Classic Reel: 'Barabbas'

Cast: Anthony Quinn, Vittorio Gassman, Silvana Mangano, Ernest Borgnine, Arthur Kennedy and  Valentina Cortese 

Year of Release: 1961 

Director: Richard Fleischer

Plot: A look at Barabbas' life after the Crucifixion and Resurrection. 

Barabbas is a character mentioned in the New Testament, but nothing else is known about him.  The Bible described him as the 'notorious prisoner', but he's been depicted as a zealot and assassin in media, notably by Stacey Keach in the 1977 miniseries. However, Barabbas’  life was further expanded in this religious epic, based on the book by 1951 Nobel Prize winner Par Lagerkvist. 

Anthony Quinn played Barabbas, a coarse rebel/murderer/thief, who, after 6 weeks in prison, is told by a Roman officer he’s a free man- thanks to the people’s preference for him over ‘the Nazarene who committed blasphemy’. Barabbas goes from stunned to triumphant at his unexpected luck, but certain changes and later events make him question everything. Through Quinn’s performance, we see a very cynical and flawed man who didn’t have a great start in life, hates hypocrites  (the Jewish high priests and the Romans), whose sins he felt were greater than his. He refuses to accept any responsibility for Christ’s death, though it’s obvious he does feel guilty that he, a sinner,  was pardoned instead.  Barabbas remains cynical despite witnessing the sky darken after Christ’s death on the cross, his talk with the Apostles and the resurrected Lazarus,  seeing Christ’s teachings as pointless. 

Quinn played the pardoned criminal as a man supposedly unaffected by the people’s decision but unable to shake off the persistent guilt he feels inside, more so after he suffers a loss. He deliberately commits a crime, but to his shock, is sent away to the sulfur mines with hard labour, instead of execution, wondering if it was a sign he was actually meant to live forever. Years later, when a Christian prisoner attacks him, he sarcastically uses Christ’s words against him, “Love one another”, not to save his own skin (since he firmly maintained  Christ’s death wasn’t his fault) but to paint the Christian as a hypocrite, hence had no right to judge him if he couldn't abide by Christ's teachings. Barabbas doesn't understand the concept of Christianity, why the Christians he later meets (one of them the Apostle Peter) cling to their faith, despite the Romans' oppression or why Christ allowed himself to be sacrificed at all. 

 For most of the film, Barabbas is either a troubled soul or a cynical man who refuses to believe in miracles, despite being spared from execution TWICE and surviving an earthquake. Quinn depicts Barabbas as a very unlikable but realistic character, believing only what suited him, caring more about surviving, but still questioning God and why he was spared. It's only after a great misunderstanding on his part that he finally sees the light, after Peter gently schools him on what Christianity is really about. 

  Among the much-hated Romans in the film, Jack Palance stands out as the sadistic gladiator who seems more the devil than a man, as he kills without remorse, adding to Barabbas' poor opinion of the world he lives in. Vittorio Gassman played Barabbas' Christian friend, who initially felt he couldn't live up to Christ's teachings, but then tries all he can to guide Barabbas on the right path. 

The sets and costumes add to the film's authenticity, but the most memorable aspect was the darkening of the sun as Christ dies, a sight that deeply haunts Barabbas. The ending of the film is very heartbreaking, leaving the viewers wondering how some of us among Mankind can sleep at night.  However, the gladiator scenes were cliché; gladiators weren't even in the book! Must there always be gladiators when Romans are depicted? Sheesh! 

While the film is a fictionalised account of the pardoned criminal, it depicts the themes of guilt, religious prosecution,  faith and eventual redemption. It's a totally different choice for an Easter film, but an interesting one. One can't help but wonder if the real Barabbas developed a conscience after his controversial acquittal and actually found redemption, or resumed his criminal ways and met a violent end. 

VIDEO: BARABBAS 

Trivia: 

-Anthony Quinn later appeared in the 1976 Islamic epic, The Message,  as  Hamza, the uncle of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). 

- Anthony Quinn and other cast members later appeared in the 1977 miniseries, Jesus of Nazareth. Quinn played Caiaphas, a  Jewish High Priest and Head of the Sanhedrin. Ernest Borgnine played the Centurion, and Valentina Cortese played Queen Herodias.  

-The sun darkening during the Crucifixion/ Christ's death was an actual solar eclipse. The director deliberately delayed shooting to be able to capture the moment for the haunting scene.  

  Quotes: 

 Barabbas: I was the opposite of everything he taught, wasn't I? Why did he let himself be killed instead of me?