Jesus of Nazareth

[rondanto]

Has anyone seen anything from Lionsgate regarding a blu ray -restored release of "Jesus of Nazareth ? " the present dvd release is awful. The foreign blu ray releases are cut versions.
Hopefully Lionsgate will release this for Easter especially in light of the success of "the Bible " miniseries this past Easter

[moviebuff75]

I wrote Lionsgate about three days ago. The lady who wrote me back said no news yet. I informed her that two scenes were missing from foreign releases.

[Falaskan]

The picture quality of the Mexican release is very good, and the scenes cut are done so naturally, you hardly notice it (tho it's been a while since I've seen the uncut version). I'd recommend getting it, especially if we never get out own release.

[sicoe]

I saw that Spanish Blu-ray of the film is 384 minutes long, while the German and Mexican Blu-rays are each 371 minutes long. Is this the uncut version?

[milequatro]

I took a chance and ordered the blu ray from Amazon Spain after reading online that they in fact did correct the bluray release there and added the two famous missing scenes. I received it today and was happy to see that I actually received the v2.0 disc 2. I checked and the scenes are there! I was also thrilled to see that this region 2 disc played in my ps3 with no problems!!

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by milequatro

I took a chance and ordered the blu ray from Amazon Spain after reading online that they in fact did correct the bluray release there and added the two famous missing scenes. I received it today and was happy to see that I actually received the v2.0 disc 2. I checked and the scenes are there! I was also thrilled to see that this region 2 disc played in my ps3 with no problems!!

oh, i didn't know this.
How is the quality? i hear all the different bluray releases don't have the same quality.

also, is the English track Dolby digital as it says here in bluray.com, or is it DTS-HD as it says at amazon.es?
http://www.amazon.es/Jesus-of-Nazareth-Blu-ray/dp/B00ADA0DXG?SubscriptionId=AKIAIY4YSQJMFDJATNBA&tag =bluraycom06-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creative ASIN=B00ADA0DXG&m=A1AT7YVPFBWXBL

Could you please post the BDinfo?

[milequatro]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

oh, i didn't know this.
How is the quality? i hear all the different bluray releases don't have the same quality.

also, is the English track Dolby digital as it says here in bluray.com, or is it DTS-HD as it says at amazon.es?
http://www.amazon.es/Jesus-of-Nazareth-Blu-ray/dp/B00ADA0DXG?SubscriptionId=AKIAIY4YSQJMFDJATNBA&tag =bluraycom06-21&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creative ASIN=B00ADA0DXG&m=A1AT7YVPFBWXBL

Could you please post the BDinfo?

Receiver reads it as DTS 2.0 Blu ray comes default in Spanish but both audio tracks are DTS 2.0. Subtitles are Spanish only

[spidy]

I purchased the version from Mexico and the PQ was very good IMO. I think it was somewhere around $35.

[The Mad Kiwi]

I've got the Mexican release, and while I'm happy with it due to a restoration that's leaps and bounds ahead of any previous release, the two missing scenes annoy me. Not just that, but I'm not a fan of breaking the miniseries up into four parts with bumpers even though that's how I grew up watching it every year on The Family Channel. If Lionsgate ever releases this, I hope they present it as one long film like on the Artisan DVD, complete with the two missing scenes. Does the Spanish BD present it in 4 parts, or is it edited like one long film spread across 2 discs?

I'm really interested in seeing a release with deleted scenes. I was looking up Jesus of Nazareth images just last week for a project I'm working on and was stunned to find publicity stills on Getty images from deleted and extended scenes. I also stumbled upon a black and white publicity still of the resurrected Christ. It looks like most of these are from the first 90 minutes or so of the miniseries.

[Show spoiler]


Apparently there was an alternate version filmed of Joseph's dream which featured the angel. It's interesting that the only time angels appear in the miniseries is the low-key gardener approach when Mary Magdalene and the women run into them on the way to the tomb. It makes me wonder if there were any other angel scenes filmed but discarded. It seems like Zeffirelli wanted a less mystical approach to the material.





I'm assuming this takes place after the slaughter of the innocent. Herod the Great curiously never appears again after his order, and this would've been a good scene of reflection from him in the aftermath.



