dougandwin

I really looked forward to seeing this Movie as it has had numerous good reviews, and nominations for Awards. It did prove a disappointment to me, in that the "humorous" bits mainly turned out to be unfunny, and the slapstick situations had me looking for Inspector Clouseau to appear. The photography was excellent, and a joy to look at. Unfortunately, the most enjoyment I had was looking for the stars as they appeared in cameo parts, such as Edward Norton, F. Murray Abraham and Jude Law, etc. All in all , I fail to see how it was nominated in the Best Picture Category for the Oscars, when there were a number (despite the volume of films that were nominated) that were overlooked.

Having seen this Movie again after so many years, I was still taken with the excellent production and the magnificent portrayal of Jesus Christ by Jeffrey Hunter. In the world of today, when Religion is facing so much turmoil, it was a revelation to see the sincerity of the producers in making this film. The locations were excellent, and a number of cameos by well-known stars made it great entertainment. Robert Ryan was a surprise as John, while Ron Randell, Hurd Hatfield, Viveca Lindfors were excellent. Frank Thring,in a small role as Pontius Pilate hammed it up as usual. While this movie was made before all the gimmicks of computerisation, it has been very well presented and stands up very well today. Worth a re-look.

I really looked forward to seeing this Film, and regret to say that it was a large disappointment. The story (purported to be true, but clearly over the top!) was poorly scripted, with far too much relying on clever quips, the actors tried to make this believable, but when saddled with some outrageous scenes like the one with the horse, reality went out the window. The best acting came from Cate Blanchett and Hugh Bonneville (so far from Downton Abbey), while Matt Damon

seemed to be missing in 75% of the story. It also appeared as if the Cigarette companies sponsored the Movie. There is no question that it will make money, due solely to the names of the Stars, but it certainly misses out in true entertainment and interest.