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Film

Ten biblical film classics

Stories of saints, sinners and Jesus have figured in numerous films across more than a century of cinema. Bible-themed movies have ranged from cast-of-thousands epics to the arty and existential. Others are plain silly.

  • Actor Charlton Heston in a scene from 1956's The Ten Commandments (picture-alliance/United Archives)

    The golden era of biblical film: the 1950s

    In the '50s, Hollywood began to bring biblical stories to the big screen with elaborate special effects and huge numbers of extras. Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 epic drama, "The Ten Commandments," was a highlight of the biblical genre. Charlton Heston (photo) played the role of Moses dividing the Red Sea and leading the people of Israel to the promised land.

  • Scene from the 1923 film The Ten Commandments (picture-alliance/akg-images)

    Moses' silent film start

    DeMille was one in fact of the pioneers of the biblical film genre. The director, highly regarded in Hollywood for his casts of thousands, had actually filmed "The Ten Commandments" back in 1923. The high budget rendition of the Exodus was the first in DeMille's early biblical trilogy, which also included "The King of Kings" (1927) and "The Sign of the Cross" (1932).

  • Scene from Nicholas Ray's King of Kings (picture-alliance/KPA)

    Tales of Jesus on the big screen

    The success of Hollywood's lavish postwar Bible movies continued into the 1960s. But now many directors were increasingly focused on the New Testament and its figure of Jesus of Nazareth. In 1961, Nicholas Ray's "King of Kings" was the first major color and sound film to tell the story of Jesus, following his life from his birth to his resurrection.

  • Scene from Pasolini's 1964 film The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (Imago/United Archives)

    Biblical minimalism from Pasolini

    Italy was the place to go for Bible films in Europe, with many Hollywood productions also shot there — often in Rome's Cinecitta studios. But in 1964, young Italian auteur Pier Paolo Pasolini took the genre to a new level with his "The Gospel According to Saint Matthew," a sparse, artistically ambitious film about Christ that mainly starred non-professional actors.

  • Scene from the 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told (picture-alliance/United Archives)

    "The Greatest Story Ever Told"

    But Hollywood continued to churn out monumental Bible films. Director George Stevens' 1965 epic promised just what the title suggested, with Max von Sydow playing the biblical figure of Jesus Christ in the latest retelling of his birth, crucifixion and resurrection. The original running time was four hours and twenty minutes. It received five Oscar nominations but divided critics.

  • Scene from 1973's Jesus Christ Superstar (picture-alliance/Everett Collection)

    Jesus Christ Superstar

    After the upheavals of the 1968 student protests and the hippie era, the time had come to cast a different light on biblical stories of Jesus. Producers and directors began to imbue the prophet with a more freewheeling 1970s aesthetic, especially in the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock musical "Jesus Christ Superstar," which was an international success in 1973.

  • A scene from 1979's Life of Brian (picture-alliance/United Archives/IFTN)

    A look on the bright side

    British comedy troupe Monty Python took this freer approach even further when, at the end of the decade, they staged biblical episodes to create absurd and hilarious comic routines. Their 1979 film "Life of Brian" was a huge success — but it also came under fire and was banned in countries like Ireland, with both Christians and Jews calling the film blasphemous.

  • Richard Gere as King David in the eponymous 1985 film (picture-alliance/United Archives)

    Noble King David

    But directors still created truly "serious" Bible films, including the 1985 British-American co-production "King David" by Australian director Bruce Beresford. Richard Gere starred as a noble shepherd and later King David who takes on Goliath. "The emotional experiences in the film will be easily recognizable because they're so universal," said the director of the arthouse fable.

  • Actor Willem Dafoe in 1988's The Last Temptation of Christ (picture-alliance/dpa)

    The Last Temptation of Christ

    American director Martin Scorsese revived the genre when in 1988 he brought his ambitious film "The Last Temptation of Christ" to movie theaters after massive Church-led protests. Willem Dafoe plays a doubting Jesus undergoing great existential angst. The film was a critic favorite but so controversial it inspired acts of terrorism, with a Catholic group attacking a Paris cinema.

  • Director Mel Gibson (r.) and actor Jim Caviezel in 2004's The Passion of the Christ (picture-alliance/dpa)

    Gory details

    In 2004, Mel Gibson also provoked a global debate about a biblical film adaptation with his incendiary "The Passion of the Christ." Portraying the story of the last days of Jesus Christ in graphic detail, the realistic scenes of violence shocked audiences and the church alike. Shot mostly in Italy, the film also polarized critics but gained three Oscar nominations.


