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A stately, old-school biblical epic with impressive scale, handsome compositions, and a serious reverent tone, but it’s also famously long, slow, and emotionally distant. Best approached as a piece of 1960s roadshow spectacle rather than a gripping drama.
Where to watch: Buy
Fri · 3h 19m
Director: George Stevens
Starring: Max von Sydow, Michael Anderson Jr., Carroll Baker
From his birth in Bethlehem to his death and eventual resurrection, the life of Jesus Christ is given the all-star treatment in this epic retelling. Major aspects of Christ's life are touched upon, including the execution of all the newborn males in Egypt by King Herod; Christ's baptism by John the Baptist; and the betrayal by Judas after the Last Supper that eventually leads to Christ's crucifixion and miraculous return.
George Stevens
Max von Sydow, Michael Anderson Jr., Carroll Baker
A stately, old-school biblical epic with impressive scale, handsome compositions, and a serious reverent tone, but it’s also famously long, slow, and emotionally distant. Best approached as a piece of 1960s roadshow spectacle rather than a gripping drama.
George Stevens mounts the life of Jesus as a monumental studio-era pageant, with vast landscapes, elaborate crowd scenes, and a cast that seems to include half of classic Hollywood. The film’s ambition is undeniable, and its visual grandeur still lands in places, especially when it leans into monumental framing and ceremonial scale.
But the movie’s reverence is also its biggest limitation. It often feels more like an illustrated scripture than a drama, moving with a heavy, deliberate pace and keeping its central figure at a distance. That restraint can read as austere or even inert, depending on your tolerance for solemnity.
For viewers who love biblical epics, roadshow presentation, and the craftsmanship of old Hollywood spectacle, it remains a notable artifact. For everyone else, it may feel like a beautifully mounted endurance test.
Leighton Trent (3★) · 105 likes
If your mom made you watch this on or around every religious holiday as a child, can George Stevens' Biblical behemoth still be the greatest story ever told?? 🤔
Andrew Warren (3★) · 97 likes
52 Weeks, 52 Religious Films I was excited, but a little nervous going into George Stevens’ The Greatest Story Ever Told. I was excited because it was directed by Stevens, who directed A Place in the Sun, a film I absolutely adore. But I was nervous because this is a 3:20 behemoth of a film, structured like the roadshow American epics of the 50’s and 60’s, with an overture and an intermission. And like those epics, it’s an absolute stunning… more
shookone (2★) · 93 likes
good anti-capitalist propaganda watch for you and your grandma during the Easter holidays, so you both can peacefully fall asleep in the armchair for three hours after tea time. Monty Python got really stiff and lame here though, what a pity. in return the british jokers got a big budget for some beautiful shots and Max von Sydows deeply tragic blue eyes. cool beans, you dynamic slug, you!
anjy (3★) · 91 likes
that jesus fella seems pretty powerful
Colin the dude (2★) · 75 likes
I swear that the entire 200 minute run time is in 0.5 speed. The Messiah? More like the Molasses. But as a George Stevens completist, you still have to watch it. That's the bad news. The good news is that he subbed the Middle East for the Grand Canyon, so you at least get to stare at the majesty of that place for long periods of time; as baffling as it is to see Jesus preaching on the cliffs of
A benchmark for studio-era biblical spectacle, with more propulsion, emotional sweep, and visual invention.
For a more intense, spiritually charged portrait of suffering and transcendence.
Another major biblical epic that pairs reverence with a more accessible dramatic shape.
A leaner, more immediate, and more humanistic approach to the life of Christ.
For viewers who want theological material treated with psychological depth and dramatic tension.
A grand companion piece in scale, pageantry, and old-school biblical spectacle.
Lavish historical-religious spectacle with imperial scale and classical Hollywood grandeur.
A similarly massive roadshow epic where production design and star power are the main attractions.
Not religious, but ideal for viewers drawn to monumental landscapes and epic framing.
A sweeping historical epic with stately presentation and medieval grandeur.
A foundational widescreen biblical drama with strong studio-era reverence and spectacle.
A more somber, reflective biblical-adjacent drama about guilt, faith, and redemption.
biblical epic, faith and devotion, sacrifice, miracles, betrayal, crucifixion, resurrection, religious history
biblical epic, roadshow, religious drama, 1960s Hollywood, historical pageant, solemn tone, sacrifice, miracles, crowd scenes, epic scale