autocue movie guide

autocue

auto:cue’s guide to all things celluloid: This
month, Jesus Movies

Towards the end of George Stevens’ languidly
reverential, starry-cast biblical hokum, The Greatest
Story Ever Told, comes the never-ending film’s one
moment of genius. As the overbearing hallelujah
chorus swells, a Roman centurion, apparently raised in
Texas, finally sees the light. “Truly this man was
the son of God”, he drawls, referring to a Swedish
bloke who’s just been crucified. It is possibly the
most thrillingly ludicrous moment in the history of
cinema.

The centurion is, thrillingly and ludicrously, played
by John Wayne, Jesus by Bergman regular Max Von Sydow.
In between we are introduced to the likes of Jose
Ferrer, Roddy McDowell, Shelly Winters, Charlton
Heston, David McCallum as a pantomime Judas, Telly
Savalas as a Kojak-like Pontius Pilate, Victor Buono
(apparently wearing his King Tut costume from Batman)
and, of course, rent-a-baddie Donald Pleasence as
Satan. The list goes on. Overstated spectacle it may
be, but in Hollywood they were queuing up to be a part
of it.

Jesus had been a movie star for some time, unlike
Buster Keaton, for example, successfully making the
transition from the silent screen to the talkies.
H.B. Warner was suitably messianic in Cecil B. de
Mille’s 1927 silent epic, King Of Kings, while Jeffrey
Hunter, surely the Keanu Reeves of his day, was less
successful in the 1961 film of the same name, although
the press dubbing, “I Was A Teenage Jesus”, was a
little unfair on Nicholas Ray’s interestingly
politicised take on the gospel. But, despite such
reservations, Jesus was perfect for the movies. In a
post-war America in which even James Stewart’s screen
presence had been darkened by the likes of Alfred
Hitchcock, Anthony Mann and even John Ford, the
Nazarene represented a moral counterpoint to the
ambiguities and contradictions of Eisenhower’s cold
war US, a virginal alternative to rock ‘n’ roll and
teenage liberation. But, bad sociology aside, Jesus
was unique amongst screen heroes in the 1950’s; he had
a beard.

Beards were not good news in the ‘50’s. Ownership of
even the most discreet and well kempt van Dyke
signalled that you were an evil Soviet scientist
intent on destroying the free world. Either that or
you were an alien overlord. Possession of a vaguely
foreign name was also a sure sign that you were a
duplicitous Communist- alien type. Now, facial hair
and an un-American moniker, how Jesus got away with I
don’t know. So anyway, what are the best Jesus Movies
out there?

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Draco

Now this is okay-ish. Shows that your ezine (what a muck word) is relevant to this form. Still is spam though. So less of the spam and more of the content, 'kay?

autocue

yes we deplore the term 'ezine' also.can anyone suggest an alternative.now im off to read the oz thread.