Jesus (1979 film)

Jesus
Release poster
Directed byPeter Sykes
John Krish
Screenplay byBarnet Fishbein
Based onGospel of Luke
(Good News Translation)
Produced byJohn Heyman
Starring
Narrated byAlexander Scourby
CinematographyMike Reid
Music by
Production
companies
  • Genesis Project[1]
  • Inspirational Films
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • November 2, 1980 (1980-11-02)
[2]
Running time
117 minutes
CountryUnited States[3]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million
Box office$4 million

JESUS (also known as The Jesus Film) is a 1979 American Biblical drama film directed by Peter Sykes and John Krish, and produced by John Heyman. In Jesus, the life of Jesus Christ is depicted, primarily using the Gospel of Luke as the main basis for the story. A voice-over narration is featured sporadically throughout the film, providing background information on characters and events.[4]

Shot on location in Israel, the film was financed primarily by Campus Crusade for Christ with a budget of $6 million, and was released without production or cast credits, as producer John Heyman declared that the creators of this picture were “simply being translators” of the New Testament's Gospel of Luke, “so nobody will know who produced or directed the film.”[4] The end of the film states that the Good News Bible (Today's English Version) was used during filming, and instead of telling a parallel story or embellishing the Biblical account like other Biblical films, the filmmakers chose to adhere to the Gospel of Luke as closely as possible.[5]

JESUS is often described as the most-watched motion picture of all time,[6][7] in addition to being the most translated film of all time.[8][9]

  1. ^ "Jesus (1979)". American Film Institute. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Jesus - Rotten Tomatoes". rottentomatoes.com.
  3. ^ "Film: Jesus". LUMIERE. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  4. ^ a b AFI CATALOG OF FEATURE FILMS
  5. ^ Franklin Foer (2004-02-08). "Baptism by celluloid". New York Times.
  6. ^ The New York Times, July 22, 2003, page 1AR "1979 Bible Film is the Most-Watched Movie of All Time"
  7. ^ Giles Wilson (2003-07-21). "The most watched film in history". BBC News.
  8. ^ "The Jesus Film Updated". Archived from the original on 2019-08-04. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  9. ^ The Jesus Film, The 'Most Translated Film' in History, Get Remastered for the Modern Era (VIDEO) by William Rameau, June 15, 2014, from Breathecast.com