I can't tell if the boy in this shot is meant to be toddler Jesus or not. He's older than 2 year old Jesus from the wise men scene but younger than (6? 7?) year old Jesus from the ladder scene. It might just be a scene to show how good Joseph is with the neighboring kids as he does appear to have some apprentices in a couple of scenes.



This looks like it may be a scene depicting Anna's death as she's another character like Herod who just suddenly disappears from the story. I have no idea who the little girl on her lap might be, though, unless that's Jesus (oops...) or Mary in a flashback (though Anna doesn't look younger at all).



Interestingly, the actor playing adolescent Jesus here is not the same one who plays Him at age 12/13 for the temple and bar mitzvah scenes on the show. I can't tell if he's supposed to be older or younger in this shot, and I can't figure out what's going on.




The famous temptation in the wilderness scene which Zeffirelli cut just broadcast. In this scene, we never actually saw Satan. He was a voiceover played by Robert Powell. I believe Zeffirelli didn't like the insinuation that Satan was in Jesus' head (not to mention speaking in His own voice). I had heard about this scene for years but had never seen photos of it before.



In the miniseries, Herodias never tells Salome to request John's head even though she does in Scripture (though she does tell Salome to go to him, indicating she's got something in mind). Without this scene, it makes it seem like it was Salome's idea, something I've noticed many Jesus films do.




And here we have the famous "head on a silver platter" scene. Moviebuff's posted a third pic elsewhere which shows Herodias laughing at it which is the one I've seen floating around the web for years. These two pre-reaction shots are new to me.



In the final edit, after Veronica wipes Jesus' face, we get a closeup reaction of her after He's marched away. It looks like after that, she would've examined the shroud and seen Jesus' visage on it. Due to the annoying Getty watermark, it's hard to tell if there's a face on her shroud, but I think there is.



Out of all the cut scenes, this deletion infuriates me the most. After spending so much time developing Christ's nativity, mission, and passion, we get a haphazard approach to His resurrection in the final cut of the miniseries. There's no big reveal of the resurrected Christ. Jesus just suddenly appears casually sitting on the floor that results in a large continuity error (Peter standing and reacting to an off-screen Christ speaking, then we cut to Christ...with Peter resting his head beside Him).

It seems to me the shots of both Peter and the other disciples reacting were from this image with Powell's audio from the actual final scene of Him on the floor laid over it. A lot more could've been done with the resurrection compared to how the rest of the Gospel was adapted, but leaving the scene from the above image in would've helped immensely.

All this makes me wonder what else might've been cut that we don't know about. I saw an interview with Zeffirelli on YouTube where he confirmed the miniseries originally ran 7 hours before he trimmed it to under 6.5 hours. I'd love to be able to see at least half of that footage. Wasn't there a member here who found video of the extended flagellation scene from an Italian airing? I also read the Italian DVD has "extended scenes" amongst its bonus material, but I've yet to find any info on what these are.

[Falaskan]

This is all really interesting! It looks like they are working on an ultimate edition!

[Falaskan]

Bump for those that didn't see!

[spidy]

I'll get this if they release a US edition. An ultimate edition might be nice.

[moviebuff75]

How do you know they are working on an ultimate edition?

[Falaskan]

I don't know that, I just think they are because of the quality of those pictures.

[Falaskan]

And because Easters only a month and a half away

[moviebuff75]

Those pictures are from Getty Images, from the time of the film's production.

[Packerfan75]

The s OTE=The Mad Kiwi;8856728]I've got the Mexican release, and while I'm happy with it due to a restoration that's leaps and bounds ahead of any previous release, the two missing scenes annoy me. Not just that, but I'm not a fan of breaking the miniseries up into four parts with bumpers even though that's how I grew up watching it every year on The Family Channel. If Lionsgate ever releases this, I hope they present it as one long film like on the Artisan DVD, complete with the two missing scenes. Does the Spanish BD present it in 4 parts, or is it edited like one long film spread across 2 discs?

I'm really interested in seeing a release with deleted scenes. I was looking up Jesus of Nazareth images just last week for a project I'm working on and was stunned to find publicity stills on Getty images from deleted and extended scenes. I also stumbled upon a black and white publicity still of the resurrected Christ. It looks like most of these are from the first 90 minutes or so of the miniseries.

