Barabbas (1961)

Barabbas: Directed by Richard Fleischer. With Anthony Quinn, Silvana Mangano, Arthur Kennedy, Katy Jurado. Barabbas, the criminal that the Jewish leaders induced the populace to vote to set free, so that Christ could be crucified, is haunted by the image of Jesus for the rest of his life.

“Iu0026#39;ve often wondered at times from a literary as well as religious point of view what happens to some of the peripheral cast of characters in the Scripture. Iu0026#39;m sure thatu0026#39;s a question that more than a few have pondered on, whether they are believers or not.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCase in point is Barabbas. All we know about him is that he was the guy that the mob shouted for when offered a choice between pardoning him or Jesus of Nazareth. Some tradition has him as a common bandit, others have him as a rebel against Rome. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAs played by Anthony Quinn, Barabbas is a troubled soul. As the message of Jesus of Nazareth spreads, Barabbas is unsure of what his role is. Heu0026#39;s realized heu0026#39;s been a participant in something historic to say the least. But people treat him differently. The early Christians view him with some resentment. To Pontius Pilate, played by Arthur Kennedy, Barabbas is still a no good bandit. Of course Barabbas gets himself arrested again and begins his odyssey.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie is an adaption of a novel by Swedish Pulitzer Prize Winning writer Par Lagerkvist and a Swedish film adaption had already been filmed prior to this international cast epic. Might be interesting to view it side by side with this one. Iu0026#39;m sure the Swedish film didnu0026#39;t have half the budget this one did.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie fuzzes certain issues as films of this type generally do. Pacifism is a tenet of the early Christian faith of those hiding in the catacombs. Turning the other cheek is a big thing. But Anthony Quinn isnu0026#39;t a Christian so his modus operandi isnu0026#39;t exactly turning the other cheek.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSome top flight professionals are in this cast. The aforementioned Arthur Kennedy as Pilate, Silvana Mangano as Barabbasu0026#39;s girl friend who becomes an early convert, Vittorio Gassman as Sahek who is Barabbasu0026#39;s martyred Christian friend and most of all Jack Palance in a scene stealing performance as the top gladiator in Rome. You should watch this film for him alone.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe message the film tries to convey is that Barabbas in and of himself wasnu0026#39;t important. Jesusu0026#39;s life and death were pre-ordained and it could have been Barabbas or any of hundreds of others who could have been where he was. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut the way certain folks enter into biblical stories does give writers a whole lot of license to construct wholly fictional lives around them. This is as good a film as any for that purpose.”