Jesus Christ Superstar is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with much of the plot centered on Judas, who is dissatisfied with the direction in which Jesus is steering his disciples. Contemporary attitudes, sensibilities and slang pervade the rock opera's lyrics, and ironic allusions to modern life are scattered throughout the depiction of political events. Stage and film productions accordingly contain many intentional anachronisms.
Annas was appointed by the Roman legate Quirinius as the first High Priest of the newly formed Roman province of Judaea in AD 6 – just after the Romans had deposed Archelaus, Ethnarch of Judaea, thereby putting Judaea directly under Roman rule.
Pontius Pilate was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of Jesus and ultimately ordered his crucifixion. Pilate's importance in Christianity is underscored by his prominent place in both the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. Because the gospels portray Pilate as reluctant to execute Jesus, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church believes that Pilate became a Christian and venerates him as both a martyr and a saint, a belief which is historically shared by the Coptic Church, with a feast day on 19 or 25 June, respectively.
The Passion is the short final period before the death of Jesus, described in the four canonical gospels. It is commemorated in Christianity every year during Holy Week.
Josef Ben Caiaphas, known simply as Caiaphas in the New Testament, was the High Priest of Israel during the years of Jesus' ministry, according to Josephus. The Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John indicate he was an organizer of the plot to kill Jesus. He famously presided over the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus. The primary sources for Caiaphas' life are the New Testament, and the writings of Josephus. The latter records he was made high priest by the Roman procurator Valerius Gratus after Simon ben Camithus had been deposed.
Jesus of Nazareth is a 1977 epic television drama serial directed by Franco Zeffirelli and co-written by Anthony Burgess and Suso Cecchi d'Amico, which dramatizes the birth, life, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. It stars Robert Powell as Jesus, and features an all-star ensemble cast of renowned actors, including eight who had won or would go on to win Academy Awards: Anne Bancroft, Ernest Borgnine, Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Quinn, Rod Steiger, James Earl Jones and Peter Ustinov.
The King of Kings is a 1927 American synchronized sound epic film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It depicts the last weeks of Jesus before his crucifixion and stars H. B. Warner in the lead role. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the RCA Photophone sound-on-film process.
King of Kings is a 1961 American epic religious film directed by Nicholas Ray and produced by Samuel Bronston for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Adapted from the New Testament, the film tells the story of Jesus of Nazareth from his birth and ministry to his crucifixion and resurrection. It stars Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus, with Siobhán McKenna, Robert Ryan, Viveca Lindfors, Ron Randell, Hurd Hatfield, and Rip Torn and is narrated by Orson Welles.
The Miracle Maker sometimes subtitled The Story of Jesus, is a 1999 Welsh-Russian stop motion-animated film directed by Derek Hayes and Stanislav Sokolov.
Jesus is a 1999 Italian-American biblical historical drama television miniseries that retells the historical events of Jesus Christ. It was shot in Morocco and Malta. It stars Jeremy Sisto as the titular character, Jacqueline Bisset as Mary of Nazareth, Debra Messing as Mary Magdalene and Gary Oldman as Pontius Pilate. The miniseries was broadcast in Italy in two parts on December 5 and 6, 1999 before being broadcast in the United States on May 14 and 15, 2000.
In the New Testament, the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus refers to the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin following his arrest in Jerusalem and prior to the trial before Pontius Pilate. It is an incident reported by all three Synoptic Gospels of the New Testament, while the Gospel of John refers to a preliminary inquiry before Annas. The gospel accounts vary on a number of details.
"Son of Man" is a British television play by playwright Dennis Potter which was first broadcast on BBC1 on 16 April 1969, in The Wednesday Play slot. An alternative depiction of the last days of Jesus, Son of Man was directed by Gareth Davies and starred Northern Irish actor Colin Blakely. The play was shot on videotape over three days on a very limited budget: Potter was later to say that the set "looks as though it's trembling and about to fall down."
The Passion is a television drama serial produced by the BBC and HBO Films in association with Deep Indigo Productions. It tells the story of the last week in the life of Jesus. The serial was first proposed by Peter Fincham in 2006, on the success of the contemporary-set Manchester Passion. Writer Frank Deasy and producer Nigel Stafford-Clark were inspired to make a drama that opened up the story beyond the "vacuum" it is often told in. They did this by expanding the roles of Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas, and exploring the politics of Judea at the time. Deasy and Stafford-Clark were aided by scholar Mark Goodacre, with whom they put together an extensive research manual about the topic.
In the canonical gospels, Pilate's court refers to the trial of Jesus in praetorium before Pontius Pilate, preceded by the Sanhedrin Trial. In the Gospel of Luke, Pilate finds that Jesus, being from Galilee, belonged to Herod Antipas' jurisdiction, and so he decides to send Jesus to Herod. After questioning Jesus and receiving very few replies, Herod sees Jesus as no threat and returns him to Pilate.
Pontius Pilate is an Italian drama film from 1962, directed by Gian Paolo Callegari and Irving Rapper, written by Oreste Biancoli, starring Jean Marais and Jeanne Crain.
Secondo Ponzio Pilato is the traditional way of attributing Gospels authors' names) is a 1987 Italian historical comedy drama film written and directed by Luigi Magni. The film is an example of Magnis's typical approach to critical interpretation of history. It was filmed between Syracuse, Algeria and Tunisia. Stefania Sandrelli was awarded the Nastro d'Argento for Best Actress prize for her performance in the movie.
The Shadow of Nazareth is a 1913 silent movie set in Jerusalem at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus. Starring Arthur Maude and Constance Crawley, it depicts the story of a vain woman named Judith, her brother Judas Iscariot, and her two admirers: Barabbas, who is a thief, and Caiaphas, the high priest of Jerusalem.
Son of God is a 2014 American epic biblical film directed by Christopher Spencer, and produced by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. The film retells the life of Jesus Christ and is an adaptation of the ten-hour miniseries The Bible, which aired in March 2013 on the History channel, and immediately following the movie begins another TV series called A.D. The Bible Continues. The film stars Diogo Morgado, Greg Hicks, Adrian Schiller, Darwin Shaw, Sebastian Knapp, Joe Wredden, Simon Kunz, Paul Marc Davis, Matthew Gravelle, Amber Rose Revah, and Roma Downey.
Wine of Morning is a 1955 American film directed by Katherine Stenholm and starring Al Carter, Joan DeVolk, and Katherine Helmond. It has Barabbas as the subject, who was pardoned according to the Biblical report in place of Jesus Christ by Pontius Pilate.
Day of Triumph is a 1954 American drama film directed by Irving Pichel and John T. Coyle, from a screenplay by Arthur T. Horman. The film stars Lee J. Cobb, Robert Wilson, James Griffith, and Joanne Dru.
