This miniseries was hard to find. I read about it years ago in a magazine and it sounded really interesting. It's a British production that was never shown in the United States. I was able to get a copy of the DVD from Greece of all places, via Ebay. Most DVD versions won't play on American DVD players, thankfully this one does.
After watching it I think it's a good miniseries. Obviously, it will be compared with Mel Gibson's film. Gibson's film packed an emotional wallop that this film didn't. I view Gibson's film as the Stations of the Cross and the Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary put on film focusing on the suffering of Jesus. This film focuses on the political and religious milieu of the first century Judea that lead to Jesus' death.
This film begins on Palm Sunday and the events of Holy Week. Joseph Mawle makes a good Jesus, but as not as good as other actors like Jim Caviezel or Robert Powell. The supporting cast was really good. The production values were good, too. I thought the script was mostly good, but there were times that could've been better. I think if writer had stayed closer to scriptures concerning Jesus dialogue that would have been better. I had mixed feelings about how Mary, Jesus' mother was portrayed. The actress did a good job but some of her lines I thought could've been better. The writing could have been better in spots, but it wasn't terrible by any means.
I liked the fact they made Caiaphas a three dimensional person, played by Ben Daniels, who did a good job in the role. James Nesbit made a good Pilate despite his Irish accent.
The crucifixion scenes were effective and somewhat graphic, but nowhere near as graphic as Gibson's film. I also liked the resurrection scenes, which can be tricky to do, but they did a good job on them.
It's definitely worthwhile seeing once, if you haven't seen it.
After watching it I think it's a good miniseries. Obviously, it will be compared with Mel Gibson's film. Gibson's film packed an emotional wallop that this film didn't. I view Gibson's film as the Stations of the Cross and the Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary put on film focusing on the suffering of Jesus. This film focuses on the political and religious milieu of the first century Judea that lead to Jesus' death.
This film begins on Palm Sunday and the events of Holy Week. Joseph Mawle makes a good Jesus, but as not as good as other actors like Jim Caviezel or Robert Powell. The supporting cast was really good. The production values were good, too. I thought the script was mostly good, but there were times that could've been better. I think if writer had stayed closer to scriptures concerning Jesus dialogue that would have been better. I had mixed feelings about how Mary, Jesus' mother was portrayed. The actress did a good job but some of her lines I thought could've been better. The writing could have been better in spots, but it wasn't terrible by any means.
I liked the fact they made Caiaphas a three dimensional person, played by Ben Daniels, who did a good job in the role. James Nesbit made a good Pilate despite his Irish accent.
The crucifixion scenes were effective and somewhat graphic, but nowhere near as graphic as Gibson's film. I also liked the resurrection scenes, which can be tricky to do, but they did a good job on them.
It's definitely worthwhile seeing once, if you haven't seen it.
