Barabbas (1961)

BARABBAS  (1961)  ¢ ¢ ¢ ¢
    Richard Fleischer
    Anthony Quinn, Silvana Mangano, Arthur Kennedy,
    Katy Jurado, Harry Andrews, Vittorio Gassman,
    Valentina Cortese, Jack Palance, Ernest Borgnine
If there's such a thing as a biblical film noir, it's probably this: a speculation on what might've happened to the thief who got reprieved when Christ was sentenced to death. Spared from the gallows for reasons he can never understand, Barabbas becomes convinced he can't be killed, and he does survive an awfully long time, through 20 years as a slave in a Sicilian sulfur mine, gladiatorial combat in the arena and the burning of Rome, till he finally meets his own death, ironically, by crucifixion. Anthony Quinn plays Barabbas as a dark, tortured soul, and darkness, both visual and metaphorical, is a key element in the story. (The recreation of Christ's crucifixion was filmed during a solar eclipse.) Christopher Fry wrote the script from the novel by Pär Lagerkvist, and the mournful main theme (for Catholics who remember the ancient musical past) is the Kyrie from Mass XI. It's a brooding, compelling film with a protagonist who's impulsively violent and barely articulate, which makes it a departure from most Hollywood biblical epics. Like some other historical figures, Barabbas inhabits the shadows, a minor player remembered for his accidental role in a brief, pivotal moment recorded in a line or two of biblical text. When he steps out into the light, he's blinded by it. In the darkness, he's right at home.