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.

Throughout the 1950s, John Farrow began developing a proposed film project based on the life of Jesus, tentatively titled Son of Man.

In November 1958, actual development started when Farrow partnered with Samuel Bronston following their collaboration on John Paul Jones (1959).

Herod, however, informed of the birth of a child-king, orders the centurion Lucius to take his men to Bethlehem and kill all newborn male children.

Years later, Jewish rebels led by Barabbas and Judas Iscariot prepare to attack a caravan carrying the next governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate and his wife Claudia.

Barabbas plots a revolt in Jerusalem during Passover, during which time Jesus enters the city in triumph and goes to the Temple to preach.

Jesus dies in front of his mother, the apostle John, a few soldiers, Claudia (Pilate's wife), and Lucius, who utters the words, "He is truly the Christ."

Uncredited Cast In February 1951, it was reported that director John Farrow was developing a film on the life of Jesus, his script being titled Son of Man.

[5] By November 1951, it was reported that the project was under development at the Nassour Studios and that Farrow was conducting a search for an actor for the title role.

In February 1954, the Los Angeles Times reported that Farrow was likely to begin development on Son of Man following the completion of The Sea Chase.

[8] It was ultimately set aside when, in April 1955, Farrow signed to direct Around the World in Eighty Days (1956), from which he was later fired after nearly a week of shooting.

[9] Two months later, in March, Farrow began a search for an unknown actor to portray Jesus on the condition that he would not appear in another film, television, or stage production for up to 20 years.

Farrow later explained that in the context of Jesus's trial, Bronston wanted him to "whitewash the Jewish leaders, and lay blame entirely on the Romans.

[17] With set construction nearly complete, Ray asked screenwriter Philip Yordan whom he previously worked with on Johnny Guitar (1954) to rewrite the script.

[29] Alternately, on April 21, the day of Hunter's casting, it was reported that Burton was attached to play a centurion and that James Mason was being considered for Pontius Pilate.

[33] That same month, it was announced that Viveca Lindfors, Rita Gam, Frank Thring, and Ron Randell had joined the cast.

As with John Paul Jones (1959), Bronston secured financial backing from business executive Pierre S. du Pont III, but months into the shoot, the production ran out of money.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer became interested in investing, seeing the film as potentially tapping the same market as MGM's hugely successful Ben-Hur (1959), which was still in wide release.

[40] MGM studio president Joseph Vogel visited the set in Madrid and viewed dailies of the unfinished film.

[41] Due to the heavy deviations being made to the film's shooting script, Nicholas Ray and Philip Yordan were no longer on speaking terms, communicating only through walkie-talkies.

[43][44] In September, an automobile accident resulted in the death of Arthur Resse, who had been serving as a horse trainer, while also injuring actor Harry Guardino (who was portraying Barabbas) as the two were en route from a location outside Aranjuez, Spain.

[37] Ray Bradbury was brought in to construct a new ending as well as write narration in order to connect the disparate elements.

[50] In June 1960, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had acquired the distribution rights to the film, intending it for a roadshow theatrical release as a follow-up to Ben-Hur (1959).

Time wrote a negative review describing the film as "[i]ncontestably the corniest, phoniest, ickiest and most monstrously vulgar of all the big Bible stories Hollywood has told in the last decade".

"[55] Harrison's Reports awarded its top grade of "Excellent" and declared that the film "will not only stamp its enduring imprint on the glorious history book of the motion picture industry, but will leave its memorable impact on the minds of all those millions who see it.

"[56] Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post, however, panned the film as "a picture which never should have been made" because of the portrayal of Jesus as "a universal, non-controversial figure," explaining that "to excise His dynamic, revolutionary concepts is to make His journey on earth a hollow ritual, a pointless fairy tale, an essay on How to Live Dangerously and Still Win.

"[57] The Monthly Film Bulletin stated: "As, simply, a version of the infinitely well-known story, it has some curious interpolations (Christ's visit to John the Baptist in his cell) and omissions.

"[58] Among later reviews, Leonard Maltin's home video guide awarded the film three-and-a-half stars out of four,[59] and Geoff Andrew called it "one of the most interesting screen versions of the Gospels," adding that "some of the performances appear to lack depth, but one can't deny the effectiveness of Miklós Rózsa's fine score, and of Ray's simple but elegant visuals which achieve a stirring dramatic power untainted by pompous bombast.

"[60] Musicians such as Grammy Award-winning Art Greenhaw have cited the movie as being an influence in their work and even their favorite film of all time.