The Greatest Mess Ever Retold?
The Film
Timing is everything. Unfortunately for director George Stevens, 1965 was rather miserable timing for a Biblical epic; the public had their fill of Biblical epics in the previous decade including the classic The Ten Commandments. America was also undergoing major social change and the last thing it wanted was a preachy 3-hour drama about Jesus of Nazareth, so it makes one wonder why a studio would commit $20 million to The Greatest Story Ever Told (which lost money) -- but eventually earned 5 Oscar nominations.
Max Von Sydow (The Exorcist, Minority Report) was cast as Jesus of Nazareth, and while Von Sydow has always been a very fine actor (he was even good in Flash Gordon and Strange Brew), he was just an odd choice for the "role" of roles. He may have looked the part (it is all in the eyes), but his voice gave it away and tossed it all in the Sea of Galilee. The film also suffered from a lack of emotion; which was rather odd considering the subject matter. Everything just felt flat.
Stevens also took a risk by loading the film up with every major star that he could find; a majority were cameo appearances, including John Wayne, Shelley Winters, and Sidney Poitier. John Wayne's portrayal of a Roman Centurion present at the Crucifixion was so ridiculous that it demeaned the entire sequence of the film; arguably the most important part of the film. The dialogue was also rather campy and out of place for the period.
What could have been the greatest film about Jesus, turned into the Poseidon Adventure of Biblical tales and it's hard to redeem yourself when you make a film about the son of G-d that leaves true believers sleeping in their seats.
The Picture
The Greatest Story Ever Told begins with a disclaimer to warn the audience that the print copy is the best that they could find. Thanks for lowering our expectations right out of the gate, MGM. The Blu-ray transfer utilizes the original 2.75:1 aspect ratio (Ultra Panavision 70mm) and while it looks very cinematic, it doesn't look like the greatest transfer ever offered (I just made that up all by myself). The 1080p presentation is superior to the DVD, but it is still laced with scratches and artifacts.
The film has a significant number of dark scenes and while black levels are okay, there is a noticeable level of crush present in some scenes. Colors fare far better and have a nice saturated look to them. There is a lot of detail present in this film and for the most part it looks quite clear. When the camera pulls back, however, you start to notice a lack of focus and clarity. My biggest concern with the transfer is that it's rife with artifacts and moire which can be quite distracting. Overall, the transfer looks quite soft and is less than reference quality; compared to The Ten Commandments which looks utterly fantastic.
The Sound
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is a significant improvement over the DVD; Alfred Newman's score is just incredibly haunting and gorgeous to listen to. Dialogue sounds very clear, but you can tell which scenes were dubbed (I'd guess a lot of them). There isn't a lot of rear channel information, but what exists does add to the overall ambience of the score; mostly the music and some crowd reactions. LFE is all but non-existent -- except for the ascent into Heaven (although I can't tell if G-d was pissed at the Romans or the studio executives for making the movie) which has some floor rattling thunderclaps. It's not a bad mix at all.
The Extras
The bonus content features two featurettes that offer some insight into Stevens (the commentary is offered by Charlton Heston, Shelley Winters, and others) and the location of the filmmaking. Unlike The Ten Commandments which utilized Egypt for some of the cinematography, the film was shot in Arizona and the 27-minute featurette has some great behind the scenes footage.
There is also a deleted version of the Via Dolorosa segment which was subsequently used for promotional purposes. MGM has also included the original theatrical trailer in HD.
Final Thoughts
In the panthenon of Biblical cinema, The Greatest Story Ever Told is certainly one of the "must-see" films, but does it really hold a candle to The King of Kings, The Ten Commandments, or even Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ which elicited a far more passionate response from audiences around the globe? The plethora of camero appearances diminish Von Sydow's performance and the Blu-ray transfer is not exactly blemish free, so this one is for true believers only.
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