The Greatest Story Ever Told
Encyclopedia
The Greatest Story Ever Told is a 1965 American epic film
produced and directed by George Stevens
and distributed by United Artists
. It is a retelling of the story of Jesus Christ, from the Nativity
through the Resurrection
. This film is notable for its large ensemble cast
and for being the last film appearance of Claude Rains
.
s. The series was adapted into a 1949 novel by Fulton Oursler
, a senior editor at Reader's Digest
. Darryl F. Zanuck
, the head of 20th Century Fox
, acquired the film rights to the Oursler novel shortly after publication, but never brought it to pre-production.
In 1958, when George Stevens
was producing and directing The Diary of Anne Frank at 20th Century Fox, he became aware that the studio owned the rights to the Oursler property. Stevens created a company, 'The Greatest Story Productions', to film the novel.
It took two years to write the screenplay. Stevens collaborated with Ivan Moffet and then with James Lee Barrett
. It was the only time Stevens received screenplay credit for a film he directed. Ray Bradbury
and Reginald Rose
were considered but neither participated. The poet Carl Sandburg
was solicited though it is not certain if any of his contributions were included. Sandburg, however, did receive screen credit for “creative association.”
Financial excesses began to grow during pre-production. Stevens commissioned French artist André Girard
to prepare 352 oil paintings of Biblical scenes to use as storyboards. Stevens also traveled to the Vatican
to see Pope John XXIII
for advice.
In August 1961, 20th Century Fox withdrew from the project, noting that $2.3 million had been spent without any footage being shot. Stevens was given two years to find another studio or 20th Century Fox would reclaim its rights. Stevens moved the film to United Artists
.
as Jesus. Von Sydow had never appeared in an English-language film and was best known for his performances in Ingmar Bergman
’s dramatic films. Stevens wanted an unknown free of secular and unseemly associations in the mind of the public.
The Greatest Story Ever Told featured an ensemble of well-known actors, many of them in brief, even cameo, appearances. Some critics would later complain that the large cast distracted from the solemnity, notably in the appearance of John Wayne
as the Roman centurion
who comments on the Crucifixion by stating: “Truly this man was the son of God.”
Beyond von Sydow, the film’s primary cast was Dorothy McGuire
as the Virgin Mary, Charlton Heston
as John the Baptist
, Claude Rains
as Herod the Great
, Jose Ferrer
as Herod Antipas
, Telly Savalas
as Pontius Pilate
, Martin Landau
as Caiaphas
, David McCallum
as Judas Iscariot
, Donald Pleasence
as “The Dark Hermit” (a personification of Satan
), Michael Anderson Jr. as James the Just
, Roddy McDowall
as Matthew, Joanna Dunham
as Mary Magdalene
, Joseph Schildkraut
as Nicodemus
, and Ed Wynn
as "Old Aram".
Smaller roles (some only a few seconds) were played by Michael Ansara
, Ina Balin
, Carroll Baker
, Robert Blake
, Pat Boone
, Victor Buono
, John Considine
, Richard Conte
, Jamie Farr
, David Hedison
, Van Heflin
, Russell Johnson
, Angela Lansbury
, Robert Loggia
, Sal Mineo
, Nehemiah Persoff
, Sidney Poitier
, Gary Raymond
, Marian Seldes
, David Sheiner
, Paul Stewart
, John Wayne
, Mark Lenard
and Shelley Winters
.
, California
, Nevada
and Utah
. Pyramid Lake in Nevada represented the Sea of Galilee
, Lake Moab in Utah was used to film the Sermon on the Mount
, and California’s Death Valley
was the setting of Jesus’ 40-day journey into the wilderness.
Stevens explained his decision to use the U.S. rather than in the Middle East
or Europe
in 1962. “I wanted to get an effect of grandeur as a background to Christ, and none of the Holy Land areas shape up with the excitement of the American southwest,” he said. “I know that Colorado is not the Jordan, nor is Southern Utah, Palestine. But our intention is to romanticize the area, and it can be done better here.”
Forty-seven sets were constructed, on location and in Hollywood studios, to accommodate Stevens’ vision.
To fill location scenes with extras, Stevens turned to local sources – R.O.T.C. cadets from an Arizona high school played Roman soldiers (after 550 Navajo Indians from a nearby reservation did not give a convincing performance) and Arizona Department of Welfare provided disabled state aid recipients to play the afflicted who sought Jesus’ healing.
