@col-klink I've read some stories by that writer, probably 1970s.

A series nobody has mentioned yet is recent:  The Chosen aims to show the story of Jesus from a Galilean perspective, giving each disciple a backstory. It's well acted and produced, by Christian professionals. It's streamed,  and paid for by donations. 

@coracle 

Oh the Chosen is great!  I'm really enjoying it so far.

I've also watched a mini-series from History Channel called Jesus of Nazareth. It was a three-tape on VHS, which made into a 6-hour movie. It's enjoyable, but the downside, the portrayal of Jesus has blue eyes. Since we don't really know what he looked like, we can't say for sure. Though I would think he would have brown eyes in that region and culture.

I remember that Jesus of Nazareth was a miniseries broadcast on television in the 1970’s. In fact I have a book based on that series.  It was quite accurate to scripture and had much fine acting.  Much of the dialogue taken directly from the Bible. I thought the series was very enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone. 🙂

@narnian78 

It's been a while since I've watched it, though I remember enjoying it. I think Michael York was John the Baptist, Stacey Keach was Barbarbas, Anthony Quinn was Caiaphas, Sir Lawrence Olivier was Nicadamous, Sir Peter Ustinov was King Herod, Christopher Plummer was Herod Antipas. Some of the big names that are no longer with us.

@jasmine_tarkheena 

It was a very well made series. Since it was longer than most of the previous films made about about the life of Christ there was more of the Bible in the film.  And as I remember, the cross looked different than in other film versions.  It looked like it was made from tree branches. It seemed that there was more realism in the film than in most that are based on the Bible. There was an especially memorable part of the film with Ernest Borgnine as the Centurion. There are fewer movies of this kind made today. The author of the companion book, William Barclay, was quite well known at that time, and the book contained much beautiful photography. I think there was an extended version made of the film. which was broadcast a few years later on the same television network.  It has been repeated at Easter time on cable television many times.

@narnian78 

When it comes to religious films, much like Aslan in Narnia adaptions, Jesus is perhaps the hardest to get right. It's a hard task to get the character right, mainly because the kind of person He was.

In some adaptions, He's portrayed with having fair complexion and blue eyes and in other adaptions, He's portrayed as having dark complexion and brown eyes. I think the dark complexion and brown eyes would be close to accurate, given in the Middle eastern culture. 

There's also the kind of person Jesus was. He is gentle and showed love. He shows His anger at sin, but doesn't sin (notably overturning the tables in the temple courtyard), showing that anger itself it's not sin. It all depends on how it is used. He even expressed His anger at the religious leaders for their hypocrisy. So to portray Jesus as the kind of person He was is a hard task for filmmakers.

I think when it comes to religious films, especially ones based on a Bible story, probably two that are done the most on screen are Moses and Jesus.

There's been quite a lot of movies about Moses, like the famous Cecil B. DeMill blockbuster The Ten Commandments, The Bible Collection: Moses, Dreamworks's The Prince of Egypt, an animated adaption of The Ten Commandments, and most recently, Exodus: Gods and Kings.

There's countless movies about Jesus like Greatest Story Ever Told, King of Kings, Jesus of Nazareth, The Bible Collection: Jesus, The Passion of the Christ, The Nativity Story, Son of God. There's even been some that had the story of Jesus, but  told from a different presepctive. Ben-Hur is a historic fiction that takes place during the time of Christ. Barbarbas touches on what may have happened to Barbarbas after his release.

Some people may have a negative view of turning Bible stories into films.   I guess you could say that it is better to read the original book itself.  But if the movies help people to understand the Bible better they can accomplish some good. Parts of the Bible may be difficult for children and some adults to understand such the long genealogies and culture of the Hebrew people.  The films may help people to know more about Bible times and the civilizations of long ago.  

@narnian78 

I think the thing is if movies based on a Bible story are Biblical accurate, which is not always the case for Hollywood productions.

It's like we ask ourselves, "Do we want any Bible story to be made into movies?" The answer is "yes" and "no". It's kind of how we feel about the Narnia books being made into movies. Especially as a Christian, God's Word matters if it is done right on screen.

Posted by: @narnian78

@coracle 

Yes, I remember that scene with Marcellus meeting Judas in The Robe.  I thought it was one of the better parts of the movie since it added some sadness to the drama. Of course it is not in the Bible, but it is good drama in the movie. The film is actually based on the history of the Bible and was not intended as a strict adaptation. But then the viewing audience should know that parts of the movie will be fiction before watching.

I've never seen that film, but I should like to see it if I ever have the chance. Several times I've read the novel of the same name ( https://www.fadedpage.com/link.php?file=20191019.html ) that it is based on, and the book is again based on the history of the Bible, about the officer who is in command of the soldiers that crucify Jesus, and who wins Jesus' robe when they cast lots for it (John 19:24-25). The scene about Marcellus meeting Judas isn't even in the book (I've been reading the first chapters this morning to check), but I can imagine that it would be a good incident to put into the film.

I've also seen the film Ben Hur (the Charlton Heston version) two or three times, and I've read the book. The film made a profound impression on me. It is one of the few occasions where I would say that the film adaptation is better than the book.

@narnian78 I loved  Jesus of Nazareth.  There was a DVD of that was produce I think about 10-15 years ago. I watched it several times.  As @jasmine_tarkheena said so many older actors that are no longer with us.   I also liked Masada which isn't really a biblical story but was based on the story of Jews who tried to protect themselves from Romans. 

I would like to see a more modern film in which Jesus is depicted as he probably really looked like as a Jew in those times.  

@varna 

The Robe is a very attractive movie to watch.  It says on my blu-ray copy that it was the first wide screen movie ever made. It had beautiful sets and cinema photography, which made it quite impressive back in 1953.  Even though some of the acting was a bit artificial (especially Richard Burton’s) I think it is quite a good film and well worth owning for repeated viewings. I think it is more enjoyable and entertaining than many of today’s films, and it definitely is more wholesome. Movies of this kind are not often made today since modern audiences don’t have much taste for movies based on Scripture.

I don't know if this would qualify as religious, but Victor Hugo's classic novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, has been adapted into movies so many time. There is the argument that it is kind of religious, because it is about a church and touches on religious issues.

Some of the best known are one with Lon Chaney, one with Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara, one with Anthony Quinn and Gina Lollobrigida, and one from Disney.

And who thought that a gothic novel about corruption of church would be a good kids movie?

@jasmine_tarkheena  Funny, isn't it? Yet I don't think of it as a children's story at all, but the songs in the Disney animation made it a bit more accessible. There are several elements that are very much adult material, including abuse of the poor, misuse of the girl, and the dehumanisation of the title character.