Originally Posted by eric scott richard
Speaking of religious films, Jesus of Nazareth is a film masterpiece. Truly a work of art. For my money, no other film about the life of Christ comes close to it. You really feel as if you are walking alongside Jesus. Even though it was a television production (with a few theatrical showings in Europe) it is masterfully shot, expertly written, and magnificently acted. The music is breathtaking and the 6 hour running time flies by.
It is indeed. The only thing I would say that is a minor - very minor - criticism is that Powell is almost too somber as Christ. I think Gibson/Caviezel really nailed the idea of Christ's benevolence in the flashback scenes in The Passion of the Christ and in a perfect world I wished Jesus of Nazareth had a bit of that.
Of course, one thing all Biblical epics do that isn't truly scriptural is make the adulteress woman Mary Magdalene, but that's more a fault with traditional passion plays than the filmmakers.