Franco Zeffirelli is an Italian director who became known worldwide with his 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet”, which was nominated for an Oscar for that year. Endowed with a poetic sensibility in his images, he embarked on a project about the life of Jesus of Nazareth that came as a miniseries for television and which in some countries was given in cinemas in two parts. We refer to “Jesus of Nazareth” from 1977 with a huge cast of European and American actors.
Both the script and the duration of the filming were due to the fact that the director wanted to cover almost all the passages written in the four gospels. The episodes are presented chronologically from the union of Joseph and Mary, the birth of the child god in the manger, the ministry, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, where the Christian world for all mankind will begin.
The setting is very well done and takes us back to the time and the way in which the director manages to unite a large number of good actors to make a well-made product and to the liking of the audience always attached to religiosity.
During silent films, some producers brought the story of the Bible to the big screen, creating a direct relationship with cinema. Such are the cases of the director Ferdinand Zecca with his film “The Passion of the Christ” from 1903. In 1923 was released “The Ten Commandments”, directed by Cecil B. de Mille; “King of Kings” from 1927; “Noah’s Ark” from 1928 and so on, arriving in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s with great movies that are considered true classics of cinema.
However, in 1977 this miniseries was launched, which Franco Zeffirelli wanted to direct as another example that, although the story is the same, it can be provided with a different perspective and staging, in order to connect with a public who likes this type of genre and at the same time, to be a contribution to the historiography of the seventh art.
Therefore, this Easter, I invite you to enjoy this miniseries that you can enjoy with friends and family that I know will be to your liking.
Curiosities
All the curiosities were taken from the biobiochile.cl page
• For the role of Jesus, in the beginning, the director contemplated the actors Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman, however, the actor Robert Powell was chosen, who was considered to play Judas in the beginning. How ironic.
• When the Catholic Church found out about the scale of this production, it tried to “supervise” the steps and details of the filming, without much success. In addition, conservative sectors began to observe Robert Powell (the actor) closely, because they felt that someone should be “up to” the character.
• Pressures on the actor, they say, would have influenced him to decide to ask his girlfriend’s marriage at that time.
• Zeffirelli is known as a tough and demanding filmmaker. In this context, it occurred to him that Jesus should not blink in any scene!
• His obsession with this detail was so great that he asked the production to monitor the recordings very well. He only gave in to the crucifixion scenes.
• In addition, the costume team was forbidden to make white clothes for the characters. This detail is not minor, because most biblical films use a lot of white.
• The tape lasts a total of 6 hours and 21 minutes. Although it is a feature film, it has become a series for many television networks.
• The film was released on March 27, 1977. The only country that censored it was Egypt, after several pressures from conservative groups that questioned the story of the film and the legitimacy of some shows.
• It was filmed in Tunisia and Morocco with a cast of film stars, both European and American. Its premiere took place on March 27, 1977 on the British television network ITV. Its American premiere was on NBC, on April 3, 1977, on the occasion of Holy Week.
Fact sheet: Rating: 4/5 (Very good)
Original Name: Jesus of Nazareth
In: 1977
Duration: 371 minutes
From director Franco Zeffirelli: Remarkable director and producer of Italian cinema well known in the art world.