It is almost six hours long. That’s a massive commitment for anyone with a remote control and a short attention span. Yet, every year around Easter or Christmas, millions of people find themselves glued to the screen for the Jesus of Nazareth movie—which, technically, is a miniseries, but try telling that to the fans who watch it in one marathon sitting. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli, this production didn't just tell a religious story; it basically defined the visual language of the New Testament for an entire generation.
Honestly, it’s hard to overstate how much this one project influenced our collective imagination. When you picture the face of Christ, there is a very high probability you’re actually picturing Robert Powell. The blue eyes. The stillness. It's iconic.
The Robert Powell Phenomenon and That "No Blinking" Rule
Casting Jesus is a nightmare for any director. You need someone who feels human but also carries this heavy weight of the divine. Originally, Zeffirelli was looking at big names like Al Pacino or Dustin Hoffman. Can you imagine? It would have been a totally different vibe. Instead, he chose Robert Powell, who had originally auditioned for the role of Judas.
Legend has it—and Zeffirelli confirmed this in various interviews—that Powell was instructed not to blink. Seriously. If you watch the Jesus of Nazareth movie closely, you’ll notice that for vast stretches of screen time, Powell’s eyes are wide open, piercing right through the camera. It gives him this haunting, otherworldly quality that makes the character feel distinct from everyone else in the frame.
It wasn't just about the eyes, though. Powell’s voice had this specific resonance. He wasn't shouting. He was speaking with a quiet authority that made the Sermon on the Mount feel less like a lecture and more like a conversation you happened to overhear.
Why the Production Design Still Holds Up in 2026
We live in an era of CGI and green screens. If this were made today, the Temple in Jerusalem would be a digital render, and the Sea of Galilee would be a tank in a warehouse in Atlanta. But in 1977, they went to Tunisia and Morocco. They built sets that felt dusty, cramped, and real.
The textures are what get you. You can almost smell the wood shavings in Joseph’s shop. You see the sweat on the brows of the disciples. It’s gritty. Zeffirelli, coming from a background in opera and Shakespeare, knew how to make things look "lived-in." He didn't want a shiny, sanitized Hollywood version of the first century. He wanted stones, dirt, and heavy wool.
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Interestingly, the costume design by Marcel Escoffier and Enrico Sabbatini didn't just look "biblical"—it looked historically grounded. They used natural dyes and rough-hewn fabrics. It’s that commitment to physical reality that keeps the Jesus of Nazareth movie from feeling like a dated relic of the seventies. It feels timeless because it doesn't rely on the "high-tech" gimmicks of its era.
A Cast That Should Have Been Impossible
Look at the credits. It’s insane.
- Anne Bancroft as Mary Magdalene.
- Ernest Borgnine as the Roman Centurion.
- Christopher Plummer as Herod Antipas.
- James Mason as Joseph of Arimathea.
- Laurence Olivier as Nicodemus.
- Ian McShane as Judas Iscariot.
You just don’t see ensembles like this anymore. Usually, when you cram that many stars into one movie, it becomes a distraction. You’re just pointing at the screen saying, "Oh look, it's the guy from The Sound of Music!" But here, they all sort of melt into the scenery.
Ian McShane’s portrayal of Judas is particularly worth talking about. In many earlier films, Judas was a cartoon villain. He was sneaky and obviously evil from the jump. McShane plays him as a confused intellectual, a man who thinks he’s doing the right thing for his people but gets caught in a political gears-of-war situation he can't control. It’s a nuanced take that makes the eventual betrayal feel tragic rather than just a plot point.
Navigating the Controversy and the Script
It wasn't all smooth sailing. Before the film even aired, it got hit by a wave of protest. Bob Jones III, then-president of Bob Jones University, famously called the production "blasphemy" because it supposedly emphasized the humanity of Jesus too much. He hadn't even seen it yet. Pressure from religious groups actually led General Motors to pull their $3 million sponsorship.
