zeffirelli insisted their adaptation of Jesus life should be ecumenical, coherent, even to non believers, and acceptable to all denominations. To ensure the films accuracy, the producers consulted experts from the Vatican, the Leo Baeck Rabbinical College of London, and the Koranic School at Meknes, Morocco. However, when Zeffirelli asked Rabbi Albert Friedlander to help him create Jesus Bar Mitzvah scene, the latter replied that such ceremonies were practiced only from the 1. The director, however, insisted on including it, and Friedlander tried to teach child actor Lorenzo Monet to read a short portion of the Pentateuch in Hebrew. Monet, however, mumbled it and the director was not satisfied in the film, boy Jesus reads mostly in English. Principal photography was carried out in Morocco and Tunisia from September 1. May 1. 97. 6. The synagogue scenes were shot with extras from the Jewish community in the island of Djerba. The city of Monastir served as 1st Century Jerusalem. Ernest Borgnine, who portrayed Cornelius the Centurion, recalled that since regulations required hiring local extrasmost with poor Englishfor many of the smaller roles, they had to be dubbed. Zeffirelli decided to avoid recording sound altogether in many parts, and simply send the principal actors to dub their own characters in the studio later. The standing sets of the film were later used by the British comedy troupe Monty Python for their religious satire Life of Brian 1. There are various reports regarding the size of the miniseries budget Presbyterian Survey stated it was 1. The Listener cited the figure of 9 million1. Third Way stated it cost 1. Other sources give the sum of 1. In his autobiography, Lew Grade wrote that in the final accounting, Jesus of Nazareth took 4. Powells portrayal of JesuseditThe producers at first considered choosing a well known star, who would draw a large audience, for the role of Christ. The first actor thought of was Dustin Hoffman, and Al Pacino was also a candidate.