Particular praise is often given for Robert Powell's portrayal of Jesus. It became a ratings success and received highly positive reviews. Jesus of Nazareth premiered on 27 March 1977, on the Italian channel Rai 1, and was first aired in the United Kingdom, on 3 April 1977, on the ITV Network.

Many of the miracles of Jesus, such as the changing of water into wine at the wedding at Cana, the transfiguration, and the calming of the storm, are not depicted, although Jesus' healing of Jairus' daughter, the blind man and the crippled woman on the Sabbath, the feeding of the multitude, and the raising of Lazarus from the dead are presented here. However, in accordance with the Gospels, the film depicts Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea as sympathetic members of the Sanhedrin. Jesus of Nazareth depicts Judas Iscariot as a well-intentioned man initially, but later as a dupe of Zerah's who betrays Jesus largely as a result of Zerah's false platitudes and pretexts. Some scenes were added in the writing of the screenplay, with some characters (such as Zerah) added to the film for brevity or dramatic effect. It stars Robert Powell as Jesus, and features an all-star cast of 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 Jesus of Nazareth ( Italian: Gesù di Nazareth) is a 1977 British-Italian epic film and television drama serial directed by Franco Zeffirelli and co-written by Zeffirelli, Anthony Burgess, and Suso Cecchi d'Amico which dramatizes the birth, life, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

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