History Film / TheGreatestStoryEverTold

* ResonableAuthorityFigure: Nicodemus who tries to defend Jesus before the Sanhedrin and protests the KangarooCourt.

** Mary Magdalene is equated with the woman caught in adultery.

* MeaningfulEcho:
** The film has Jesus’ dying quote of Psalm 22 have an earlier recitation from the oppressed Jews when Jesus is an infant.

The film so holy, it turned Creator/TellySavalas bald.

** DoomedNewClothes: Mary and Martha clothe Jesus in a white robe for his entry into Jerusalem. 24 hours later, the robe gets stained (sweat, dirt, blood) and ripped.

* TitleDrop - In the opening narration.
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth - Jesus, obviously. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Mary, Lazarus' sister:

The film so holy, it turned Telly Savalas bald.

A 1965 epic from director Creator/GeorgeStevens, ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' portrays the life of UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} and his miracles from Nativity to Resurrection. For a plot synopsis you might as well just read Literature/TheFourGospels.

While ''Story'' was not the first of its kind, this broad scope is one of its notable features and was something the creators wanted to play up. The then-unknown (in the U.S.) Creator/MaxVonSydow was cast as Jesus, but the rest of the cast and crew was [[AllStarCast filled with big names]], some coming in for short cameos. Among the actors seen here are Creator/CharltonHeston, Creator/ClaudeRains, [[Creator/JoseFerrer José Ferrer]], Creator/DavidMcCallum, Creator/DonaldPleasence, Creator/SidneyPoitier, Creator/AngelaLansbury, Creator/JohnWayne (as the Centurion at the crucifixion), and the aforementioned Creator/TellySavalas (who shaved his head for his role as Pontius Pilate in this film and then decided never to grow it back).

** The Part 1 climax shot of Bar Armand, Uriah, and Old Aram usually one of them cropped.

** The Last Supper scene. Half of the Disciples (the ones played by Creator/RoddyMcDowall, David Hedison, Jamie Farr, and Creator/David McCallum) are cropped out.

** The Part 1 shot of Bar Armand, Uriah, and Old Aram usually one of them cropped.
** The Last Supper scene. Half of the Disciples (the ones played by Creator/RoddyMacDowall, David Hedison, Jamie Farr, and Creator/David McCallum) are cropped out.

** The Last Supper scene. Half of the Disciples (the ones played by Roddy MacDowall, David Hedison, Jamie Farr, and David McCallum) are cropped out.

** TheLastSupper scene. Half of the Disciples (the ones played by Roddy MacDowall, David Hedison, Jamie Farr, and David MacCallum) are cropped out.

** Shelley Winters as a woman healed by Jesus

* UrbanLegends: A particularly funny one involves Creator/JohnWayne ReadingTheStageDirectionsOutLoud. The story goes that the director coached him to say his line more reverently: "Not like that--say it with ''awe''!" On the next take, the Duke delivered his line: "Aw, truly this was the Son of God!" (When asked if the story was true, Wayne denied it, but said it was ActuallyPrettyFunny.)

* AdaptationDistillation: Of Literature/TheFourGospels.
** The film also credits "the writings of Fulton Oursler and Henry Denker". It shares its title and subject matter with a 1947-1956 radio drama series written by Denker, based on a novel by Oursler that wasn't actually published until 1949.

** Mary Magdalene is equated with rhe woman caught in adultery.

* {{Cameo}}: It was the fairly common practice at the time of casting a fresh new actor as the lead and then surrounding him with more familiar faces. Besides the major roles, the film has:

** Roddy [=McDowall=] as Matthew

While ''Story'' was not the first of its kind, this broad scope is one of its notable features and was something the creators wanted to play up. The then-unknown (in the U.S.) Creator/MaxVonSydow was cast as Jesus, but the rest of the cast and crew was [[AllStarCast filled with big names]], some coming in for short cameos. Among the actors seen here are Creator/CharltonHeston, Creator/ClaudeRains, Creator/DavidMcCallum, Creator/DonaldPleasence, Creator/SidneyPoitier, Creator/AngelaLansbury, Creator/JohnWayne (as the Centurion at the crucifixion), and the aforementioned Creator/TellySavalas (who shaved his head for his role as Pontius Pilate in this film and then decided never to grow it back).

--> Come to bury the dead? Or come to see the mourners? You made a leper well. You made a cripple walk. Was it too much to ask that you to keep my brother from dying? Why do come now that he is dead, when you could have come while he lived? When he need you? Why?