Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Jesus of Nazareth Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 25, 2016

One of the funniest at least tangentially religious related stories I’ve ever heard came from an Episcopal Priest I knew from one of the many Music Directing jobs I’ve held for both Christian and Jewish congregations throughout my life. This Priest was discussing a phenomenon he experienced after Ash Wednesday services one year. Like many good Christians, he had adorned his forehead with a cross made out of ashes. He had then gone home and washed his head at the end of the evening, as tends to be typical of believers who don’t want their bedclothes sullied. He was gobsmacked when he got to church the next day and went into the men’s room, where in the mirror he spied— the cross on his forehead. He rather furiously washed it off again, thinking that perhaps he just hadn’t done a good job of it the first time. Well, lo and behold, when he got home that evening and walked past another mirror in his home, he was virtually floored to see the cross again adorning his brow. At this point, he was actually pretty seriously freaked out, wondering if he was experiencing some modern, non penetrative form of stigmata. It was then that a little bell went off in his head, and he realized that there had been an interstitial event presaging all of these seemingly supernatural appearances—the Priest had been putting on a hat, a hat which had received an imprint of the ashes on the inside of its brim and which was in turn reapplying them to his head every time he put it on. This is all to say that there seems to be a mindset almost genetically imprinted in at least some folks which tends to look for the miraculous when perhaps a more mundane explanation is staring them in the face (or manifesting on their forehead). That disconnect has often tended to inform many of the cinematic and/or television treatments of Jesus’ life, with some portrayals emphasizing the Divine, and others tending to concentrate more on the “human side” of things. Contrasting a number of at least somewhat comparable films and television outings like The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Jesus Film, The Passion of the Christ, King of Kings, The Last Temptation of Christ, Jesus Christ Superstar, Killing Jesus, and Son of God, not to mention films like Ben-Hur which present Jesus a bit more discursively, is an object lesson in how various “treatments” of this epochal story can be skewed in various directions.

Franco Zeffirelli, the famous Italian director who brought such a refreshing naturalism to his film version of William Shakespeare's immortal Romeo and Juliet, attempts to do much the same thing with Jesus of Nazareth, but the results are often still fairly clunky, even by the standards of biblical cinematic and/or television adaptations. Part of this might be due to the screenplay co-written by Anthony Burgess and Zeffirelli himself, a work that tries awfully hard to make these iconic figures real human beings, but which often falls into well-worn biblical adaptation tropes that perhaps unavoidably include elements of hagiography.

The mini-series may be seen by some as feeling more than a bit bloated, with a rather long prelude developing the relationship between Mary (Olivia Hussey) and Joseph (Yorgo Voyagis). Another early sidebar is a bit more reminiscent of some of the opening scenes from Ben-Hur, focusing on the Three Wisemen, including Balthazar (James Earl Jones), Melchior (Donald Pleasance) and Gaspar (Fernando Rey). The tendency toward naturalism works better in the Joseph and Mary sequences, especially in the Annunication, which Zeffirelli stages as a kind of “private” moment that only Mary experiences (even though there’s someone else there, a perhaps non-Biblical addition). It’s less effective in some of the supposed banter between the trio of wisemen, especially when they sit around simply repeating a mantra about a king being born.

There’s also some questionable material (at least for Bible purists) detailing some supposed aspects of Jesus’ upbringing and youth, in what is obviously more of an attempt to deliver a believable, “real” feeling human being rather than simply a living, breathing icon. Things tend to become more effective as the piece moves into Jesus’ adulthood and (of course) his ministry. Here Zeffirelli, aided by a huge cast which includes Robert Powell as Jesus, James Farentino (Emmy nominated as Peter) and Ian McShane (as Judas), really builds some significant emotional impact, while perhaps shying away from too much overt display of any “supernatural” powers on the part of Jesus (not that that element is completely lacking, it just tends not to be as emphasized as in some other treatments of Jesus’ life).

While this mini-series doesn’t feature the sometimes stultifying reverence that stifled a lot of emotion that might have otherwise emanated from The Greatest Story Ever Told, in another way the treatments are surprisingly similar. First, Powell’s take on Jesus features some of the same intensity that Max Von Sydow’s did in the George Stevens film. Less felicitously, the mini-series offers so many big stars in what amount to glorified cameos, almost exactly like the Stevens film, that things can often feel like a “spot the actor” exercise at times. The performances throughout Jesus of Nazareth are largely winning, even moving quite a bit of the time, but it’s still disconcerting to see someone like Ernest Borgnine showing up as the Centurion (which admittedly is not quite as disconcerting as seeing someone like John Wayne show up as the Centurion, as he did in the Stevens film).