[Show spoiler]


Apparently there was an alternate version filmed of Joseph's dream which featured the angel. It's interesting that the only time angels appear in the miniseries is the low-key gardener approach when Mary Magdalene and the women run into them on the way to the tomb. It makes me wonder if there were any other angel scenes filmed but discarded. It seems like Zeffirelli wanted a less mystical approach to the material.





I'm assuming this takes place after the slaughter of the innocent. Herod the Great curiously never appears again after his order, and this would've been a good scene of reflection from him in the aftermath.



I can't tell if the boy in this shot is meant to be toddler Jesus or not. He's older than 2 year old Jesus from the wise men scene but younger than (6? 7?) year old Jesus from the ladder scene. It might just be a scene to show how good Joseph is with the neighboring kids as he does appear to have some apprentices in a couple of scenes.



This looks like it may be a scene depicting Anna's death as she's another character like Herod who just suddenly disappears from the story. I have no idea who the little girl on her lap might be, though, unless that's Jesus (oops...) or Mary in a flashback (though Anna doesn't look younger at all).



Interestingly, the actor playing adolescent Jesus here is not the same one who plays Him at age 12/13 for the temple and bar mitzvah scenes on the show. I can't tell if he's supposed to be older or younger in this shot, and I can't figure out what's going on.




The famous temptation in the wilderness scene which Zeffirelli cut just broadcast. In this scene, we never actually saw Satan. He was a voiceover played by Robert Powell. I believe Zeffirelli didn't like the insinuation that Satan was in Jesus' head (not to mention speaking in His own voice). I had heard about this scene for years but had never seen photos of it before.



In the miniseries, Herodias never tells Salome to request John's head even though she does in Scripture (though she does tell Salome to go to him, indicating she's got something in mind). Without this scene, it makes it seem like it was Salome's idea, something I've noticed many Jesus films do.




And here we have the famous "head on a silver platter" scene. Moviebuff's posted a third pic elsewhere which shows Herodias laughing at it which is the one I've seen floating around the web for years. These two pre-reaction shots are new to me.



In the final edit, after Veronica wipes Jesus' face, we get a closeup reaction of her after He's marched away. It looks like after that, she would've examined the shroud and seen Jesus' visage on it. Due to the annoying Getty watermark, it's hard to tell if there's a face on her shroud, but I think there is.



Out of all the cut scenes, this deletion infuriates me the most. After spending so much time developing Christ's nativity, mission, and passion, we get a haphazard approach to His resurrection in the final cut of the miniseries. There's no big reveal of the resurrected Christ. Jesus just suddenly appears casually sitting on the floor that results in a large continuity error (Peter standing and reacting to an off-screen Christ speaking, then we cut to Christ...with Peter resting his head beside Him).

It seems to me the shots of both Peter and the other disciples reacting were from this image with Powell's audio from the actual final scene of Him on the floor laid over it. A lot more could've been done with the resurrection compared to how the rest of the Gospel was adapted, but leaving the scene from the above image in would've helped immensely.

All this makes me wonder what else might've been cut that we don't know about. I saw an interview with Zeffirelli on YouTube where he confirmed the miniseries originally ran 7 hours before he trimmed it to under 6.5 hours. I'd love to be able to see at least half of that footage. Wasn't there a member here who found video of the extended flagellation scene from an Italian airing? I also read the Italian DVD has "extended scenes" amongst its bonus material, but I've yet to find any info on what these are.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the images. I never knew about the cut scenes. If the bluray even looks as good as those pictures, I'll be happy. I've been watching this movie just recently and it is so soft to the point of being hazy.
I'd love to see a full and complete restoration though. It's one of my favorite films of all time and by far, the most accurate telling of the life of Christ that I've ever seen. It's not the Bible but it's been a huge help and inspiration to me since I first started watching it 15 years ago.
Because of it's importance to me, I'll jump at the opportunity to grab a proper restoration of this biblical gem.

[milequatro]

The Spain edition is 2 discs, 4 episodes. I haven't officially watched yet. There is an option on the disc to "view all". I'm wondering if that will make it continuous? but i doubt it.

[Falaskan]

The DVD was

[moviebuff75]

Watch all probably contains all of the teasers, recaps, and credits for each episode. I prefer watching it in episodes myself.