Barabbas (With CD Sampler)

Richard Fleischer's Barabbas
This is not your father's uplifting wishy-washy Biblical epic. This is a violent, dark, and sometimes depressing story that is quite a change from many religious films.

Based on a novel, this film imagines what happened to Barabbas after he was chosen over Jesus to be released before crucifixion. Anthony Quinn is a perfect choice as the unrepentant thief who goes back to the world he knows- crime and carousing. His favorite prostitute Rachel, however, has become a Christian and is later stoned for it. Barabbas is not just an observer, he sees Jesus go to the crucifixion, and later finds Rachel at the open grave. Barabbas goes back to his old gang of thieves, murders the new leaders, and they rob some Jewish clerics. Caught, he is sent to the sulfur mines for life, where he meets Christian Sahak, played by Vittorio Gassman. Sahak knows Barabbas' name and reputation, and attacks him. They eventually become friends, since they are shackled together in the pit. Barabbas survives in the...

One Great Film
I've often wished for a widescreen edition of Barabbas and now here it is. I became excited several months ago when I saw this edition was to be relased on DVD. So here I am on March 5th ordering my copy. I own the VHS version which distracts from the excellent photogarphy. There are some important things to know about the production of this film: the crucifixion sequece was filmed during an actual eclipse, a one shot scene. The sets were constructed three dimnesional so the streets of Jerusalem and Rome appear real. Anthony Quinn was a perfect choice for Barabbas. If you've read the book this film will provide a quality visual to the fine, simple telling of a man's life, the man who was spared crucifixion and free'd instead of our Lord. Also if you've read the book you'll know what Barabbas is thinking most of the time. Quinn is excellent, his eyes ever roaming in thought of survival. This is a big movie shot in a down to earth realistic way. A fine study in seeking truth,...

grim but interesting
One always wonders what might have happened to both Barabbas and Pontius Pilate, and this is a fanciful tale about the fate of the man who was chosen to live, based on the novel by Par Lagerkvist (winner of a Nobel prize for Literature in 1951).

The scourging and crucifixion are shown, but mostly, Jesus is seen through His followers, and the faith that endures in them throughout the film. A solar eclipse apparently happened during the filming, and it is the backdrop for the darkened sky at the crucifixion, used to great effect.

Anthony Quinn is perfect as Barabbas, and heads a fine international cast, with Silvana Mangano as his former girlfriend who has become a follower of Jesus, Arthur Kennedy as Pontius Pilate, Harry Andrews as Peter, Valentina Cortese as the wife of a high-ranking Roman, Ernest Borgnine as a Christian in Rome, and Katy Jurado (at the time Mrs. Borgnine) as one of the raunchy women in Barabbas' Jerusalem gang.

Two of the best...

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