rights to air the Italian and British co-production for about $3 million. “Jesus of Nazareth” stirred up controversy even before it aired. Also featured in smaller parts were Claudia Cardinale, Anthony Quinn, James Earl Jones, Donald Pleasence, Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Christopher Plummer, Rod Steiger and Ernest Borgnine. The huge supporting cast featured Olivia Hussey as the Virgin Mary, Peter Ustinov as Herod, Michael York as John the Baptist and James Farentino as Simon Peter. Before “Jesus,” Powell had been featured in Ken Russell’s outrageous movies “Tommy” and “Mahler.” Much of the success of the drama also was due to the sensitive, mesmerizing performance of British actor Robert Powell in the title role. Literate and inspiring, the miniseries was written by Anthony Burgess, Suso Cecchi D’Amico and Zeffirelli.
The film, which was made for approximately $18 million, drew a 50 share both nights and had a cumulative audience of 90 million. Shot on location in the Holy Land, “Jesus of Nazareth” was an enormous success when NBC originally aired it on Palm Sunday and Easter. In observance of Easter Week, the Family Channel repeats the acclaimed 1977 miniseries “Jesus of Nazareth.” The six-hour, 37-minute epic on the life of Jesus was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, best known to moviegoers for his popular adaptations of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” in 1967 and “Romeo and Juliet” in 1968.
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