Fleischer's direction is punchy without being vulgar, serious but not ponderous.There are some awful religious films out there. This is thankfully not one of them. It's definitely worth the viewing for Christians and non-Christians alike.

by Nobel prize-winning author Par Lagerkvist and scripted as it is by Christopher Fry, the film is more intellectually challenging than we have any right to expect, for example Barabbas has a discussion with Lazarus on what it was like to have died and then to be raised from the dead , while at the same time not skimping on the spectacle, the gladiatorial scenes are superb .It begins with the freeing of Barabbas in the place of Jesus, then follows him on his own journey of redemption as he realizes that it was through Christ's death that he came to live. It's a theme, of course, as old as the Bible itself and as religious movies go it's a bit simplistic but it does work on a primitive, intellectually jarring level and it doesn't thrust it's religiosity down our throats. Barabbas' journey of discovery is long, slow and painfully questioning and is consequently quite moving.No one in the large, international cast gets to rise above being a Biblical or gladiatorial cliché with the exception of Anthony Quinn in the title role. He is excellent and had yet to give way to the bombast of Zorba the Greek. Still, neither Quinn's performance nor the film have ever been given their due. Perhaps a movie about the man who lived so that Christ might die proved unpalatable. Nevertheless, it is certainly worth rediscovering.

movie, what you grasp out of the things that you see, and at the end of this movie, the feeling is that thee is nothing hard for Lord to accomplish.Barabas, the villain, is changed. If he is changed by the power of God, that means that everything is possible to God.And, yes, we are in His loving hands, no matter what the direction in which the world is heading to.

life of crime. He then is picked up again for a crime of murder and thievery and sentenced to the salt mines for a long period of time. Anthony Quinn is excellent as the anti-hero who then meets a Christian in the mines and doesn't warm up to him initially, but eventually then saves him from a mine incident and watches him killed for his beliefs. This makes him think a little more seriously about this Jesus character. Quinn is excellent even when he doesn't speak because you can see from his face what he's thinking and feeling. The rest of the cast is capable except for a slightly hammy performance by Jack Palance as a prideful gladiator. The core of the movie is watching Barabbas react to all the episodes in his life and his slow recovery from his dark side. Again, this is an excellent movie that really tells the story of how Jesus affected people even after he was killed.

"too-good" Christians and the ordinary sinful Barabbas are constantly contrasted during conversations long and short. Barabbas thinks Christianity all bosh, the world is not what Christians believe it is, but then why can't he die or be killed? As the King of Siam would say, the fact does make a puzzlement.I must apologize for the following spoiler, but how anybody who is thinking at all can blithely assume that Barabbas is beyond doubt "saved" into the fold of the blessed is way beyond me. Even as a kid in the days of BARABBAS's first release I knew that something unusual was going on as soon as I heard Barabbas" final words from the cross: "Darkness...I give myself up to your keeping... It is Barabbas." I haven't left anything out; the dots just indicate pauses in Quinn's delivery. Prior to this line Barabbas has complained that he can't tell whether it is night or day and asks what time it is and remembers that it was at the sixth hour that.... I love this film as wonderful dramatic exploration of the modern dilemma of faith. I expect I'm biased in loving it because it helped develop my abiding interest in philosophy; But I don't think that that bias has pushed me into a mistake when I call BARABBAS one of the most thoughtful and intelligent movies of its time, in spite of its being a sword and sandal epic.

Noble Prize in 1951, showed Barabbas as someone who does not believe, but the light of Christ is present in his soul from the moment he was set free and Jesus sentenced to be crucified. The spiritual content of the movie cannot be skipped. Barabbas experiences the struggle within his heart, though he mocks Nazarenes in the beginning. "Love one another" somehow unconsciously rings in his mind from the moment of Christ's death the imagery of Jesus's crucifixion is one of the most powerful I have ever seen on screen . This is showed beautifully and faithfully to the book by Richard Fleischer in the movie.Another aspect that makes the film similar to great, classical productions are the monumental scenes, particularly the arena moments. Lions, gladiators fighting on arena remind me of SPARTACUS 1960 , THE SIGN OF THE CROSS 1932 or DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS 1954 . Barabbas also fights as a gladiator with the bravest man of Rome, Torvald Jack Palance , and wins...And the cast... Great Anthony Quinn as Barabbas is very memorable. He beautifully presents his change of heart from a bad guy to the Christian. Silvana Mangano also does a good job as Rachel whose meeting with Christ changed her life forever; Vittorio Gassman gives a memorable performance as a Christian, Sahak, whose sole aim in life is following his Master to martyrdom; and Jack Palance is absolutely gorgeous as a cruel, "unconquered" Torvald.I like this movie. It is a profound film, with a wonderful message. Even if you are not much aware of Christ, He is within you. The story of Barabbas, if true or not, also proves the fact that everything in our lives has a MEANING! NOTHING IS MEANINGLESS! Good movie! 8/10

of Jesus and when he meets up with a Christian prisoner at a time where it's considered blasphemous to hold such beliefs, Barabbas begins to tread on the path of acceptance of his part in history and his discovery of Christianity. Along his journey to self-realization, Barabbas becomes a gladiator who must come face to face with the most sadistic warrior of all, the dreaded Torvald a deliciously sinister performance by Jack Palance as they confront each other in the arena in a life-and-death duel.My favorite sequence in the film is one which rarely gets mentioned. It involves a former love of Barabbas, a woman named Rachel Silvana Mangano who had begun to follow Jesus during the period where Barabbas was incarcerated. She is now a holy disciple and prophet for Christ, and when the citizens catch her spreading his word, they call for her to be stoned to death. Rachel's brave plight as she is lead down into a great pit and sits solemnly still as hundreds of sinners hurl their rocks at her face from above, is a truly powerful scene. Her faith carries her through the horrifying ordeal, and she reaches confidently out for the hand of Christ, oblivious amidst the flying stones. Just a beautiful moment. *** out of ****