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| The Greatest Story Ever Told | 
 enlarge | Directors: David Lean, George Stevens, Jean Negulesco
Actors: Max Von Sydow, Dorothy Mcguire, Charlton Heston, Michael Anderson Jr., Carroll Baker
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Category: Video
List Price: $24.98
Buy New: $1.40
You Save: $23.58 (94%)
New (27) Used (50) Collectible (5) from $0.28
Avg. Customer Rating:  95 reviews
Sales Rank: 7729
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: G (General Audience)
Media: VHS Tape
Running Time: 199 minutes
Number Of Items: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 6301969251
UPC: 027616165831
EAN: 9786301969253
ASIN: 6301969251
Theatrical Release Date: 1965
Release Date: December 23, 1993
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New factory sealed Video * * We carefully inspected this * Great customer service * Satisfaction Guaranteed!
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| Customer Reviews:
 A much maligned film in its day, now regarded rightfully as a masterpiece April 19, 2006
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
I saw this film mainly because David Lean, one of my favorite film directors, directed some scenes in it. The film was way over budget at the time, and Lean was an admirer of George Stevens, the director of this film. So Lean agreed to help Stevens out. I was pleasantly surprised, and quite moved by this film. It's one of the most painterly, gorgeously shot films (in UltraPanavision 70, a 2.75:1 widescreen process that looks amazing) I've ever seen. It's very leisurely in its pacing (which is always welcome), and it tells the oft told story of Christ in simple (though not simplistic) terms. It's very reverential towards Christ, and the sincerity of the performances reflects that. There are many star cameos in the film, and this doesn't detract as much nowadays, because as Stevens himself pointed out, the stars back then aren't as well known today, and people can see the film without playing star watcher. Even though, John Wayne's cameo as a Roman soldier at the crucifixion nearly ruins the film. It's that bad. But it can be overlooked. The film's music score is haunting. Stevens uses the opening of Verdi's Requiem when Jesus is carrying the cross. I have only heard this music used once before in a film (in Andrei Tarkovsky's Nostalghia), and it was haunting to hear again. It's one of the better films about Jesus, certainly superior to Gibson's Passion film and many of the horrible miniseries (aside from Jesus of Narazeth by Zefferelli, which was wonderful) that have been made about Jesus's life. A film that can be appreciated at any time...
My favorite life of Christ movie ever for Easter and Christmas April 17, 2006
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
With his THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (1965, UA), producer/director George Stevens set out to create a simple, straight-forward life of Jesus Christ that would stand the test of time as the definitive Biblical epic. He worked on the screenplay with James Lee Barrett and Carl Sandburg. He recruited a great all-star cast, some in major roles and some cameos. And he scouted locations all over the American Southwest, finally settling on locations in Nevada, California's Death Valley, and Arizona's Monument Valley. To him these rugged mountains and valleys seemed closer to the Holy Land of Christ than Israel-or Morocco or Tunisia or Spain-did in the early 1960's.
Forty years later, in a gorgeous new 65mm Ultra Panavision, 6-track stereo roadshow print running 195 minutes, THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD remains my favorite Easter movie about the life and teachings of Christ (Max von Sydow in the performance of a lifetime). Yes, it's a "spot the stars" movie with a terribly wooden John Wayne in one scene, but so is Franco Zeffirelli's acclaimed 1977 TV miniseries. Half of Stevens' cast is relatively unknown to me. I have never found Carroll Baker nor Angela Lansbury. Many of the others are superb cameos, like Ed Wynn, Sal Mineo, Sidney Poitier, Dorothy McGuire, and Joseph Schildkraut. Only a few have big roles, and these are almost all excellent, especially Telly Savalas as Pontius Pilate and Jose Ferrer as Herod Antipas.
