The best cinematic portrayal of the gospel stories I know of is Jesus of Nazareth, co-written and directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Released in 1977 as a six-hour mini-series, it features excellent casting (for Jesus in particular), a very solid script, but is pushed into an appropriately higher level of excellence due to a very moving score by Maurice Jarre, and by a style of filming that, ever-aware of the Western tradition of gospel-scene representation in painting, is as focused on the tableaux it provides as the action it conveys. It matters that Zeffirelli was not only a Catholic director, but one born, and educated art-wise, in Florence.
There are scenes where the final result is no more than a high quality 1970s mini-series portrayal, but there are many places where things come together to make it seem an inspired film indeed. It has helped win not a few converts over the years. I recall being strengthened in my young boy’s faith when it came out, and due to some recent reading, I can also report that John Lennon was quite moved by it, and came close to converting himself at one point due to its influence. Anyhow, here is the visitation of the shepherds scene. Nothing particularly special, at least until that music rises up. Merry Christmas!
Update: Sorry about the wrong video earlier–and no, I don’t know why our name has been changed to “Postmodern Conservat-ism.” We’ll fix things after Christmas.
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