Jesus of Nazareth

Jesus of Nazareth is a brilliant portrayal of the gospel narrative. There is a very good separation of Roman, Zealot, upper and lower-class Jews to show the politics and difficulty in those days. The cinematography is stunning, and the acting by Olivier, Powell, Bancroft and Mason are excellent. Several scenes never cease to give me chills. The rebuke at the temple, the mourning of Mary at the cross, and the preaching of John the Baptist. Several scenes almost always choke me up. The mourning in the street asking, "How long, oh Lord?", Mary Magdalene casting down her coins, and the telling of the story of the Prodigal Son to reconcile Peter and Matthew from enemies, to brothers. Now, if you want accuracy, read the Bible. If you want a good idea of how the people were dressed (or armored), what the courtyard of the temple and surroundings looked like, and a general feel for the background politics going on, then watch Jesus of Nazareth as well.