"The Greatest Story Ever Told" begins with the Three Wise Men, who, en route to Bethlehem, meet first with Herod the Great (Claude Rains, in his last film), who claims he wants to worship the newborn Jesus, but, as we would soon learn, he was actually interested in nothing of the sort. Betrayed by the wise men, he orders the mass slaughter of children 2 and under. Once that is done, Herod collapses and dies.
Over the course of just over three hours, "Greatest Story" moves forward in time to Jesus (Max Von Sydow) asking his cousin, John the Baptist (Charlton Heston), to baptize him, thus officially beginning His own ministry. Producer-director George Stevens filled the cast with a number of familiar names & faces, including Roddy McDowell as Matthew, Telly Savalas as Pontius Pilate, David McCallum (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) as Judas, and Jose Ferrer as Herod Antipas, who inherits his father's throne and unholy mission. Keep an ear, if not an eye, open for a one-line cameo from John Wayne as a Roman centurion.
Here's a trailer that should help things along:
Jesus' story would be retold again and again in the following decades, most recently in "Son of God". This, however, while a box office failure, is a more definitive bio piece.
Rating: A-.
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