Principal photography was scheduled to run three months but ran nine months or more due to numerous delays and setbacks (most of which were due to Stevens' insistence on shooting dozens of retakes in every scene). Joseph Schildkraut died before completing his performance as Nicodemus, requiring scenes to be rewritten around his absence. Cinematographer William C. Mellor
had a fatal heart attack during production; Loyal Griggs
, who won an Academy Award for his cinematography on Stevens’ 1953 Western classic Shane, was brought in to replace him. Joanna Dunham became pregnant, which required costume redesigns and carefully placed camera angles.
Much of the production was shot during the winter of 1962-1963, when Arizona had heavy snow. Actor David Sheiner
, who played James the Elder, quipped in an interview about the snowdrifts: “I thought we were shooting Nanook of the North
.” Stevens was also under pressure to hurry the John the Baptist sequence, which was shot at the Glen Canyon area – it was scheduled to become Lake Powell
with the completion of the Glen Canyon Dam
, and the production held up the project.
Stevens brought in two veteran filmmakers. Jean Negulesco
filmed sequences in the Jerusalem streets while David Lean
shot the prologue featuring Herod the Great. Lean cast Claude Rains as Herod.
By the time shooting was completed in August 1963, Stevens had amassed six million feet of Ultra Panavision 70
film (about 1829 km or 1136 miles, roughly the radius of the Moon
). The budget ran to an astounding $20 million – 2010 equivalent: approximately $142 million – plus additional editing and promotion charges), making it the most expensive film shot in the U.S.
Theatre in New York City
. Critical reaction was divided. In its favor, Variety
called the film “a big, powerful moving picture demonstrating vast cinematic resource.” The Hollywood Reporter stated: “George Stevens has created a novel, reverent and important film with his view of this crucial event in the history of mankind.”
However, Bosley Crowther
in The New York Times
wrote: “The most distracting nonsense is the pop-up of familiar faces in so-called cameo roles, jarring the illusion.” Shana Alexander
in Life Magazine stated: “The pace was so stupefying that I felt not uplifted – but sandbagged!” And John Simon
– later notorious as the frequently scathing theater and film critic of New York Magazine – wrote in the National Review
: "God is unlucky in The Greatest Story Ever Told. His only begotten son turns out to be a bore." Bruce Williamson, in Playboy Magazine, likewise called the movie "a big windy bore."
Brendan Gill
wrote in The New Yorker
:
Stevens told a New York Times interviewer: “I have tremendous satisfaction that the job has been done – to its completion – the way I wanted it done; the way I know it should have been done. It belongs to the audiences now…and I prefer to let them judge.”
The original running time was 4hr 20min. The time was revised three times, to 3h 58; to 3h 17 for in the United Kingdom
, and then 2h 17 for general U.S. release. Commercially, the film was not successful (by 1983 it had grossed less than $8 million, perhaps 17% of the amount required to break even), and its inability to connect with audiences discouraged production of Biblical epics for years.
The Greatest Story Ever Told was nominated for five Academy Awards
:
For the 2001 DVD
release, a 3h 19 version was presented along with a documentary called He Walks With Beauty, which detailed the film’s tumultuous production history.
The Simpsons
episode
"The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed
" parodies
the title, although the plot bears little relation to the movie.
Epic film
An epic is a genre of film that emphasizes human drama on a grand scale. Epics are more ambitious in scope than other film genres, and their ambitious nature helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film...
produced and directed by George Stevens
George Stevens
George Stevens was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Among his most notable films were Diary of Anne Frank , nominated for Best Director, Giant , winner of Oscar for Best Director, Shane , Oscar nominated, and A Place in the Sun , winner of Oscar for Best...
and distributed by United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
. It is a retelling of the story of Jesus Christ, from the Nativity
Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
through the Resurrection
Resurrection of Jesus
The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...
. This film is notable for its large ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
and for being the last film appearance of Claude Rains
Claude Rains
Claude Rains was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 66 years. He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The Invisible Man , a corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Mr...
.
Pre-production
The Greatest Story Ever Told originated as a U.S. radio series in 1947, half-hour episodes inspired by the GospelGospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s. The series was adapted into a 1949 novel by Fulton Oursler
Fulton Oursler
Charles Fulton Oursler was an American journalist, playwright, editor and writer. Writing as Anthony Abbot, he was an notable author of mysteries and detective fiction.-Life:...
, a senior editor at Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
. Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck was an American producer, writer, actor, director and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors...
, the head of 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, acquired the film rights to the Oursler novel shortly after publication, but never brought it to pre-production.
