Everett Collection and Archive Photos

An epic failure, George Stevens’s 1965 film on Jesus’ life, shown in various scenes below, was not, as its title boasted, The Greatest Story Ever Told. Max von Sydow, in the role of Jesus, saved the woman caught in adultery from stoning (large photo), entered Jerusalem triumphantly (bottom right), presided over the Last Supper (far left) and briefly survived scourging by the Romans (below). But the movie, which originally plodded on for more than four hours, ultimately failed to present the life of Jesus as anything more than several long and boring sermons.