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Jesus (1979 film)

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Jesus
Directed byPeter Sykes
John Krisch
Written byBarnet Bain
Luke (book)
Produced byJohn Heyman
Richard F. Dalton
StarringBrian Deacon
Yosef Shiloach
Rivka Neumann
Music byNachium Heiman
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dates
October, 1979 ((US)
Running time
115 min.
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million

Jesus (alternately called The Jesus Film), is a 1979 motion picture which depicts the life of Jesus Christ according primarily to the Gospel of Luke in the Christian Bible. It was co-directed by Australian Peter Sykes and Englishman John Krisch and filmed in Israel.

History

The film's origins date back to 1945 when a young businessman named Bill Bright wanted to privately finance a film about the life of Jesus Christ[1] that was entertaining, biblically accurate, and which could be translated into non-English languages. Rather than making a film at that time, Bright went on to found a Christian ministry to reach college students called Campus Crusade for Christ in 1951.

In 1976, with Campus Crusade's influence spreading beyond college campuses to sports, the marketplace and other aspects of society, Bright turned his attention once again to filmmaking. Hollywood producer John Heyman approached Bright to fund a project to put the entire Bible on film. The project would eventually be scaled back to just one book of the Bible, the Gospel of Luke, and be financed primarily by Campus Crusade supporters Bunker and Caroline Hunt[2] for a sum of $6 million.

A team of 500 scholars and leaders from secular and Christian organizations began to research historical elements for a film about Jesus. Filming took place over the course of several months throughout the Middle East.

Jesus was produced by John Heyman, a German-born Jew. British Shakespearean actor Brian Deacon was hired to play the critical role of Jesus himself. The part of Mary was played by Rivka Neumann, and the part of Joseph was played by Yosef Shiloach. Former Jesus Film Project director Paul Eshleman, who was on location during much of the principal photography and even had a small non-speaking role as a Roman soldier on horseback, revealed in the DVD's audio commentary[3] that Deacon (the son of a Catholic mother and a Protestant father), was so committed to the film and its message that he read several Bible translations a day in order to make certain that he properly presented Christ's teachings. Because Deacon developed pneumonia during principal photography, doubles were used in certain scenes. Eshleman also claimed that Niko Nitai, who played Peter, became a believer during filming and that the man hired to play Jesus' corpse later entered a seminary.

Some locations mentioned in the Bible, such as the Jordan River and what is believed to have been the home of Simon the Tanner, were used in the film.

After each day's filming was completed, the footage was sent to a panel of biblical scholars for review.

Instead of creating a parallel story for the film or embellishing the biblical account, as is the case with other religious films such as The Ten Commandments or The Greatest Story Ever Told, the filmmakers chose to adhere as closely as possible to the Gospel of Luke. Most of the film's dialogue comes from Luke, which was chosen after John Heyman sought advice from clergy and scholars. Many responded that the screenplay should be based on just one Gospel, and that Luke should be used because of its completeness.

Scenes for The Story of Jesus for Children, which removed much of Jesus' more violent scenes and added more appropriate ones for younger viewers, were filmed concurrently with those of Jesus.

Jesus was released by Warner Bros. in the United States. It was not a money-maker, losing approximately $2 million. While praising its "meticulous attention to authenticity", critics panned Jesus for being "painfully monotonous."[4]

In 1981, Bill Bright created the Jesus Film Project organization with the goal of accurately translating Jesus into other languages and showing them around the world. The first translation was done for the Tagalog-speaking people of the Philippines. The organization works with thousands of missionaries around the world to show the film, sometimes to audiences who have never seen a motion picture. Distribution in the United States has included direct mail campaigns sponsored by churches to deliver a copy of the film to every address in select zip codes across the country. In 2004, the organization made the film available for viewing on its website in over 300 languages. Both Jesus and The Story of Jesus for Children are available in DVD and VHS formats. Audio dramatizations in a number of languages are also available.


New versions

In 2001, a new opening sequence depicting the creation of man, the expulsion from Eden, Abraham's aborted sacrifice of his son, and the prophesies of Isaiah was filmed to show, as Paul Eshleman states in the audio commentary, how Jesus' life fits into the span of history.

In 2002 a special edition of Jesus commemorating the September 11 attacks was distributed in the VHS format. It contains introductions by New York City firefighters and police officers and has a running time of 83 minutes.

An edited DVD version of Jesus was also packaged with Jesus: Fact or Fiction, which was produced in 2003 by Inspirational Films. This features a section called the "Journey of Spiritual Discovery." Biblical scholars, historians, philosophers, authors and ministers answer specific questions relating to God, Jesus, Christianity, the archaeological, scientific, and historical accuracy of the Bible, and testimony from many Christian men and women. Viewers can browse the numerous topics individually, or they can watch the film and, when prompted by a "discovery glass" icon, can access relevant comments. After they are finished, the viewer is returned to the scene they were watching.

Statistics

According to the New York Times,[5] Jesus is likely the most-watched motion picture of all time.[6][7] The Jesus Film Project states[8] that Jesus has been viewed almost 5.6 billion times (including repeat viewings). This is based on the following criteria:

  • The 1,065 DVD, VHS, and audio-only translations of Jesus;[9]
  • The number of showings by the Jesus Film Project's volunteer film teams, who operate in 100 nations;[10] and
  • Over 225 million people have either converted to Christianity or vowed to convert after viewing the film.[11]

However, Vinay Samuel, executive director of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Mission Theologians, is critical of these numbers. Samuel told the New York Times that in his opinion, these statistics are "to say the least, not gathered in a social-scientific way."[12]

See also

References

References:

  1. ^ Come Help Change the World, by Bill Bright, page 143
  2. ^ Come Help Change the World, by Bill Bright, pages 144-145
  3. ^ DVD audio commentary
  4. ^ Putting Jesus in Every Mailbox
  5. ^ NYTimes.com Article: The Passion's Precedent: The Most-Watched Film Ever?
  6. ^ The New York Times, July 22, 2003, page 1AR "1979 Bible Film is the Most-Watched Movie of All Time"
  7. ^ BBC News: The most watched film in history
  8. ^ Jesus Film Project's statistics page
  9. ^ Jesus Film Project's statistics page
  10. ^ Jesus Film Project's statistics page
  11. ^ Jesus Film Project's statistics page
  12. ^ New York Times - Baptism by Celluloid
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