The film is uncommonly intelligent and faithful to my life of Jesus, starting with his birth in Bethlehem, baptism in the River Jordan, early teachings, then the spectacular Sermon on the Mount in Monument Valley. By contrast, the Nicholas Ray/Jeffrey Hunter KING OF KINGS (1961) has a brilliant Sermon on the Mount on a hillside in Spain, but gives a prominent role to a fictional Roman general named Lucius and a key role to Harry Guardino as Barabbas. This detracts for me. Barabbas should be a cameo. As for Zeffirelli's impressive production, it is magnificently made, but too long and detailed. Do we really need to spend an hour getting Jesus born, then another half hour getting him to adulthood in a production where I cannot find a Sermon on the Mount? And the charge of a "Hey there" cast in Stevens' film goes triple for Zeffirelli over six-and-a-half hours. Then we have Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST (2004) with Roman beating scenes so bloody that I had to literally take a prescription tranquilizer to keep from fainting; and it only gives us the last day-and, like Scorsese's generally first-rate labor of love LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (1988)-does not have much of a Resurrection.
Stevens, working in mammothly wide Ultra Panavision 70 (2.76:1 on DVD), creates some of the most impressive and beautiful Biblical compositions ever filmed. And the Academy must have agreed. GREATEST STORY won five Oscar nominations, and three were for Cinematography, Art Direction, and Costumes. The unforgettable Crucifixion is lit like a Goya painting, all blues and purples and mud browns. This is the definitive Crucifixion-and the greatest, most exhilarating Resurrection sequence ever right after it: the Mormon Taberacle Choir performing Handel's "Messiah" over color-tinted desert montage.
This 1965 life of Christ deserves way better than Leonard Maltin's mediocre ** ? (out of ****) rating. It is a definitive, painstakingly crafted masterpiece for me that illuminates the life of Jesus, especially when watched at Easter or Christmas time and in one marathon 195 minute letterboxed DVD or Turner Classics screening without commercials. Everyone connected with it, on both sides of the camera, can be very proud of their work. THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD is a movie for the ages.
The double DVD I am reviewing includes a brand-new 30 minute filmmaking documentary, a vintage short documentary, roadshow music and intermission, a photo gallery, and the original theatrical trailer.
The most reverential film telling the story of Jesus April 16, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"The Greatest Story Ever Told" is certainly the most reverential treatment of the life of Jesus. The 1965 movie was based on the book by Fulton Oursler, which integrated the four Gospels into a single narrative (To appreciate this task just look at the different versions of what Jesus said on the cross according to each Gospel). Reconciling the various versions is not an easy task and while viewers may question some of the specific choices, the only really significant alteration is the death of Judas by throwing himself into the sacrificial pit of the Great Temple, a symbolism that is unnecessarily heavy handed.
The choice of Max Von Sydow to play Jesus is an interesting selection to say the least. His slight Swedish accent and closely cropped beard are certainly in keeping with the reverential tone of the film, but I can not help wondering if this was something of a reaction to the more populist Jesus portrayed by Jeffrey Hunter in "King of Kings." After all, this was 1965 and the Beatles invasion was underway making male hair length a hot issue. This is a Jesus who is too solemn and too sedate for the most part. There is a nice moment where one of the new disciples comments that he likes Jesus' name. The smile and "Thank you" that follow are one of the few glimpses of the charisma of the man from Galilee.
The strength of the film is in the gorgeous cinematography by William C. Mellor (who died on the set of a heart attack) and Loyal Griggs, and scene composition under the direction of George Stevens. The opening narration goes from the opening verses of John shot over ancient Christian murals to a shot of the manager, ending with a shot of the hand of the baby Jesus as the narrator announces in a most simple manner, "The Greatest Story Ever Told." The juxtaposition of images and moments from the live of Jesus is prevalent throughout the film. When Mary and Joseph return from Egypt they travel the road to Nazareth that is lined with the crucified victims of the Roman occupation. The voice of John the Baptist is first heard over a series of aerial shots covering the many miles traveled by all those who came to hear him make straight the way of the Lord.
