Barabbas

Released Oct 10, 1962

2 hr. 17 min.

History

Drama

List

89%

9 Reviews

Tomatometer

67%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Epic biblical tale about the criminal who was released by Pontius Pilate in preference to Jesus, prior to the Crucifixion. The action follows Barabbas after his lucky escape, his return to crime and his subsequent recapture and imprisonment in the sulphur mines. Based on the novel by Swedish writer Par Lagerkvist.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Aug 01

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Apple TV

Rent Barabbas on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

CodyZamboni

Movie is a bit overlong but ends up being compelling for most of the way. Barabbas starts off as a super jerk but about halfway thru he became more empathetic and conflicted character. Kudos to Anthony Quinn for his strong performance. This Italian production has some solid dubbing, and some really impressive full scale outdoor sets. Best of all, are the memorable epic set pieces : the crucifixion eclipse, the sulfer mine earthquake, cave in, flood, the brutal gladiator battles in a huge arena with hundreds of extras, an intense, one on one battle between Quinn and snarly villain, Jack Palance, the great fire of Rome ,and a haunting image of hundreds of crucified Christians.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One of Anthony Quinn's finest performances. Based on a Nobel Prize winning novel about the man who was released when Christ was crucified. Made in Italy.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One of my default Biblical epics, with the movie Quo Vadis (1951) being a close second. Biblical movies rarely excite the viewer such as these. Unlike the sci-fi and horror genres, biblical movies opt for a slower pace and a moral lesson. They tend to reflect the boring lives of normal people who evolve into extraordinary and historic figures in history. Barabbas is such a movie to a certain extent. There are no monsters or singular cruel villains; there is only Barabbas struggling to make sense of his life after imprisonment in the Sicilian sulfur mines, gladiator contests, and eventual freedom. Anthony Quinn is the gruff, defeated, and forgotten rebel whose past luminance was slowly overshadowed by his counterpart, Jesus Christ. Ironically, the same combative spirit that made him the nemesis of Roman soldiers led to his superiority in the gladiator ring and his freedom. This is a caustic indictment of the culture which lack a moral compass and an intellectual perception of the world which despises it. The movie is a slice of this sad and doomed culture, allowing us to see how and why it would ultimately fail. The very end of the movie depicts the monstrous, uneven administration of justice--and Barabbas' final declaration of his love for God after he found out how the heavenly kingdom would truly arrive.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One of the best faith based films in cinema history.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Lacking the Circus Maximus spectacle of its famous predecessor, Barabbas compensates with nuanced acting from Anthony Quinn.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

What a great movie. A true epic!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Richard Fleischer

Director

Anthony Quinn

Barabbas

Silvana Mangano

Rachel

Arthur Kennedy

Pontius Pilate

Katy Jurado

Sara

Harry Andrews

Peter

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

95%

93%

Hundreds of Beavers

TRAILER

for Hundreds of Beavers

67%

29%

The Stranger

TRAILER

for The Stranger

50%

92%

The Stolen Valley

TRAILER

for The Stolen Valley

93%

95%

Dune: Part Two

TRAILER

for Dune: Part Two

71%

60%

Immaculate

TRAILER

for Immaculate

82%

75%

In the Land of Saints and Sinners

TRAILER

for In the Land of Saints and Sinners

67%

82%

Sweet Dreams

TRAILER

for Sweet Dreams

56%

88%

DogMan

TRAILER

for DogMan

%

%

An American Bombing: The Road to April 19th

TRAILER

for An American Bombing: The Road to April 19th

%

30%

Jimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Nick Pinkerton

Film Comment Magazine

Like Fleischer's oeuvre as a whole, it's ripe for reconsideration-the Greatest Story Ever Told has been Retold and Retold, but Barabbas brings it back from the dead.

Apr 28, 2014

Full Review

Michael Sragow

New Yorker

Problems of dubbing and pacing and a lack of scene-to-scene variety weigh the movie down, but Christopher Fry's pointed and intelligent free adaptation of Pr Lagerkvist's 1950 novel resists grandiloquence.

Mar 10, 2014

Full Review

Isabel Quigly

The Spectator

One might be likelier to forgive this if the film's declared intentions were less high-minded.

Jul 18, 2018

Full Review

Christopher Null

Filmcritic.com

Rated: 3/5

Oct 30, 2005

Full Review

Chuck O'Leary

Fantastica Daily

An extremely underrated Biblical epic.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 27, 2005

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jun 29, 2005

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Epic biblical tale about the criminal who was released by Pontius Pilate in preference to Jesus, prior to the Crucifixion. The action follows Barabbas after his lucky escape, his return to crime and his subsequent recapture and imprisonment in the sulphur mines. Based on the novel by Swedish writer Par Lagerkvist.

Director: Richard Fleischer
Screenwriter: Christopher Fry
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Columbia Pictures Corporation, Dino De Laurentiis Company
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 10, 1962, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 27, 2010

Most Popular at Home Now