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Subtitles: English for the Hearing Impaired, Spanish, French
Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Approx.)
16:9-Enhanced: Yes
Macrovision: Yes
Disc Format: 1 * DVD 9, 1 *DVD 5
Price: $26.98
Extras: Documentary with Inteviews of Director and Cast, Making-Of Featurette,
Deleted Scene, Photo Gallery, Collectible Booklet, Theatrical Trailers
Director:
George Stevens
Cast:
(Take a Deep Breath) Max von Sydow, Michael Anderson Jr., Carroll
Baker, Ina Balin, Pat Boone, Victor Buono, Richard Conte, Joanna Dunham,
Jose Ferrer, Van Heflin, Charleton Heston, Martin Landau, Angela
Lansbury, Janet Margolin, David McCallum, Roddy McDowall, Dorothy
McGuire, Sal Mineo, Nehemiah Persoff, Donald Pleasence, Sidney Poitier,
Claude Rains, Gary Raymond, Telly Savalas, Joseph Schildkraut, Paul
Stewart, John Wayne, Shelly Winters, Ed Wynn (Phew!).
Writer:
James Lee Barrett and George Stevens
Given the current Hollywood anti-religious - and anti-Christian in
particular - bend (you don't have to be Michael Medved to see this), I
found it quite surprising that MGM decided to release The Greatest
Story Ever Told as one of their few full-blown, 2-disc, Special
Editions. A pleasant surprise indeed! This DVD is certainly one for the
collection.
The Greatest Story Ever Told is MGM's classic tribute to the life
of Christ. It follows him from birth to death to resurrection, as told in
Fulton Oursler's book, based on the four Biblical Gospels. And while
they took a (very) few liberties - primarily in character development
rather than extended storytelling - the movie remains true to the actual
history.
An all-star cast if there ever was one, including - get this - Pat Boone
as an ancient Israelite, and John Wayne as a Roman Centurian (at least he
didn't call anyone "pardner"). Charlton Heston also makes a great John
The Baptist, playing it just to the left of madman. But wait, isn't this
the same "River Jordan" (Lake Powell) that Heston later crashed his
spaceship into in Planet of the Apes? Throw in fellow cast member
Roddy McDowall, and you have one of those really strange movie
coincidences that make you pooh-pooh your friends' next session of "Six
Degrees of Kevin Bacon."
Even considering the tremendous acting, some wonderful dialogue, majestic
cinematography, and a fair amount of Biblical accuracy, I still have one
criticism. I found The Greatest Story Ever Told to be rather,
well, boring!
I think the problem was twofold. First off, writer/director George
Stevens wanted to tackle his subject-matter with all the reverence it
deserved. This meant taking as few dramatic liberties as possible. Even
the notable difference, Judas committing suicide in a fire pit, works
more a symbol of hell than a statement about how Judas really bought it
(besides, you see him holding the hangman's noose that he
reallyused).
The second problem follows from the first: the New Testament is not a
very good story book. The authors intended to record events, rather than
tell an engaging story, and the Gospels often feel rather terse, lacking
in detail - and, for the most part, not too terribly dramatic. So, when
you try to be accurate to something that lacks overall conflict, you end
up with a dramatic film without any real drama.
But who am I? Just a lowly DVD fan, certainly - especially considering
that The Greatest Story Ever Told is now viewed one of the great
classics of the Biblical Epics era in Hollywood. One thing's for sure,
the guys in charge of producing this DVD certainly felt that way about
this movie. They gave it great treatment!
The image quality is absolutely astounding. The shots of the American
Southwest (doubling for the Holy Land) are nothing short of breathtaking.
A textbook case of why widescreen is better, even on a TV set - it also
made me wonder exactly where this era of filmaking has gone. Be that as
it may, with the sharpness and clarity that this DVD offers, the images
in this film show up in wonderous detail!
The sound mix also worked great. Because this film had a 70mm Roadshow
release, it received a six-channel multi-track mix. Apparently MGM
reproduced that mix here. What a treat! You can feel all the emotional
impact of Jesus' first words "Baptise me, John!" simply because the sound
is so well-preserved.
While the first disc contains just the movie, on the second, we get a
pair of documentaries. One is part of a "Filmmaker Series" and covers
the contribution of writer/director George Stevens. While originally an
advertising vehicle for the film, it still has a lot to offer in truly
valuable and insightful information. This also made me wonder where the
era of the good featurette has gone.
The second documentary covers the contribution of writer/director George
Stevens. Hmm... That sounds mighty familiar! Well, it's touted as a
documentary on the movie-making process behind the scenes of The
Greatest Story Ever Told, but it really focuses on Stevens himself.
And a lot of footage comes from the "Filmmaker Series" featurette too!
While I was afraid this was stacking up to be another one of those
Spinal Tap "Venue Subtitle" fiascos, fortunately, the documentary
came through in the end! Ultimately, it contained enough new
footage - supplemented by interviews with the survivng cast members,
including Charlton Heston, Max Von Sidow and Shelley Winters - to save
the day! Sure, as documentaries go it still feels a bit like an "also
ran," but I thought it an entirely worthwhile endeavor, and I'm glad MGM
put it on this DVD!
Overall, if you are a fan of Biblical Epics, this two-disc set is
certainly one for the collection. If anything, it represents an
important part of film history, and can give us a lot of insight into how
much has truly changed - and not necessarily for the better! - in
Hollywood during the last the fifty years.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
