Dramatic portrayals of Jesus

Various authors and filmmakers have created dramatic portrayals of Jesus and his life.

Many wanted to portray an accurate depiction of what his life is believed to have been like, while others have used the persona of Jesus as a narrative device to make a literary point and develop a story's theme. Because of the devotion of many people to the idea of Jesus, portrayals of him in works of fiction have been, almost without exception, fraught with controversy. Film portrayals of Jesus have, in particular, attracted protests and criticism. Filmmakers and theater managers have even received death threats in the wake of some of the more controversial movies about Jesus.

Novels portraying Jesus

• According to Mary Magdalene by Marianne Fredriksson (2003)
• Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock (1970)
• Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace
• The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1881)
• The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by José Saramago (1991)
• The Gospel of Corax by Paul Park
• King Jesus by Robert Graves (1947)
• Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore (2001)
• The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis
• The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (1940, published in 1966)
• Only Begotten Daughter and Godhead Trilogy by James Morrow
• Judas, My Brother by Frank Yerby
• Judas Iscariot by Leonid Andreev
• The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas
• The Big Fisherman by Lloyd C. Douglas
• Casca: The Eternal Mercenary by Barry Sadler
• The Urantia Book by William S. Sadler
• The Gospel of Aphranius by Kiril Yeskov

Motion pictures portraying Jesus

Based on Biblical accounts

• Il vangelo secondo Matteo (1964)
• The Gospel of John (2003)
• The Gospel Road (1967)
• The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
• Jesus (1979)
• Jesus of Nazareth (1977) (TV miniseries)
• King of Kings (1961; also a silent film version in 1927)
• The Passion of the Christ (2004)

Other

• Ben-Hur (a non-speaking role, seen only from behind or in partial view)
• The Book of Life (1998)
• Godspell (1973)
• Hail Mary (1985) (modern-day retelling of the Virgin Birth)
• Intolerance (1916)
• Jesus Christ Superstar (1973; new video version of original musical in 1999)
• Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter (2001) (direct-to-video [1])
• Johnny Got His Gun (1971), featuring Donald Sutherland as Jesus in a dream sequence
• The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
• Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)
• The Robe (1953) (off-screen)
• The Seventh Sign (1988)
• Bad Lieutenant (1992)

Audio dramas portraying Jesus

• The Man Born to be King (1941)
• Adventures in Odyssey

See also

• List of movies based on the Bible