Jesus of Nazareth (film)

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Movie
German title Jesus of Nazareth
Original title Gesù di Nazareth
Country of production United Kingdom , Italy
original language English
Publishing year 1977
length 360 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Franco Zeffirelli
script Anthony Burgess
Suso Cecchi D'Amico
Franco Zeffirelli
production Vincenzo Labella
music Maurice Jarre
camera Armando Nannuzzi
David Watkin
cut Reginald Mills
occupation

Jesus of Nazareth is a Bible adaptation by the Italian director Franco Zeffirelli from 1977. He filmed the life and suffering of Jesus in collaboration with the British television producer Sir Lew Grade .

action

The film tells of the birth, life and work and the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. It is essentially based on the Gospels of Luke and John , but also contains fictional scenes. The television production is divided into four parts:

  • Part 1: Birth and Youth
  • Part 2: miracles and signs
  • Part 3: Entry into Jerusalem
  • Part 4: Death and Resurrection

The original version of the film, in English, is divided into three parts of around 90 minutes and one part of around 105 minutes. The German version is slightly shortened compared to the original version: each part takes just under 90 minutes.

production

The film was shot in Morocco and Tunisia . The film was produced by British ITC Entertainment and the Italian broadcaster RAI . With a total length of over six hours, Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth is one of the longest Bible films.

All parts of the film are broadcast regularly on Bible TV .

Reviews

“The biblical material was staged with noticeable respect, but ultimately suffers from the lack of spiritual and spiritual immersion. Beautiful stars and show arrangements dominate, edginess takes precedence over salutary disquiet. Nonetheless, on the whole a remarkable film. "

- Lexicon of international film

"Elaborate staging of the life of Jesus, which largely adheres to the Gospels and shows not only beautiful pictures but also respect for the biblical material."

- DVD & Video market

“Above all, the film demands a lot of patience from the viewer. But if you get involved, it is well worth the effort: The work of Jesus is presented in great detail and the connection with the Holy Scriptures and the political currents of the time is very carefully established. All important people have extensive and usually very lively dialogues, which characterizes them more precisely than in most other Jesus films and as a viewer you also understand better how people thought back then, what expectations and fears they had - and why they followed Jesus or even fought. "

- Peplumania.com

controversy

Even before it was published, the production was attacked by Protestant fundamentalists . One of the spokesmen was Bob Jones III , President of Bob Jones University in South Carolina . Zeffirelli said in an interview with Modern Screen that the film portrays Jesus as a simple and normal person. Jones sensed an interpretation that questioned Jesus' divinity, which he had according to the Christian faith. Without having seen the film, Jones denounced it as blasphemy. Followers sent 18,000 letters to General Motors , which had contributed $ 3 million to the film. GM then withdrew from sponsorship. Even Procter and Gamble were involved with a million dollars on the film.

Casting backgrounds

  • Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman were also in discussion for the role of Jesus .
  • Zeffirelli initially wanted Elizabeth Taylor in the role of Mary Magdalene. But Taylor fell ill, the part went to Anne Bancroft, who waived part of her fee.
  • Pontius Pilate should have played Marcello Mastroianni at first , but Mastroianni found the offered fee of 30,000 dollars to be too low; Rod Steiger was signed.
  • The role of Mary should have been divided up first; Zeffirelli wanted an unknown Moroccan girl in the role of the young Maria and Irene Papas in the role of the old Mother of God . Before Olivia Hussey actually got the role, the French Maria Schneider was also in discussion, who declined the role offer. When the film later became a success, Schneider regretted the decision.

background

Awards

Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth was awarded the Nastro d'Argento ( Silver Ribbon ) in three categories by the National Association of Italian Film Journalists . In addition, the production was nominated for the most important British film and television award BAFTA in five categories, and for the most important US television award Emmy in two categories.

Nastro d'Argento 1978

  • Best equipment
  • Best camera
  • Best costumes

British Academy Film Award 1978, nominated in the categories:

  • Best Television Actor (Robert Powell)
  • Best television script
  • Best camera - television
  • Best editing - television
  • Best tone

Emmy 1978, nominated in the categories:

  • Best drama / comedy
  • Best Supporting Actor - Comedy / Drama (James Farentino)

synchronization

DVD release

The film has been available on DVD since 2004. In this first DVD version, all parts were presented as they were shown on German television. The corresponding cut scenes are listed as extras in this version.

In 2012 Jesus of Nazareth was republished with digitally processed images and sound as well as a new design of the DVD slipcase. This version is advertised as an uncut version because the cut scenes are now part of the films. These scenes were not dubbed, but provided with German subtitles. However, for reasons not mentioned, one and a half scenes with a length of about seven minutes were cut in this version of the miniseries in the fourth part, which had been part of the German version since 1977 and therefore also dubbed. On the one hand, there is the scene in which Zerah can persuade Judas to hand Jesus over to the council. On the other hand, the first half of the Last Supper is missing in this version of the film, in which Jesus makes Peter aware of his denial and in which Jesus and Judas dips bread in the same bowl.

In 2018, the German director Michael David Pate published a version shortened to two hours and edited in terms of color in 16: 9 image format, which does not contain the framework story.

See also

literature

  • William Barclay : Jesus of Nazareth. Based on the film by Lew Grade directed by Franco Zeffirelli and the script by Anthony Burgess, Suso Cecchi d'Amico and Franco Zeffirelli (original title: Jesus of Nazareth ). German by Wolfhart Draeger . With photographs by Paul Ronald . Delphin-Verlag, Munich and Zurich 1978, 285 pages, ISBN 3-7735-4012-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jesus of Nazareth. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 26, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ^ Richard N. Ostling: (April 4, 1977). "Franco Zeffirelli's Classical Christ for Prime Time". Time Magazine. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  3. ^ Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus
  4. ↑ 3:34 / 2:03:53 "Jesus von Nazareth" (1977) - new cut, German. Retrieved March 25, 2020 .