In 1958, when George Stevens
George Stevens
George Stevens was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Among his most notable films were Diary of Anne Frank , nominated for Best Director, Giant , winner of Oscar for Best Director, Shane , Oscar nominated, and A Place in the Sun , winner of Oscar for Best...
was producing and directing The Diary of Anne Frank at 20th Century Fox, he became aware that the studio owned the rights to the Oursler property. Stevens created a company, 'The Greatest Story Productions', to film the novel.
It took two years to write the screenplay. Stevens collaborated with Ivan Moffet and then with James Lee Barrett
James Lee Barrett
James Lee Barrett was an American producer, screenwriter, and writer.Barrett, along with Peter Udell and Phillip Rose won the 1975 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Shenandoah, which was based on his 1965 film by the same name, which starred James Stewart.Other notable works written by...
. It was the only time Stevens received screenplay credit for a film he directed. Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
and Reginald Rose
Reginald Rose
Reginald Rose was an American film and television writer most widely known for his work in the early years of television drama. Rose's work is marked by its treatment of controversial social and political issues...
were considered but neither participated. The poet Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg was an American writer and editor, best known for his poetry. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for a biography of Abraham Lincoln. H. L. Mencken called Carl Sandburg "indubitably an American in every pulse-beat."-Biography:Sandburg was born in Galesburg,...
was solicited though it is not certain if any of his contributions were included. Sandburg, however, did receive screen credit for “creative association.”
Financial excesses began to grow during pre-production. Stevens commissioned French artist André Girard
André Girard (1901-1968)
André Girard was a French painter, poster-maker and Resistance worker...
to prepare 352 oil paintings of Biblical scenes to use as storyboards. Stevens also traveled to the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
to see Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
for advice.
In August 1961, 20th Century Fox withdrew from the project, noting that $2.3 million had been spent without any footage being shot. Stevens was given two years to find another studio or 20th Century Fox would reclaim its rights. Stevens moved the film to United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
.
Casting
Stevens cast Swedish actor Max von SydowMax von Sydow
Max von Sydow is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more...
as Jesus. Von Sydow had never appeared in an English-language film and was best known for his performances in Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
’s dramatic films. Stevens wanted an unknown free of secular and unseemly associations in the mind of the public.
The Greatest Story Ever Told featured an ensemble of well-known actors, many of them in brief, even cameo, appearances. Some critics would later complain that the large cast distracted from the solemnity, notably in the appearance of John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
as the Roman centurion
Centurion
A centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army .Centurion may also refer to:-Military:* Centurion tank, British battle tank* HMS Centurion, name of several ships and a shore base of the British Royal Navy...
who comments on the Crucifixion by stating: “Truly this man was the son of God.”
Beyond von Sydow, the film’s primary cast was Dorothy McGuire
Dorothy McGuire
Dorothy Hackett McGuire was an American actress.-Career:Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she began her acting career on the stage at the Omaha Community Playhouse...
as the Virgin Mary, Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
as John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
, Claude Rains
Claude Rains
Claude Rains was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 66 years. He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The Invisible Man , a corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Mr...
as Herod the Great
Herod the Great
Herod , also known as Herod the Great , was a Roman client king of Judea. His epithet of "the Great" is widely disputed as he is described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his...
, Jose Ferrer
José Ferrer
José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón , best known as José Ferrer, was a Puerto Rican actor, as well as a theater and film director...
as Herod Antipas
Herod Antipas
Herod Antipater , known by the nickname Antipas, was a 1st-century AD ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch...
, Telly Savalas
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
as Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
, Martin Landau
Martin Landau
Martin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999...
as Caiaphas
Caiaphas
Joseph, son of Caiaphas, Hebrew יוסף בַּר קַיָּפָא or Yosef Bar Kayafa, commonly known simply as Caiaphas in the New Testament, was the Roman-appointed Jewish high priest who is said to have organized the plot to kill Jesus...
, David McCallum
David McCallum
David Keith McCallum, Jr. is a Scottish actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Illya Kuryakin, a Russian-born secret agent, in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., as interdimensional operative Steel in Sapphire & Steel, and Dr...
as Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
, Donald Pleasence
Donald Pleasence
Sir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
as “The Dark Hermit” (a personification of Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
), Michael Anderson Jr. as James the Just
James the Just
James , first Bishop of Jerusalem, who died in 62 AD, was an important figure in Early Christianity...