Stevens shows a deft touch in the large scenes involving crowds. The resurrection of Lazarus is down in a long shot, with the focus more on the faces of those who are witnessing the miracle rather than on the actual emergence from the tomb. To the finale of the Hallelujah Chorus a trio of the faithful ran across the plain to the gates of Jerusalem to spread the good news. There is also a wonderful scene of the confrontation between the Roman soldiers and the crowd that had come to the Temple to hear Jesus preach at night and is reciting Psalm 24 ("Lift up your heads, oh ye gates). The film also contains some nice small touches. When Pilate presents Jesus to the people, the figure of Satan strides through the crowd to utter the first demand for crucifixion. When Mary Magdalene remembers the promise of the resurrection and Thomas proclaims his disbelief, Peter looks up and sees the smiling face of Lazarus. The musical score by Alfred Newman, Hugo Friedhofer and Fred Steiner is wonderfully attuned to what is on the screen.
The main problem is not that there are so many stars in this film--Charlton Heston is an imposing John the Baptist, and Jose Ferrer as Herod Antipas, Sal Mineo as Uriah, and Van Heflin as Bar Amand all perform admirably--but rather the cameo appearances that invariably detract from the moment. It is one thing to recognize David McCallum, Jamie Farr and Russell Johnson in "before they were stars" roles, but it is quite another to suddenly see Sidney Portier help carry the cross or John Wayne silhouetted against the darkening sky as a Roman Centurion. While such cameos may have worked in "The Longest Day" or "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" during the heyday of the fad, they most certainly do not work in this film.
I was surprised to learn this movie was filmed around the Lake Powell region of Arizona, having always assumed it had been filmed in the Holy Land. I would be interested to know which scenes were directed without credit by David Lean (who was finishing up "Doctor Zhivago" at the time) and Jean Negulesco ("Johnny Belinda" and the 1953 "Titanic"). I want to resist the impulse to credit my favorite scenes to Lean rather than Stevens.
The reverential tone of the film ends up hurting the pacing so that it seems overlong at 3 hours and 14 minutes. Ultimately I prefer the vitality of Zefferelli's "Jesus of Nazareth" and the monumental performance of Robert Powell as the quintessential Jesus. But there are several lovely moments in "The Greatest Story Ever Told" and I always end up screening one version at Christmas and the other at Easter. The print obviously needs to be RESTORED and the film really should be seen in the widescreen format, although that makes the credits impossible to read.
A Very Good Movie! October 8, 2005
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
The Greatest Story Ever Told is one of my favorite movies about Jesus. My favorite movie is Jesus of Nazareth but I like this movie too and I think Max Van Sydow and Charlton Heston were very good as Jesus and John the Baptist and I think the only flaw with this movie is with all of the cameos by popular Hollywood actors, some were good but others were badly miscast but that doesn't distract from what a wonderful movie this is and from the actors who really were right for this movie and gave brilliant performances. I had this movie on tape and I'm wanting to buy it on DVD and I recommend The Greatest Story Ever Told very greatly and I rate this 5 stars just for the excellent acting by Max Van Sydow and Charlton Heston!
Wonderful Message; Breathtaking Cinema June 3, 2005
30 out of 33 found this review helpful
This movie is one of the most beautifully filmed and the restoration to its original splendor attests to this. It is faithful to scripture and sets forth the message of Jesus in a classic style.
The film itself is generally well done, although it falls somewhat short in its sanitized depiction of the passion. However, most of the film is absorbing and the numerous "celebrity" cameos no longer (as time goes by) are the distraction they once were. John Wayne's "Truly this man was the Son of God" centurion is an exception. Claude Rains as Herod the Great, Jose Ferrer as Herod Antipas and (surprisingly) Ed Wynnn as the blind man healed by Jesus give powerful performances.
The movie is worthy of anyone's library and is a great companion to The Passion of the Christ.
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