You think you know the full story of the birth of Christ as talked about in the Bible or dealt with in the many other biblical ethics on that subject. Well, this television miniseries goes into greater detail thanks to the story of Joseph, the fiance of mary, upset to find out that his virginal bride is with child, and advised by the elders of Israel on what he should do. Yorgo Voyagis plays the earthly father of Jesus, having to come to terms with the old faith that he has been brought up with when visited by the voice of God in the middle of the night to explain why Mary is with child. It is an interesting way to explain theories that could very well be truth, and Olivia Hussey as Mary (reunited with director Franco Zefferelli nearly a decade after "Romeo and Juliet") is perfectly cast as the sweet young lass who will become the mother of the king of kings.
As Herod the Great, Peter Ustinov is commanding and determined, setting forth the edict to have all the newborn male babies born in Bethlehem slaughtered to prevent a new king from being born. He is only on screen for a few teens, but makes the most of those moments, with Herod already frustrated by Emperor Augustus's demands for a census. The film goes into the events surrounding Jesus's birth with the wise men arriving in Bethlehem and news getting to Herod which sets forth the evil that had already been done centuries before in ancient Egypt with the birth of Moses. The close relationship between cousins Mary and Elizabeth results in the two women giving birth at the same time, with the older Elizabeth having a child late in her life, one who will eventually become John the Baptist.
This was a big event in 1977, and watching it 45 years later, I am reminded of how mesmerizing it was. Coming out a few years after the British miniseries "I Claudius", this deals with the same time period as the early part of that series did, and is exciting both as a Biblical epic and as a very exciting history lesson. Every detail is excellent with beautiful sets that seem very realistic to the time and the location. This grabs you right away, and sets for hours plus of inspirational entertainment that is educational as well as enjoyable. As much of the gospels do not give much information about the early life of Jesus, this fills in those blanks, and it's obvious that the writers did their research to create something truly wonderful.
As Herod the Great, Peter Ustinov is commanding and determined, setting forth the edict to have all the newborn male babies born in Bethlehem slaughtered to prevent a new king from being born. He is only on screen for a few teens, but makes the most of those moments, with Herod already frustrated by Emperor Augustus's demands for a census. The film goes into the events surrounding Jesus's birth with the wise men arriving in Bethlehem and news getting to Herod which sets forth the evil that had already been done centuries before in ancient Egypt with the birth of Moses. The close relationship between cousins Mary and Elizabeth results in the two women giving birth at the same time, with the older Elizabeth having a child late in her life, one who will eventually become John the Baptist.
This was a big event in 1977, and watching it 45 years later, I am reminded of how mesmerizing it was. Coming out a few years after the British miniseries "I Claudius", this deals with the same time period as the early part of that series did, and is exciting both as a Biblical epic and as a very exciting history lesson. Every detail is excellent with beautiful sets that seem very realistic to the time and the location. This grabs you right away, and sets for hours plus of inspirational entertainment that is educational as well as enjoyable. As much of the gospels do not give much information about the early life of Jesus, this fills in those blanks, and it's obvious that the writers did their research to create something truly wonderful.