, Roddy McDowall
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
as Matthew, Joanna Dunham
Joanna Dunham
Joanna Dunham is an English actress, best noted for her work on stage and television. She has also appeared in several major motion pictures.-Career:Dunham was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, England...
as Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
, Joseph Schildkraut
Joseph Schildkraut
Joseph Schildkraut was an Austrian stage and film actor.-Early life:Born in Vienna, Austria, Schildkraut was the son of stage actor Rudolph Schildkraut. The younger Schildkraut moved to the United States in the early 1900s. He appeared in many Broadway productions...
as Nicodemus
Nicodemus
Saint Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, who, according to the Gospel of John, showed favour to Jesus...
, and Ed Wynn
Ed Wynn
Ed Wynn was a popular American comedian and actor noted for his Perfect Fool comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a dramatic actor....
as "Old Aram".
Smaller roles (some only a few seconds) were played by Michael Ansara
Michael Ansara
Michael Ansara is a Syrian-born American stage, screen, and voice actor best known for his portrayal of Cochise in the American television series Broken Arrow, Kane in the 1979-81 series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and Commander Kang on three different Star Trek TV series.- Early life and...
, Ina Balin
Ina Balin
Ina Balin was an American actress on Broadway and in film.Born as Ina Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, she first appeared on television on The Perry Como Show...
, Carroll Baker
Carroll Baker
Carroll Baker is a former American actress who has enjoyed popularity as both a serious dramatic actress and, particularly in the 1960s, as a movie sex symbol...
, Robert Blake
Robert Blake (actor)
Robert Blake is an American actor who starred in the film In Cold Blood and the U.S. television series Baretta. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted for the 2001 murder of his wife, but on November 18, 2005, Blake was found liable in a California civil court for her wrongful death.-Early...
, Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
, Victor Buono
Victor Buono
Charles Victor Buono was an American actor and comic.-Early life and career:Buono was born in San Diego, California, the son of Myrtle Belle and Victor Francis Buono . His maternal grandmother, Myrtle Glied , was a Vaudeville performer on the Orpheum Circuit...
, John Considine
John Considine
This article is about the writer and actor. For his grandfather, the vaudeville pioneer, see John Considine . For the former Florida state representative, see John J...
, Richard Conte
Richard Conte
Richard Conte was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films from the 1940s through 1970s, including I'll Cry Tomorrow and The Godfather.-Life and career:...
, Jamie Farr
Jamie Farr
Jamie Farr is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role of cross-dressing Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in the television sitcom M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
, David Hedison
David Hedison
Albert David Hedison, Jr. is an Armenian-American film, television, and stage actor. He was billed as Al Hedison in his early film work. In 1959, when he was cast in the role of Victor Sebastian in the short-lived espionage television series Five Fingers, NBC insisted that he change his name...
, Van Heflin
Van Heflin
Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...
, Russell Johnson
Russell Johnson
Russell David Johnson is an American television and film actor best known as "The Professor" on the CBS television sitcom Gilligan's Island...
, Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
, Robert Loggia
Robert Loggia
Robert Loggia is an American film and television actor and director.- Early life :Loggia, an Italian American, was born on Staten Island, the son of Elena Blandino, a homemaker, and Benjamin Loggia, a shoemaker, both of whom were born in Sicily, Italy...
, Sal Mineo
Sal Mineo
Salvatore "Sal" Mineo, Jr. , was an American film and theatre actor, best known for his performance as John "Plato" Crawford opposite James Dean in the film Rebel Without a Cause...
, Nehemiah Persoff
Nehemiah Persoff
Nehemiah Persoff is an American film and television character actor. He was born in Jerusalem, Palestine Mandate.Born in what is now part of Israel, Persoff emigrated with his family to the United States in 1929...
, Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
, Gary Raymond
Gary Raymond
Gary Raymond is an English actor.He made his film debut as Cliff Lewis in Tony Richardson's film adaptation of John Osborne's Look Back in Anger , opposite Richard Burton and Claire Bloom...
, Marian Seldes
Marian Seldes
Marian Hall Seldes is an American stage, film, radio, and television actress whose career has spanned six decades and who was elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame.-Life and career:...
, David Sheiner
David Sheiner
David Sheiner is an American film and television actor.-Biography:He was born in January 13, 1928 in New York City....
, Paul Stewart
Paul Stewart (actor)
Paul Stewart was an American character actor known for his tough, guttural voice. He frequently portrayed villains and mobsters throughout his lengthy career....
