Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		1.5
Audio		2.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Barabbas Blu-ray Movie Review

He's not the Messiah! He's a very naughty boy.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 16, 2022

Richard Fleischer's religious epic Barabbas, produced by Dino De Laurentiis, concerns itself with the not-totally-agreed-upon Christian Biblical account of its title character, a convicted murderer pardoned by Pontius Pilate -- at the behest of a passionate crowd -- in place of Jesus at the site of his later crucifixion. (Not seeing the problem here... didn't that work out for the best?) During the next several decades, we follow Barabbas (Anthony Quinn) as he battles both guilt and past vices, the latter of which eventually leads to a brutal slavery sentence in the sulfur mines of Sicily.

So yep, good times all around. Yet despite its potentially dour subject matter, Barabbas stands reasonably tall as an engaging and uplifting film whose spectacle and atmosphere outpace its script, but is largely led by Quinn's reliably strong lead performance and a handful of memorable supporting roles filled out by the likes of Arthur Kennedy, Jack Palance, Ernest Borgnine, and others. (Sharon Tate even makes her uncredited film debut as "Patrician in Arena".) It's literary source material is rock-solid, though: an eponymous Nobel Prize-winning 1950 source novel by Pär Lagerkvist, which was incidentally adapted into a 1953 Swedish film shot by cinematographer Sven Nykvist.

Yet I remain somewhat distantly vague about a more in-depth analysis or even overview of Barabbas for two reasons: it's perhaps best experienced with as few spoilers as possible, and its sensitive subject matter -- especially from the perspective of a hard-line atheist -- potentially invites more snarky jokes than objective criticism. Yet it's easy to see that while Barabbas can't quite measure up to the fundamental heights of this era's best-known religious epics such as King of Kings, Ben-Hur, and of course The Ten Commandments, in some ways I prefer Barabbas' less-traveled subject matter and morally ambiguous territory even if it's still mostly regarded as a second-tier production. (Jesus' crucifixion scene was also reportedly shot during a real-life total solar eclipse, and that's just badass.) But again, enough can't be said about Quinn's central performance, which more or less anchors the narrative and presents its title character as a clearly flawed but amiably sympathetic figure, and Barabbas just wouldn't be the same without him.

Released alongside the substantially less Biblical epic The Long Ships, the Australian boutique label Imprint presents Barabbas on a region-free Blu-ray designed to compete with a few other recent international editions. Sadly both of these discs suffer from woefully unrestored masters, making these lavish Technicolor epics look and sound substantially less impressive than they ought to. Luckily, their slick packaging and a nice pile of retrospective bonus features at least make them worth a look for established fans, even if their A/V shortcomings may prove to be fatal flaws.

Barabbas Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Similar to Imprint's recent Blu-ray edition of The Long Ships, viewers are greeted with the following ominous disclaimer before the main feature begins: "Due to the original source materials, viewers may notice some imperfections in the presentation of this film. The best available master from the copyright owner has been used." Again this a pretty huge understatement, as Barabbas looks several generations removed from what its Technicolor roots actually deserve and suffers from most or all of the same immediately noticeable drawbacks as that other linked title. Fine detail, textures, contrast, density, black levels, and more are all well below average, and the regular appearance of edge enhancement and macro blocking once again rears its ugly head. Still, there are differences that set this apart from The Long Ships in certain areas: a handful of scenes fare better with clean edges and an overall look that actually borders on acceptable, yet a few other segments suffer from a juddery frame rate issue. I'm not sure if this could be due to a flaw in its digital conversion or a possible PAL discrepancy, but it's noticeable at times. All told, this transfer looks closer to a widescreen VHS presentation than even solid anamorphic DVD quality, let alone one that warrants a dual-layered Blu-ray. But again like The Long Ships, an olive branch can be extended for its historically disappointing home video picture quality, not to mention that all of this disc's potentially fatal flaws are clearly not the fault of those who encoded it.

Barabbas Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, many sonic criticisms of Imprint's recent Blu-ray edition of The Long Ships can also be applied to this LPCM 2.0 track -- they really are almost indistinguishable in overall fidelity and presence, featuring near-identical pervasive drawbacks and dynamic range issues that combine to make an underwhelming but at least listenable experience. Light hissing, popping, crackling, and other subtle distractions are regularly presence, as is a cramped high end that slightly hinders louder conversations, action, and the original score by composer Mario Nascimbene. It's not a total loss, but this certainly isn't a standout track and one that, like the video, would benefit from a proper restoration.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature, and you might need them.

Barabbas Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Imprint's Blu-ray features the studio's trademark deluxe packaging, as this one-disc release ships in a clear keepcase with attractive cover artwork, an inner print, and a glossy slipsleeve with alternate poster-themed artwork. On-disc extras are light in number but easily serve as the biggest draw for established fans and newcomers too.

• Audio Commentary - This track pairs up film historians Barry Forshaw and Kim Newman (recorded together), both of whom offer a solid mixture of comments that range from casual to informative. Topics of interest include the Nobel Prize-winning source novel, early memories of the film, its music and production design, religious epics as a genre, differences between the films and the book, Richard Fleischer's work, Ingmar Bergman, and much more. For the most part, Forshaw and Newman play off each other very well so the end result feels more like two admirers sharing an engaging conversation rather than constantly fighting for the microphone.

• Film Historian Sheldon Hall on "Barabbas" (25:30) - Another familiar face from previous Imprint releases, Hall as usual takes a more formal and businesslike approach during this mid-length interview, also comparing and contrasting it to other religious epics like King of Kings and Ben-Hur, the film's literary sources (both the 1950 novel and, of course, the Christian Bible), an earlier Swedish film adaptation, producer Dino De Laurentiis, the film's philosophical and spiritual themes, Fleischer's other big-screen projects, and much more.

• Richard Fleischer: Looking Back (28:12) - This retrospective tribute, a 2017 German-financed production, mostly features archival footage of the late, great director in his autumn years at home. Fleischer speaks quietly but candidly about his life's work including earlier possible career paths, his favorite projects, battles with studio heads, happy accidents, stories about his contemporaries, the changing face of cinema, and other interesting topics from his 41-year career. It's an easy, enjoyable watch that fans and newcomers alike will enjoy.

Barabbas Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Richard Fleischer's religious epic Barabbas, produced by Dino De Laurentiis, plays out as expected: an over-the-top spectacle with solid performances that nonetheless places its visuals and cinematography over an airtight script, yet the end result is still accessible and even fitfully enjoyable whether or not you subscribe to its source material. Sadly, some enthusiasm is dampened by the (possibly unavoidable?) below-average technical presentation of Imprint's region-free Blu-ray which, like The Long Ships, is sorely in need of a full restoration. Yet the film's more immediate strengths and its slimmer but more enjoyable extras make Barabbas the disc to get if you can only choose one, even if its remaining flaws don't exactly make this a highly recommend purchase for all but the film's most forgiving fans.