The Greatest Story Ever Told

Max von Sydow heads up this cameo-happy (Charlton Heston, Sidney Poitier, Claude Rains, Sal Mineo, Shelley Winters) 1965 telling of the life of Christ, resurrected (er, I mean remastered) on DVD in a lush high-def transfer "with its original 6-track stereo sound." Sydow centers this super-sized biopic with an absolutely mesmerizing performance as Christ, in an epic of (for the most part) surprising subtlety and stunning visual beauty. This lavish 2-disc MGM family fare includes two "making ofs" (the original and a brand new one with interviews of the cast and crew), deleted scenes, photos and the original trailer. The 'greatest story ever told'? Perhaps not. But a damn good one. (Oops...sorry!) Highly recommended. (S. C. Sickles)[DVD Review--July 13, 2004--MGM, 199 min., G, $14.95--Making its second appearance on DVD (after the double-disc “special edition”) The Greatest Story Ever Told is now available in a “movie-only” edition minus the second disc of bonus features. Bottom line: this single-disc version of the film is the same as the double-disc “special edition,” but given the slight difference in price--$19.95 for the SE vs. $14.95 for the movie only--we highly recommend picking up the SE edition if you don't already own.][Blu-ray Review—May 24, 2011—MGM, 199 min., G, $19.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told features a decent transfer with DTS-HD sound. Blu-ray extras are carried over from the standard DVD release, including the “Filmmaker” vintage featurette on director George Stevens (28 min.), a “He Walks in Beauty” production featurette (15 min.), a deleted scene (3 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a welcome Blu-ray debut for a religious epic that garnered mixed reviews.]