Barabba (1961)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Richard Fleischer

Writers:

Christopher Fry (screenplay)
Pär Lagerkvist (novel)

Release Date:

10 October 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Biography | Drama

Tagline:

"The motion picture that begins where the other big ones leave off"

Plot:

Barabbas, the criminal that Pontius Pilate induced the populace to vote to set free, so that Christ could be crucified, is haunted by the ghost of the prophet for the rest of his life.

Plot Keywords:

Crucifixion | Ancient Rome | Religion | Christianity | Gladiator

Cast

Anthony Quinn	...	Barabbas
Silvana Mangano	...	Rachel
Arthur Kennedy	...	Pontius Pilate
Katy Jurado	...	Sara
Harry Andrews	...	Peter
Vittorio Gassman	...	Sahak
Norman Wooland	...	Rufio
Valentina Cortese	...	Julia
Jack Palance	...	Torvald
Ernest Borgnine	...	Lucius
Arnoldo Foà	...	Joseph of Arimathea (as Arnoldo Foa')
Michael Gwynn	...	Lazarus
Laurence Payne	...	Disciple
Douglas Fowley	...	Vasasio
Guido Celano	...	Scorpio

Also Known As:

Barabbas (UK) (USA)
Barabbas (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Barrabás (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Barabás (Hungary) [hu]
Barabas (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Barabasz (Poland) [pl]
Barabbas (Finland) [fi]
Barabbas (Denmark) [da]
Barrabàs (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Barrabás (Brazil) [pt]
Varavvas (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

137 min (TCM print) (DVD release)

Country:

Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (Westrex Electric Recording) (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Italy:VM14 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Not Rated | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Arena di Verona, Verona, Veneto, Italy

Company:

Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica

Trivia:

Sharon Tate was an extra in the amphitheater scene.

Goofs:

Continuity: The gladiator that Tovald kills from the two-horse chariot remains on his back. The next shot, however, shows him on his chest.

Quotes:

[after being released from jail, Barabbas enters a tavern]
Barabbas: Here's a fine sight. Six weeks and nobody's moved!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Wild World of Batwoman (#6.15)" (1993)

"The film that stopped the sun"

How incredibly appropriate if not downright eerie that the sun should turn on a full eclipse during the filming of BARABBAS that was captured by the Technirama 70 cameras for the crucifixion scene.

Arguably the "forgotten epic" when talk of the 60's blockbusters brings inevitably mention of BEN HUR, KING OF KINGS, FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, SPARTACUS, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, GENGHIS KHAN, CLEOPATRA, SODOM AND GOMORRAH, etc. Many see in this film an individual depth and emotion, lacking in other such works. Quinn in fact brings (despite the poetic license taken with historical confirmation) to Barabbas, a portrayal of a man tortured by his past, his reason to still be alive and his destiny. From the claustrophobic escape from the sulphur mines to his gladiatorial deeds in the arena, Barrabas is a driven man of open-ended religious conviction. He embraces Christianity but does he understand it? He saw Christ die in his place and lived his life to find out why!

Palance whose face has been his career, was the ONLY choice as Torvald the head gladiator who lives only to kill! It was one of his best ever roles.

I saw this film in London at its premiere in 1962. It received luke-warm critical reception at the time but had a successful run in the West End of some six months or so. Has had far less screening on television and cable than other epics of its ilk which is a pity as it had a lot to offer the discriminating viewer.