  • Actor Charlton Heston in a scene from 1956's The Ten Commandments (picture-alliance/United Archives)

    The golden era of biblical film: the 1950s

    In the '50s, Hollywood began to bring biblical stories to the big screen with elaborate special effects and huge numbers of extras. Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 epic drama, "The Ten Commandments," was a highlight of the biblical genre. Charlton Heston (photo) played the role of Moses dividing the Red Sea and leading the people of Israel to the promised land.

  • Scene from the 1923 film The Ten Commandments (picture-alliance/akg-images)

    Moses' silent film start

    DeMille was one in fact of the pioneers of the biblical film genre. The director, highly regarded in Hollywood for his casts of thousands, had actually filmed "The Ten Commandments" back in 1923. The high budget rendition of the Exodus was the first in DeMille's early biblical trilogy, which also included "The King of Kings" (1927) and "The Sign of the Cross" (1932).

  • Scene from Nicholas Ray's King of Kings (picture-alliance/KPA)

    Tales of Jesus on the big screen

    The success of Hollywood's lavish postwar Bible movies continued into the 1960s. But now many directors were increasingly focused on the New Testament and its figure of Jesus of Nazareth. In 1961, Nicholas Ray's "King of Kings" was the first major color and sound film to tell the story of Jesus, following his life from his birth to his resurrection.

  • Scene from Pasolini's 1964 film The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (Imago/United Archives)

    Biblical minimalism from Pasolini

    Italy was the place to go for Bible films in Europe, with many Hollywood productions also shot there — often in Rome's Cinecitta studios. But in 1964, young Italian auteur Pier Paolo Pasolini took the genre to a new level with his "The Gospel According to Saint Matthew," a sparse, artistically ambitious film about Christ that mainly starred non-professional actors.

  • Scene from the 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told (picture-alliance/United Archives)

    "The Greatest Story Ever Told"

    But Hollywood continued to churn out monumental Bible films. Director George Stevens' 1965 epic promised just what the title suggested, with Max von Sydow playing the biblical figure of Jesus Christ in the latest retelling of his birth, crucifixion and resurrection. The original running time was four hours and twenty minutes. It received five Oscar nominations but divided critics.

  • Scene from 1973's Jesus Christ Superstar (picture-alliance/Everett Collection)

    Jesus Christ Superstar

    After the upheavals of the 1968 student protests and the hippie era, the time had come to cast a different light on biblical stories of Jesus. Producers and directors began to imbue the prophet with a more freewheeling 1970s aesthetic, especially in the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock musical "Jesus Christ Superstar," which was an international success in 1973.

  • A scene from 1979's Life of Brian (picture-alliance/United Archives/IFTN)

    A look on the bright side

    British comedy troupe Monty Python took this freer approach even further when, at the end of the decade, they staged biblical episodes to create absurd and hilarious comic routines. Their 1979 film "Life of Brian" was a huge success — but it also came under fire and was banned in countries like Ireland, with both Christians and Jews calling the film blasphemous.

  • Richard Gere as King David in the eponymous 1985 film (picture-alliance/United Archives)

    Noble King David

    But directors still created truly "serious" Bible films, including the 1985 British-American co-production "King David" by Australian director Bruce Beresford. Richard Gere starred as a noble shepherd and later King David who takes on Goliath. "The emotional experiences in the film will be easily recognizable because they're so universal," said the director of the arthouse fable.

  • Actor Willem Dafoe in 1988's The Last Temptation of Christ (picture-alliance/dpa)

    The Last Temptation of Christ

    American director Martin Scorsese revived the genre when in 1988 he brought his ambitious film "The Last Temptation of Christ" to movie theaters after massive Church-led protests. Willem Dafoe plays a doubting Jesus undergoing great existential angst. The film was a critic favorite but so controversial it inspired acts of terrorism, with a Catholic group attacking a Paris cinema.

  • Director Mel Gibson (r.) and actor Jim Caviezel in 2004's The Passion of the Christ (picture-alliance/dpa)

    Gory details

    In 2004, Mel Gibson also provoked a global debate about a biblical film adaptation with his incendiary "The Passion of the Christ." Portraying the story of the last days of Jesus Christ in graphic detail, the realistic scenes of violence shocked audiences and the church alike. Shot mostly in Italy, the film also polarized critics but gained three Oscar nominations.


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