Fresh
The prophets should speak with respect of this $20 million Biblical epic.
Variety Staff, Variety
The Greatest Story Ever Told
Only once in a lifetime... an entertainment so rich... an experience so rewarding...
1965 · 3h 19m · G
Drama, History
Directed by
George Stevens
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The Greatest Story Ever Told
Overview
From his birth in Bethlehem to his death and eventual resurrection, the life of Jesus Christ is given the all-star treatment in this epic retelling. Major aspects of Christ's life are touched upon, including the execution of all the newborn males in Egypt by King Herod; Christ's baptism by John the Baptist; and the betrayal by Judas after the Last Supper that eventually leads to Christ's crucifixion and miraculous return.
Director and cast
- George Stevens Director
- Max von Sydow as Jesus
- Michael Anderson Jr. as James the Younger
- Carroll Baker as Veronica
- Ina Balin as Martha of Bethany
- Victor Buono as Sorak
- Richard Conte as Barabbas
- Joanna Dunham as Mary Magdalene
- José Ferrer as Herod Antipas
- Van Heflin as Bar Amand
- Charlton Heston as John the Baptist
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
43%
Tomatometer
Rotten
By reputation, the results are so dull and so consistently undercut by a succession of star cameos that no one seems to mind the various shorter versions released since them, one of them less than half as long.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Fresh
Mr. Stevens has done it in a generous and often stunning style. And the quality of his reverence should captivate the piously devout.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Rotten
Interminable and intolerably reverential.
Time Out
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