In another way, Jesus of Nazareth perhaps is more of a sibling to King of Kings, at least insofar as it attempts to delve into the psychology and motivation of Judas. If King of Kings posited Judas as a rabble rousing (literal) zealot, a “political” provocateur in a manner of speaking, Jesus of Nazareth takes the same basic approach but also seems to suggest that Judas was (once at least) a relatively good guy prone to simply taking advice from the wrong people.

Jesus of Nazareth ultimately is a resonant experience, if not a completely successful one. The majesty of many of the performances combined with Zeffirelli’s tendency to tamp down any grandiosity gives this version of the story an intimate feeling which is quite remarkable, especially given what some may feel is the mini-series’ overstuffed length. Interestingly, the final moments of the piece almost seem to be hinting at “another” Biblically related story that is currently making the rounds in cineplexes courtesy of the new Joseph Fiennes film Risen.

Jesus of Nazareth Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Jesus of Nazareth is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. There have been a variety of previous international Blu-ray releases of this title, some at least evidently sourced from different masters (and at least a couple sporting different lengths—this version omits several minutes that were seen in at least some versions of the miniseries, though it's instructive to note that the IMDb lists the Italian theatrical version of this as having been significantly shorter than even this version). There's no available technical data that I've been able to find on this particular release, and so I can't definitively opine on the provenance of the source elements utilized or how old the master is. In some ways, it might appear it's at least newer, for there is good stabilization on elements like credits (where telecine wobble can often be seen on older offerings). On the other hand, this has a pretty soft and variable appearance at times, including some artifacting, aspects that may suggest it's been lying on a shelf for a while. In fact, it's that very variability that is keeping my personal video score for this release from being higher. At times, things look rather refreshingly robust, with a good, honest accounting of the palette, a decently clear and sharp image, and a well resolved grain structure. Other sequences look decidedly softer and offer less detail, and occasionally anomalies like macroblocking, pixellation and other issues afflict the image, especially if grain becomes chunky (see screenshot 5). Densities fluctuate throughout the presentation, with the color space struggling at times as a result. The second half of the miniseries tends to be a bit more consistent than some of the early episodes in this regard. Elements have minor but still noticeable damage, with a number of small but apparent nicks, scratches and other blemishes briefly making an appearance. It would certainly be arguable and/or supportable that this could warrant a 3.5 or so, but I'm erring on the side of caution.

Jesus of Nazareth Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Jesus of Nazareth features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix that capably supports the film's dialogue and effects, as well as a score that includes a main theme by Maurice Jarre. The miniseries' sonic ambitions aren't overly hyperbolic, though a number of big crowd scenes (especially toward the end of the tale) offer noisiness if not nuance. A few well placed sound effects add a bit of depth to the proceedings. There are no problems with distortion or dropouts and fidelity is fine throughout the audio presentation.

Jesus of Nazareth Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One:

• Michael York: John the Baptist (1080p; 30:13) is a nicely done career retrospective featuring a contemporary and often quite interesting interview with York.

Disc Two:

• Jean Pierre Isbouts on the Historical Life of Jesus (1080p; 59:23) is another well done piece featuring author Isbouts, who is also Humanities Scholar at Fielding Graduate University. Isbouts discusses some of the scholarly approaches toward Jesus (mentioning work by such icons as Elaine Pagels), while also getting into the difficulties of translating something like Bible stories to the screen.

Jesus of Nazareth Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I know a lot of people who find this Jesus of Nazareth by far the most impressive and "enjoyable" (if that's the right word) version of Jesus' ministry and passion out there, whether we're talking big screen or small screen. Forgive me my sins, but I'm simply not one of those people. I've always found the first half or so of the miniseries a kind of lumbering, drawn out affair that seems too padded for its own good. That is ameliorated at least somewhat by a second half or so that begins to pay significant emotional dividends as it wends its way to its bittersweet but hopeful finale. While some performances are at least questionable, Powell makes for an imposing yet believable Jesus, and the look of the miniseries is often quite appealing. Video quality here is fairly variable, but judging by our Forum, it appears that even had this been a 5 star video presentation, many fans would still be upset that this does not include the aforementioned missing footage. With everything taken into consideration, and caveats duly noted, Jesus of Nazareth comes Recommended.