With the holiest of all Christian holidays arriving this weekend, it might be a good time to put the spotlight on some of the higher-quality Easter-themed features. Unlike most Christmas movies which are much greater in number and desired commercial appeal (and always lower in actual rewarding spiritual content), these select films put the emphasis on faith, message, redemption, and hope.
‘Ben-Hur’ (1959)
The second adaptation (after the 1925 silent film) of the 1880 Lew Wallace novel “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ” is easily the highest-profile, most-familiar title on this list. Director William Wyler’s sprawling epic won 11 Academy Awards (a record it now shares with “Titanic” and “The Lord of The Rings: Return of the King”), including Best Picture.Oscar-winner Charlton Heston plays Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish nobleman accused of a high crime and then made a slave. He is made to fight for his freedom against his childhood friend (and sadistic Roman soldier) Messala (Stephen Boyd), which concludes with the iconic chariot race sequence.
In one of the movie’s most touching sub-plots, Haya Harareet (as Esther) and Martha Scott (as Miriam) co-star as Ben-Hur’s sister and mother who become afflicted with leprosy. Only seen from a distance or behind and speaking no dialogue throughout is the uncredited Claude Heater as Christ. Heater entirely dominates the third act during the depiction of the Passion. Whatever you do, avoid the disastrous and thoroughly unnecessary 2016 remake of the same name.
‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ (1988)
Based on the controversial 1955 novel by Nikos Kazantakis and adapted for the screen by Paul Schrader, director Martin Scorsese had been working on getting his most personal film to date produced for over a decade. Receiving protests and serious threats from multiple organizations (religious and otherwise) before shooting even started, “Temptation” is far more hopeful and deep than those who have never seen it continue to claim.Apart from the iffy casting of the Scorsese regular Harvey Keitel as Judas, David Bowie as Pontius Pilate, Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene, and Willem Dafoe as Christ, all deliver superb, measured performances. Had the picture been made three years earlier as Scorsese intended, the late singer Vanity would have been cast as Magdalene, Ray Davies of the Kinks would have played Judas, Sting of the Police would have appeared as Pilate, and Aidan Quinn in the role of Christ. That would have been a very different film.
‘Risen’ (2016)
The arguable sleeper of this lot, “Risen” more than doubled its modest $20 million budget at the box office and, as usual, left the critics divided. Using the Gospels as their blueprint, director Kevin Reynolds (“Fandango,” “Waterworld,” “The Count of Monte Cristo”) and his co-writer Paul Aiello present the Ascension as a mystery crime procedural and refer to Christ as “Yeshua.”Joseph Fiennes stars as Clavius, a fictional Roman Tribune who is sent by Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) to investigate the disappearance of a recently crucified man being called “The Messiah.” Getting little to no help from the disciples and stale (or purposefully vague) leads, Clavius begins to feel the wrath of not only Pilate, but also the Jewish holy leaders and hierarchy, and begins to rethink his priorities. If only for originality, “Risen” deserves a solid five stars.
‘King of Kings’ (1962)
With high critical and audience approval numbers, “King of Kings” did receive some initial backlash when MGM studios and director Nicholas Ray cast Jeffrey Hunter as Christ. It is worth mentioning Hunter was 33 years old at the time, the same age as Christ upon his death. Referred to by many at the time of release as a “lightweight pretty boy,” Hunter was known primarily for his strong supporting turn in “The Searchers” and subsequent Westerns and, a few years later, U.S.S. Enterprise Captain Christopher Pike in the pilot episode of the original “Star Trek” TV series.In keeping with the somewhat sanitized depictions of violence in the “sword and sandal” epics of the time, Ray and his screenwriters (Philip Yordan and an uncredited Ray Bradbury) deserve extra bonus points for including events taking place prior to the birth and after the death of Christ.
‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’ (1965)
At the time it was produced, director George Stevens’s cradle-to-grave epic (with an original 260 minute running time), was the most expensive film of all time and took over five years from drawing board to theatrical release.Wanting an unknown actor to play Christ (as to not distract from the story), Stevens cast the Swedish Max von Sydow (a favorite of Ingmar Bergman who had never appeared in an English language film) in the role, and then proceeded to surround him with what was seemingly every major star on Earth in extended cameos.
To date, it has never cleared a profit but still remains treasured by many fans, some of whom think it’s the finest film of its type ever produced. As far as pure showmanship is concerned—the photography, the locations (all in the southwest United States), and the score by maestro Alfred Newman—few productions before or since have reached such a level of jaw-dropping spectacle.