, John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, Mark Lenard
Mark Lenard
Mark Lenard was an American actor, primarily in television.-Biography:Lenard was born Leonard Rosenson in Chicago, Illinois, the son of a Russian Jewish immigrant, Abraham, and his wife, Bessie...
and Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
.
Production
Stevens shot The Greatest Story Ever Told in the U.S. southwest, in ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. Pyramid Lake in Nevada represented the Sea of Galilee
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is approximately in circumference, about long, and wide. The lake has a total area of , and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m...
, Lake Moab in Utah was used to film the Sermon on the Mount
Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus, which emphasizes his moral teaching found in the Gospel of Matthew...
, and California’s Death Valley
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. Situated within the Mojave Desert, it features the lowest, driest, and hottest locations in North America. Badwater, a basin located in Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below...
was the setting of Jesus’ 40-day journey into the wilderness.
Stevens explained his decision to use the U.S. rather than in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
or Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 1962. “I wanted to get an effect of grandeur as a background to Christ, and none of the Holy Land areas shape up with the excitement of the American southwest,” he said. “I know that Colorado is not the Jordan, nor is Southern Utah, Palestine. But our intention is to romanticize the area, and it can be done better here.”
Forty-seven sets were constructed, on location and in Hollywood studios, to accommodate Stevens’ vision.
To fill location scenes with extras, Stevens turned to local sources – R.O.T.C. cadets from an Arizona high school played Roman soldiers (after 550 Navajo Indians from a nearby reservation did not give a convincing performance) and Arizona Department of Welfare provided disabled state aid recipients to play the afflicted who sought Jesus’ healing.
Principal photography was scheduled to run three months but ran nine months or more due to numerous delays and setbacks (most of which were due to Stevens' insistence on shooting dozens of retakes in every scene). Joseph Schildkraut died before completing his performance as Nicodemus, requiring scenes to be rewritten around his absence. Cinematographer William C. Mellor
William C. Mellor
William C. Mellor, A.S.C. was a cinematographer who worked at Paramount, MGM and 20th Century Fox during a career that spanned three decades....
had a fatal heart attack during production; Loyal Griggs
Loyal Griggs
Loyal Griggs, A.S.C. , was an American cinematographer.Griggs joined the staff of Paramount Pictures in 1924 after graduating from school and initially worked at the studio's process department...
, who won an Academy Award for his cinematography on Stevens’ 1953 Western classic Shane, was brought in to replace him. Joanna Dunham became pregnant, which required costume redesigns and carefully placed camera angles.
Much of the production was shot during the winter of 1962-1963, when Arizona had heavy snow. Actor David Sheiner
David Sheiner
David Sheiner is an American film and television actor.-Biography:He was born in January 13, 1928 in New York City....
, who played James the Elder, quipped in an interview about the snowdrifts: “I thought we were shooting Nanook of the North
Nanook of the North
Nanook of the North is a 1922 silent documentary film by Robert J. Flaherty. In the tradition of what would later be called salvage ethnography, Flaherty captured the struggles of the Inuk Nanook and his family in the Canadian arctic...
.” Stevens was also under pressure to hurry the John the Baptist sequence, which was shot at the Glen Canyon area – it was scheduled to become Lake Powell
Lake Powell
Lake Powell is a huge reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona . It is the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States behind Lake Mead, storing of water when full...
with the completion of the Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona in the United States, just north of Page. The dam was built to provide hydroelectricity and flow regulation from the upper Colorado River Basin to the lower. Its reservoir is called Lake Powell, and is the second...
, and the production held up the project.
Stevens brought in two veteran filmmakers. Jean Negulesco
Jean Negulesco
Jean Negulesco was a Romanian-born American film director and screenwriter....
filmed sequences in the Jerusalem streets while David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
shot the prologue featuring Herod the Great. Lean cast Claude Rains as Herod.
By the time shooting was completed in August 1963, Stevens had amassed six million feet of Ultra Panavision 70
Ultra Panavision 70
Ultra Panavision 70 and MGM Camera 65 were the photographic marketing brands — ca. 1957 to 1966 — that identified movies photographed with Panavision-brand anamorphic lenses using a 65mm negative and 70mm release print...
film (about 1829 km or 1136 miles, roughly the radius of the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
). The budget ran to an astounding $20 million – 2010 equivalent: approximately $142 million – plus additional editing and promotion charges), making it the most expensive film shot in the U.S.
Release and reception
The Greatest Story Ever Told premiered on 15 February 1965 at the Warner CineramaCinerama
Cinerama is the trademarked name for a widescreen process which works by simultaneously projecting images from three synchronized 35 mm projectors onto a huge, deeply-curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. It is also the trademarked name for the corporation which was formed to market it...
