The Messiah

Oct 24, 1975

2h 20m

★ 6.5

Overview

Rossellini takes numerous liberties with the original source material, rearranging and omitting events at will, presenting everything in a highly undramatic fashion. The film begins in the time of the Old Testament, allowing Rossellini to present the story of Jesus in its ancient, historic context.

Genres

History

Drama

Production Companies

Orizzonte 2000

The Messiah Trailers

No Trailers found.

Cast

Jesus

Pier Maria Rossi

Virgin Mary

Mita Ungaro

John the Baptist

Carlos de Carvalho

Saul

Fausto Di Bella

Samuel

Vernon Dobtcheff

Maria Magdalena

Antonella Fasano

Pontius Pilate

Jean Martin

Herodes Antipas

Toni Ucci

Herod the Great

Vittorio Caprioli

Adulteress

Tina Aumont

Herodias

Flora Carabella

Joseph

Yatsugi Khelil

As played out by a theatre troupe, the last days of Jesus Christ are depicted from the perspective of Judas Iscariot, his betrayer. As Jesus' following increases, Judas begins to worry that Jesus is falling for his own hype, forgetting the principles of his teachings and growing too close to the prostitute Mary Magdalene.

7.2

The Last Temptation of Christ

May 28, 1988

Jesus, a humble Judean carpenter beginning to see that he is the son of God, is drawn into revolutionary action against the Roman occupiers by Judas -- despite his protestations that love, not violence, is the path to salvation. The burden of being the savior of mankind torments Jesus throughout his life, leading him to doubt.

7.0

Bad Lieutenant

Nov 20, 1992

While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness.

6.0

Heaven Is Waiting

Mar 14, 2010

A Palestinian girl is smuggled into Jerusalem to become a suicide bomber, but first she has to convince her handler that although she is a woman she is ready to go all the way!

6.5

Tommy

Mar 19, 1975

After a series of traumatic childhood events, a psychosomatically deaf, dumb and blind boy becomes a master pinball player and the object of a religious cult.

6.0

The God Who Wasn't There

May 21, 2005

Did Jesus exist? This film starts with that question, then goes on to examine Christianity as a whole.

6.3

The Discovery of Heaven

Oct 1, 2001

Disappointed with humanity, God wants to revoke his contract with humanity and wants to take back the stone tablets containing the ten commandments. To this end an angel is sent out to affect the personal lives of three humans so an appropriate child may be conceived.

7.9

Ben-Hur

Nov 18, 1959

In 26 AD, Judah Ben-Hur, a Jew in ancient Judea, opposes the occupying Roman empire. Falsely accused by a Roman childhood friend-turned-overlord of trying to kill the Roman governor, he is put into slavery and his mother and sister are taken away as prisoners.

7.0

Kingdom of Heaven

May 3, 2005

After his wife dies, a blacksmith named Balian is thrust into royalty, political intrigue and bloody holy wars during the Crusades.

6.5

Charlie Wilson's War

Dec 19, 2007

A Texas congressman sets a series of events in motion when he conspires with a CIA operative to aid Afghan mujahideen rebels fighting the Soviets.

0.0

The Cambridgeshire Crucifixion

Jan 10, 2024

In 2017, a routine archaeological dig is taking place on the site of a proposed housing development in the village of Fenstanton in the Cambridgeshire Fens. When human remains are found alongside a variety of Roman artefacts, none of the team at Albion Archaeology see anything out of the ordinary. But once the bones are washed back at HQ, something highly unusual is uncovered: a nail through the heelbone of one of the individuals. Could this be evidence of a Roman crucifixion? When they do some research, they find that only one confirmed example has ever been unearthed before, discovered in the 1960s in Jerusalem. To find out more, they call in renowned Osteoarchaeologist Dr Corinne Duhig to investigate.

6.8

L'Âge d'or

Nov 28, 1930

The film consists of a series of tightly interlinked vignettes, the most sustained of which details the story of a man and a woman who are passionately in love. Their attempts to consummate their passion are constantly thwarted, by their families, by the Church and bourgeois society in general.

7.1

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

Sep 4, 1916

The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.

6.7

Jesus

Dec 5, 1999

Jesus, a carpenter living a simple life, discovers his destiny as the biblical Messiah.

5.2

The Island of Thirty Coffins

Sep 21, 1979

The story takes place in 1917. Véronique is a young woman of 35 years, nurse at the military hospital of Besançon. She suddenly learns of the murder of her husband, the mysterious Count Vorski, whom she has not seen for fourteen years. Her research will also lead her to the track of her father and son whom she believed to have died in a shipwreck, already a long time ago. From clue to clue, here we are in Brittany, on this island with a name so ill-fitting... Brutal deaths, enigmatic words written... by whom? A frightening prophecy, the superstitious terror of the island's inhabitants, and suddenly, Veronica d'Hergemont can no longer leave this island. She's stuck alone. Almost alone...

6.4

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Apr 9, 1965

From his birth in Bethlehem to his death and eventual resurrection, the life of Jesus Christ is given the all-star treatment in this epic retelling. Major aspects of Christ's life are touched upon, including the execution of all the newborn males in Egypt by King Herod; Christ's baptism by John the Baptist; and the betrayal by Judas after the Last Supper that eventually leads to Christ's crucifixion and miraculous return.

6.9

The Nativity Story

Nov 30, 2006

Mary and Joseph make the hard journey to Bethlehem for a blessed event in this retelling of the Nativity story. This meticulously researched and visually lush adaptation of the biblical tale follows the pair on their arduous path to their arrival in a small village, where they find shelter in a quiet manger and Jesus is born.

3.3

It's Christmas Again

Nov 29, 2022

Jake wants nothing more than to spend his Christmas vacation with his girlfriend Abbey. So when Abbey volunteers for her church’s Christmas play, Jake is ready to skip Christmas this year until an unexpected turn of events lands him in a field outside Bethlehem on the night Jesus was born. While on his journey with the shepherds to find the promised Messiah, Jake discovers the true meaning of Christmas.

8.0

Andrei Rublev

Dec 16, 1966

An expansive Russian drama, this film focuses on the life of revered religious icon painter Andrei Rublev. Drifting from place to place in a tumultuous era, the peace-seeking monk eventually gains a reputation for his art. But after Rublev witnesses a brutal battle and unintentionally becomes involved, he takes a vow of silence and spends time away from his work. As he begins to ease his troubled soul, he takes steps towards becoming a painter once again.

8.0

Lawrence of Arabia

Dec 11, 1962

During World War I, English officer Thomas Edward 'T.E.' Lawrence sets out to unite and lead the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes to fight the Turks.