How can this be the greatest story ever told if it got a mark of 6.1
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MovieChat Forums > The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) Discussion > How can this be the greatest story ever ...
The same way the best-selling science fiction book of all time can become a Bottom 100 movie (Battlefield Earth). The story doesn't account for the entire movie. Not to mention the radically atheistic population of IMDb, which doesn't want this movie higher. I'm not going to act holier-than-thou, because I give a lot of chick flicks lower ratings than they deserve because I think they're overrated, I'm just saying it happens.
shareI still say Dr. Zhivago was a better story than this one. BTW, I for one am not an atheist. I am a devout agnostic. Religious movies can be good, but I'm sick of all the Judeo-Christian religious movies. Give me the story of Muhammed or Krishna, those were the greatest stories ever told according to many millions of people, pending on who you ask. Just whatever you do when making a movie about a religion, please do not cast Keanu Reeeves as the enlightened one. He's really not.
shareYou know what happens when you make a movie about Muhammad? Moustapha Akkad made a movie about Muhammad and now he's dead!
Okay, that's a little misleading - but Moustapha Akkad did make a movie about Muhammad called "The Message" It was a respectful film - it didn't actually show Muhammad and it didn't have his voice in it - But that didn't stop some extremists from taking hostages in Washington D.C. in order to protest the movie - luckily the hostages didn't lose their heads. Appearantly word got to those looney extremists that the movie wasn't so bad after all - either that or law enforcement managed to take care of the problem - I can't really find any information on how the whole thing played out.
There's some more information on Moustapha Akkad here - http://www.soundvision.com/info/death/akkad.asp
Uh, yeah, well it's also because "The Greatest Story Ever Told" is just a (really pretentious) title and has nothing to do with the actual film. And the reason there haven't been movies about Muhammed is because its against the teachings of Islam to depict him visually. Not that I don't there should be movies about Muhammed, but what are you going to do?
"You are pulling heaven down and raising up a whore!"
Because it's a disappointing uninspired slow moving, poorly staged, badly dialogued and absurdly cast account of the story of Christ. Christ's dialogue is almost a verbatim transcription of the speeches in the Bible. That in itself is a problem but the acting turns Christ's profound thoughts into some of the most insipid speeches ever recorded on film. At no time did I ever feel that I was in Christ's presence. Basically Von Sydow sounds like he's mouthing platitudes.
As for the setting..the use of the SW US was a very strange decision. It just isn't believable as the Holy Land (snow capped mountains?)
Then there's the casting. Lots of questionable decisions. (John Wayne? Telly Savalas?). I do admit that it's fun playing "spot the actor" but this kind of film shouldn't be encouraging the audience to play that game. (Unlike the lighter, less serious Around the World in 80 Days (1956) where spotting the actor IS the name of the game).
Overall 6.1 is in my opinion too high. This film is not an epic. Badly conceived and badly executed (sadly by a good director), it deserves a 4 at the most.
Great stories can be told badly.
Great jokes can be delivered badly too. Like in initiating this thread, for example.
Sorry I didn't have any other way to tell it. You're very witty you should start a show.
shareJust because its called The Greatest Story Ever Told, doesn't mean its the best movie ever made, or should be the highest rated film ever. I do think the movie should be rated alittle higher like a 6.5/10, but I don't think its anything special. I've seen better depictions of this story in other films.
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