Theatre in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Critical reaction was divided. In its favor, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
called the film “a big, powerful moving picture demonstrating vast cinematic resource.” The Hollywood Reporter stated: “George Stevens has created a novel, reverent and important film with his view of this crucial event in the history of mankind.”
However, Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote: “The most distracting nonsense is the pop-up of familiar faces in so-called cameo roles, jarring the illusion.” Shana Alexander
Shana Alexander
Shana Alexander was an American journalist, born Shana Ager in New York City on October 6, 1925. Although she became the first woman staff writer and columnist for Life magazine, she was best known for her participation in the "Point-Counterpoint" debate segments of 60 Minutes with conservative...
in Life Magazine stated: “The pace was so stupefying that I felt not uplifted – but sandbagged!” And John Simon
John Simon (critic)
John Ivan Simon is an American author and literary, theater, and film critic.-Personal life:Simon was born in Subotica, Bačka, County of Bačka, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, later, known as Yugoslavia . He is of Hungarian descent...
– later notorious as the frequently scathing theater and film critic of New York Magazine – wrote in the National Review
National Review
National Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
: "God is unlucky in The Greatest Story Ever Told. His only begotten son turns out to be a bore." Bruce Williamson, in Playboy Magazine, likewise called the movie "a big windy bore."
Brendan Gill
Brendan Gill
Brendan Gill wrote for The New Yorker for more than 60 years. He also contributed film criticism for Film Comment and wrote a popular book about his time at the New Yorker magazine.-Biography:...
wrote in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
:
- If the subject matter weren't sacred in the original, we would be responding to the picture in the most charitable way possible by laughing at it from start to finish; this Christian mercy being denied us, we can only sit and sullenly marvel at the energy for which, for more than four hours, the note of serene vulgarity is triumphantly sustained.
Stevens told a New York Times interviewer: “I have tremendous satisfaction that the job has been done – to its completion – the way I wanted it done; the way I know it should have been done. It belongs to the audiences now…and I prefer to let them judge.”
The original running time was 4hr 20min. The time was revised three times, to 3h 58; to 3h 17 for in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and then 2h 17 for general U.S. release. Commercially, the film was not successful (by 1983 it had grossed less than $8 million, perhaps 17% of the amount required to break even), and its inability to connect with audiences discouraged production of Biblical epics for years.
The Greatest Story Ever Told was nominated for five Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
:
- Best Musical ScoreAcademy Award for Original Music ScoreThe Academy Award for Original Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer.-Superlatives:...
- Best Cinematography (color)Academy Award for Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
- Art Direction (color)Academy Award for Best Art DirectionThe Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
(Richard DayRichard Day (art director)Richard Day was a Canadian art director. He won seven Academy Awards and was nominated for a further 13 in the category Best Art Direction He worked on 265 films between 1923 and 1970....
, William J. CreberWilliam J. CreberWilliam J. Creber is an American art director. He was nominated for three Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. He continues to consult on special projects including key street designs for Disney theme parks and rebuilding the street facades that burned in the June 2008 Universal...
, David S. HallDavid S. HallDavid S. Hall was a British art director. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:Hall was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Art Direction:...
(posthumous nomination), Ray MoyerRay MoyerRay Moyer was an American set decorator. He won three Academy Awards and was nominated for nine more in the category Best Art Direction.He was born in Santa Barbara, California and died in Los Angeles, California....
, Fred M. MacLeanFred M. MacLeanFred M. MacLean was an American set decorator. He was nominated for three Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction...
, Norman RockettNorman RockettNorman Rockett was an American set decorator. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:Rockett was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Art Direction:...
) - Costume Design (color)Academy Award for Costume DesignThe Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in film costume design....
- Special Visual EffectsAcademy Award for Visual EffectsThe Academy Award for Visual Effects is an Academy Award given for the best achievement in visual effects.-History of the award:The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences first recognized the technical contributions of special effects to movies at its inaugural dinner in 1928, presenting a...
.
For the 2001 DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
release, a 3h 19 version was presented along with a documentary called He Walks With Beauty, which detailed the film’s tumultuous production history.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
"The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed
The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed
"The Greatest Story Ever D'ohed" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons twenty-first season and the 457th episode overall. It aired on the Fox network in the United States on March 28, 2010...
" parodies
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
the title, although the plot bears little relation to the movie.