The Jesus Film

This was, I thought, the best cinematic summary of the life of Christ I have yet seen. Brian Deacon, who portrays Jesus, looks the part and speaks with quiet authority. His interaction with children in the movie gives a moving picture of the tenderness of Christ. The words of Christ are given in modern translation making it easy for the viewer to understand the language. Simon Peter (Niko Nitai) looks the part and acts it well. The movie allows about the same amount for the last week of Christ's life as does the gospel (about 25%). While not a perfect movie (nothing on earth is perfect), this is a delightful one. If you are looking for an accurate picture of Christ which accords well with the Bible, this is it!

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.

To write about such a delicate film as about Christ Himself in this age of an extreme political correctness is a tough task. This work appeals immensely to all the believers and works out fine to convert all the newcomers. To the non-believers, this work will seem dull and boring, but then, let's be straight - this is the most accurate, the most precise and elegant retelling of the Gospel According to Luke. Since I am a Protestant Christian myself, I must say that this film really did help me to understand who Jesus is and what He was doing among us the people on Earth. The play of Mr. Deacon is very good, he does an extremely difficult work and he does it well. I remember my eyes were wet with tears during the Crucifix scene, and then my heart leaped violently with joy during the final scenes. The film is very well done, by seeing the sandy dusty plains and hills of Israel, you feel the smell of age, you do believe in the truth of the plot and you do follow the film scene by scene. A very serious and thoughtful work.

The Jesus Film is a wonderful Jesus movie that adapts The Gospel of Luke, save for John 3:16-17. The movie also sticks very close to The Bible. It's one of the best movies ever made about Jesus, though admittedly looking at it as a movie, it has a few flaws.

As I said, The Jesus Film stays very close to Luke. There are many well done scenes, such as Mary's visit from Gabriel, the Crucifixion and Reurrection, and miracles such as the feeding of the 5,000 and bringing a dead girl to life. We see parables like The Good Samaratian and an uplifting rendition of the change of Zaccheus, a tax collector.

Due to the Biblical accuracy, The Jesus Film has been used around the world by missionaries to spread the Gospel, which lead to many foriegn people becoming Christians. In fact, there are over 1,000 translations, including sign language versions. As a result, it is the most translated film of all time- praise God!

Jesus is played by Brian Deacon, and he is one of the best actors to play our Savior. He presents Jesus in both ways performance wise. His portrayal is very human and divine at once.

There are other good performances as well, such as Niko Nitai, who plays Peter. Alexander Scourby, known for his audio recording of the Bible, narrates as Luke. There are many other fine roles as well.

As an adaptation of the Gospels, this undoubtedly gets a 10. This is easily one of the best Jesus movies ever made. However, as I mentioned, as a movie, it has a few issues.

One easy example is the scene where Jesus calms a storm. It's clearly filmed during the day, and the acting here is poor. When Peter shouts for Jesus, he just says: "Help us. Help us Lord." with no emotion. There is also a scene where Peter sobs for denying Jesus, and he clearly sheds no tears.

It's known that most of the actors had thick accents and needed to be dubbed, so that is not Niko's fault. I just can't fathom how the dubbers passed off those recordings without further takes.

The movie is 2 hours long, and that's just fine. The movie is very enjoyable for a person like me, who enjoys Biblical epics. That said, the movie does seem to drag often. The last 2 times I have viewed The Jesus Film, it has taken me 4, not 2 hours to view it. There's nothing I'd take out or anything, but the 2 hours are a bit too slow paced for a movie.

While the movie is very Biblically sound, there are some metaphors that are taken literally. When Jesus is baptized, Alexander Scourby says that the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus AS a dove. A dove then lands on Jesus.

This is to dramtize Luke 3:22, which says:"and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form LIKE a dove." It seems that there was no real dove, although for visual purposes I can see why that was done. Still, it appears to be an inaccurate way to view that verse.

When Jesus prays in Gethsemane in the movie, he sweats blood. Luke 22:44 says "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was AS it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."

On the DVD Jesus: Fact or Fiction? There is a version of the film that has features explaining possible ways that Jesus miracles could have occurred, and one included is "Is it possible to sweat blood?". Apparently, one CAN in fact sweat blood if they are distressed enough.

However, the verse says that Jesus's sweat was AS drops of blood falling, so, again, in a plain reading, it appears that Jesus was profusely sweating at the thought of being crucified.

Also, for some reason Jesus does not wear a crown of thorns on the cross- why this was done or how it went unnoticed is beyond me.

It is true that as a piece of cinema, The Jesus Film has flaws- slow pacing, slight inaccuracies from Scripture, mediocre effects, and poor dubbing. However, as a Bible movie, there is much merit to the film, and today it remains as one of the most powerful and accurate movies about Jesus's life to date compared to some others. (Jesus Christ Superstar comes to mind in the Jesus department.)

Minor critiques aside, there are few Jesus, or Bible movies for that matter, that I would recommend more than this. In the genre of Biblical epics, consider The Jesus Film to be a must see.

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.