F

or hundreds of millions of Christians around the world, Easter ranks with Christmas as the most spiritual time of
the year.

Not only do believers get to enjoy long holidays that mark the end of the year’s first quarter, they also have the chance to reflect on what faith means to them.

Easter, after all, celebrates what is arguably the most uplifting part Jesus Christ’s story — his resurrection. Few artistic mediums better capture its drama, the excitement, the tragedy and the meaning than movies.

Here is a list of five cinematic renditions of this timeless story.

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

US critic Roger Ebert called it the most violent movie he had ever seen. Civil rights activists branded it anti-Semitic. Christians railed against it as blasphemous. Scholars pronounced it historically inaccurate in its portrayal of Christ’s last hours. And yet audiences worldwide still wanted to see it (perhaps because of all the controversy), with US$611 million in box-office earnings during its 22 weeks of release. It’s still worth watching if only to see what all the fuss was about.

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

It’s easy to understand why some would feel offended by the notion that their sacred figure struggled with worldly temptations, including doubt and lust. It is yet another daring portrayal of Jesus, featuring radical departures from gospel narratives — including the brief, widely condemned scene in which Jesus and Mary Magdalene are depicted consummating their union.

Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)

No one ever imagined that musical forms of worship would literally include musical set pieces, much less ones based on rock opera. That was until the creative genius of Andrew Lloyd Weber, who did precisely that with this classic work, which has since turned into an equally popular film adaptation. Jesus Christ Superstar also inspired its fair share of debate, such as its depiction of Judas Iscariot, which some found to be too sympathetic.

Jesus of Nazareth (1977)

Franco Zeffirelli’s epic six-and-a-half-hour depiction of Jesus may have been a made-for-TV mini-series, but critics say it deserves to be ranked alongside its film equivalents for being what is perhaps the most exhaustive and detailed adaptation of Jesus’ story. Featuring an all-star cast of Oscar-winning actors and an iconic portrayal of Jesus by English actor Robert Powell, the series chronicles the life of Jesus from birth to rebirth.

The King of Kings (1927)

One of the earliest attempts at putting the New Testament on the silver screen was also among its most successful. This Cecil B. DeMille-directed feature was such a success that no Hollywood studio would make another life-of-Jesus movie until the 1960s. The last of DeMille’s silent films, it is also one of his greatest. In true DeMille-esque fashion, it is marked with flamboyance and flash, starting with its famous opening scene of a half-naked Mary Magdalene.

Easter Parade (1948)

Here is the one exception to the assembly of religious movies. A froth dance musical, it tells of bruised egos and muddled misunderstandings among a quartet of dance partners during the early years of the 20th century in the US. The Easter connection is that love finds a way to overcome all the tiffs and tantrums during an Easter parade. It stars Judy Garland, during the transitional years between her fresh-faced innocence in The Wizard of Oz and her sad, addled decline of middle age, and legendary dancer Fred Astaire. Despite his lean frame, Astaire, here aged 49, appears way too old to play the love interest of Garland, who was 26 at the time of filming. What’s a few decades between friends: the singing and dancing are great and this was the biggest box-office success for both.