The Jesus Film

After opening with the expected quotation from John 3:16, the video Jesus bases its plot solely on the gospel of Luke, remaining rigidly faithful to the gospel and rarely adding conversations that you can not find in Luke. That makes for a far less controversial route than would occur if incorporating variations from the other three gospels that differ slightly from each other.

In a sense the choice of filming only the gospel of Luke has its strengths, as it appeals to a larger audience and presents Jesus Christ in his best. The richest parables are told here, with a larger overview of Christ's life, but the film focuses mainly of Christ's public ministry and glosses over his birth and his questioning of the priests in the temple at the age of 12. It also portrays Christ in the most positive way on the cross, as his final words in the Luke version are `Father! Into your hands I commend my spirit.'

Besides using the scripture from Luke straightforwardly, the filming locations add authenticity to the production. It appears to be straight from Jerusalem without any other settings. The scene leading to the Crucifixion does appear to take place on the actual Via Delorosa and thus provides much realism.

Even though the movie was great script and settings it is hurt by the lack of emotion. Movie seems fake in the sense of how the actors act. From the beginning starting with the narrator he has no emotion just reading the words causing it to be dull. Nothing was surprising as it was dull and you knew what was coming next if you had read the book of Luke.

The movie was just plain, plain text and plain acting. Being from 1979 you cannot expect a great video production but they could spice up the acting. After seeing what is easily the greatest Jesus movie ever made (The Passion of Christ) it is hard to be impressed but I was not expecting to be. In general it's a below average movie, had the best setting possible and the script already written just with the poor mellow dramatic acting decreased it value.

Here in the Bible belt of the United States, particularly in our Southern Baptist churches, when you say the name "Jesus Christ," most of us envision such a person as Brian Deacon, who stars as the title character of "Jesus" (1979). The plot of "Jesus" is generally well-known even by non-believers. The opening scene displays John 3:16-17 from the King James Version. Though the film claims to be entirely from The Gospel of St. Luke, it also mixes elements from Matthew's Gospel (i.e.: a more complete Lord's Prayer said by Christ and the use of the trinitarian baptismal formula).

Sadly, the acting in "Jesus" is almost as wooden as the oil-painted icons of the Eastern Church. Brian Deacon delivers a sort of solemn, meek interpretation of Jesus of Nazareth--making the scene in which he casts out the money-changers from the temple--look as if he is only frustrated, and not righteously angry. However, in the film's defense, the acting in "Jesus" is much more a product of its time in that this was generally accepted as to how Jesus acted.

"Jesus" is perhaps one of the greatest films ever made, not because of its production values or acting, but because of its content. This 80-minute film, translated into God knows how many languages, has communicated the Gospel to millions all across the globe. "Jesus," the forerunner of such films as "The Gospel of John" (2003) and "The Passion of the Christ" (2004), is one of the finest examples of evangelical film-making. Recommended for everyone.

The most ACCURATE and BRIGHT movie about Jesus Christ! Let the facts speak for themselves (from the 2004 "Jesus: Fact or Fiction" DVD):

= "The most historically accurate film about the life of Jesus Christ"

= "By far the most translated film in history, translated to over 800 languages"

= "5 billion viewers worldwide" (1979-2003)

= "After viewing the film, more than 300 million people have indicated a decision to follow the teachings of Jesus"

After seeing quite a few of them, i decided not to be a fan of Christ movies, as they often mislead you by giving the twisted (by the director) image of Him. True believers know better than any movie what He was/is like from the Bible and personal experience. But if a movie is the only way for you to reach to your friends, this would be THE ONE and ONLY!

Those who have eyes to see will see the beauty of following the Bible "script". No need to add anything else. Look deeper, see Christ's person in this film - you will be amazed by the spiritual wealth of His simplicity. How can someone call this "boring"?!

Don't wait for lots of entertainment. Jesus's life was not about having fun, but about our redemption, about witnessing Truth and serving others, about spirituality of one's soul, about life in God, and personal humility. And these all are well depicted in this great film. May God have mercy on all who toiled making it!

Indeed, it's THE MOVIE of all times! 10 out of 10.

A somewhat expurgated version of the gospel of Luke, Brian deacons version of Jesus is appealing, if somewhat un-animated. I have a great love for this film ( mainly due to the fact that it was the first film about Jesus I can remember seeing from my childhood.) Not as epic as Zeffirelli's film, nor as graphic as Gibson's, a faithful representation with only a few omissions ( I'm sure either due to budget or time constraints). the acting is at times somewhat melodramatic, but that is part of the charm of this film. the cinematography is not ground breaking but certainly serves its purpose and doesn't overshadow the story, and really thats one of the best things about this film, nothing in it overshadows the story as a whole.

I bought this for myself several weeks ago among other DVDs. I watched all the others immediately. But I waited until I was in the right frame of mind. Oh, what I missed all those days!

There are those who will say this version is dry. But I say this version is full of truth and peace.

The mood which pervades this wonderful film is so close to the Gospel as I have read it, and it is told with such a lovely pace of calm and reflection that it calls one into the telling with gentleness and not commercial flash and color. That is, if one is ready.

We are all so "spoiled" by melodramatic presentations that we forget that the story of the life of Jesus was dramatic on its own merits without need for Hollywood's elaborations or expansions.

"Jesus" is a movie I recommend to everyone, yes, even those who have no faith or interest in the Christ, if not more so.

Many blessings to this film, its creators and participants and the message it imparts with such grace, truth and peace.