Il figlio di Giuda

Good drama that had the potential to be one of the greats.

The setup for this movie was interesting, and made you think there was a clear, focused message coming as some stage. The movie was set up to rail against religion as a business, how some people use religion for their own ends, and how easily people can be manipulated in the name of religion. There was also an opportunity to look at the influence of the media.

However, from a point the movie lost focus. The snake-oil salesman turned out to have redeeming qualities, turns out religious organisations can do some good, the bs-printing newspaper printed the truth for once...

It's as if the writer and director pulled their punches. Rather than a damning expose of certain religious organisations, it is a story of a man, a man with good and bad qualities. No particular message in the end, and very disappointing in that respect.

Still made for an interesting story, just not anywhere near as brilliant as it could have been.

Mesmerizing, powerful performance by Burt Lancaster in the lead role. There's a fine line between powerful acting and over-acting. Lancaster comes close on several occasions, but doesn't cross it. He well deserved his Best Actor Oscar.

Solid support from Jean Simmons, Arthur Kennedy and Shirley Jones. Jones won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Lulu Bains. Not sure it was THAT good a performance, but she sure did look good delivering it...