Procter & Gamble eventually stepped in, and when the show finally aired on NBC, it was a massive hit. The script, co-written by Anthony Burgess (the guy who wrote A Clockwork Orange, believe it or not), Suso Cecchi d'Amico, and Zeffirelli, struck a delicate balance. It followed the Gospel accounts closely but filled in the "connective tissue" that helps a modern audience understand the political tensions of Roman-occupied Judea.
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They didn't just show miracles. They showed the high stakes. They showed why the Sanhedrin was nervous and why the Romans were twitchy. It made the story feel like a political thriller as much as a religious epic.
The Music: Maurice Jarre’s Secret Weapon
You can’t talk about the Jesus of Nazareth movie without mentioning the score. Maurice Jarre—the man behind Lawrence of Arabia—composed the music. It’s not your typical "angelic choir" soundtrack. It uses Middle Eastern instruments, flutes, and percussion that feel indigenous to the setting.
The main theme is simple. It's repetitive. But it builds. By the time you get to the Crucifixion and the subsequent Resurrection scenes, the music is doing about 60% of the emotional heavy lifting. It’s a masterclass in how to use sound to create an atmosphere of awe without being cheesy.
Some Things Most People Get Wrong
People often confuse this film with The Greatest Story Ever Told or The Passion of the Christ. Here’s the deal: Zeffirelli’s version is the middle ground. It’s not as "Old Hollywood" as the 50s epics, and it’s not as visceral or violent as Mel Gibson’s version.
One common misconception is that it’s a strictly Catholic film because Zeffirelli was Italian. In reality, the production consulted with experts from various faiths, including Jewish and Muslim scholars, to ensure a level of cultural accuracy that was pretty rare for the time. They wanted to get the Jewish context of Jesus's life right, which is why the scenes involving the Temple rituals feel so authentic.
Why We Are Still Talking About It in 2026
In a world where we have The Chosen and various other high-budget adaptations, the Jesus of Nazareth movie remains the benchmark. Why? Because it’s patient. It takes its time. It allows for silence.
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In modern filmmaking, there’s a fear of boredom. Everything has to be fast. Cut, cut, cut. But Zeffirelli lets the camera linger on a face for thirty seconds. He lets the wind howl across the desert. He understands that for a story to feel "holy," it needs space to breathe.
Also, it's surprisingly accessible. You don't need a theology degree to follow what's happening. The human drama—the friendship, the betrayal, the maternal grief of Mary (played beautifully by Olivia Hussey)—is universal.
How to Approach Watching It Today
If you're planning to revisit this classic or watch it for the first time, don't try to power through it in one night. It was designed as a miniseries for a reason.
- Break it into segments: Treat it like a limited series. Watch the Nativity and early ministry first, then the rise of the apostles, and finally the Passion.
- Look at the background: Pay attention to the extras and the set details. Every frame is like a Renaissance painting.
- Compare the portrayals: If you’ve seen other versions of these characters, notice how McShane’s Judas or Hussey’s Mary differ from the tropes.
The legacy of this production is its ability to be both a piece of art and a cultural touchstone. It managed to satisfy both the devout and the film critics, which is a miracle in itself. Whether you view it through a lens of faith or purely as a historical epic, the craft involved is undeniable. It’s a massive, sprawling, dusty, and deeply human look at a figure who shaped history.
To truly appreciate the Jesus of Nazareth movie, one has to look past the 1970s film grain and see the intentionality behind every shot. From the lighting in the Last Supper—clearly inspired by Da Vinci—to the stark, haunting silence of the wilderness, Zeffirelli created a visual vocabulary that we still use today. It’s not just a movie; it’s a time capsule of a moment when Hollywood and history collided to create something that feels surprisingly permanent.
Your Practical Next Steps
If you want to dive deeper into this specific cinematic history, start by comparing the "Sermon on the Mount" scene in this film to the same scene in 1961's King of Kings. You'll immediately see the shift from theatricality to realism. Next, look for the "making of" documentaries often included in anniversary Blu-ray releases; they reveal the grueling conditions the cast endured in the North African heat. Finally, check out the original 1977 reviews from critics like Roger Ebert to see how it was received before it became a "classic." This provides a clearer picture of why this version survived while dozens of other biblical epics have been forgotten.