James Earl Jones, the "usual" for these spectacles, but don't be dissuaded by the common belief big money sunk into grand project and star packed cast equal a crappy flop as the serious and non pretentious acting make an interesting and entertaining effort. Character development par for subject. Mary is lovely, innocent and "behaves herself" as director does fine work keeping subject and story flowing. Infant as baby Jesus adorable. Beautiful scenes, costumery. Ustinov good choice for a haughty ruler. Aired on "PosiTV" network over the air Phoenix Arizona market Nov. 12, 2022. Should air again on various networks if you wait around.
6 Reviews
admirable
Kirpianuscus17 April 2021
I saw it , many times, under the last years of Ceausescu regime. As intoduction in Christianity, as fascinating show, as great performances . It is the episode of eyes . The eyes of Olivia Hussey, the eyes of Michael York and Lorenzo Monet. The voice of Peter Ustinov. And the smile of. Yorgo Voyagis. No doubts, you feel the story, from the beginnings to the admirable tension of the last scene. Something real admirable as great fresco in which the care of Franco Zeffirelli for details and pure beauty of image are the basic traits.
Always remembrance
chris-crook30 March 2018
The old law is questioned on the eve of the birth of the new law.
mark.waltz24 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
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.
Timeless
safenoe6 January 2024
Warning: Spoilers
I can't believe it's taken me ages and ages to post an imdb user review for Part 1 of Jesus of Nazareth. I first saw this back in the 1970s and this was before going to Sunday School, and the impact of this series was incredible, The acting was amazing, with amazing British stars. On reflection, I would have liked more Middle Eastern stars such as Omar Sharif and F. Murray Abraham to be cast, but perhaps a modern reboot can have more Middle Eastern actors. Yet, the production of Jesus of Nazareth as we see in Part 1 really draws you in and you can't wait to see Parts 2, 3 and 4 and how the story plays out according to the scripture.
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