Barabbas (1961)

Summary: Governor Pontius Pilate gave the populace a choice to spare either Barabbas, a criminal, or Jesus, condemned as a heretic, from crucifixion. The masses chose Barrabas, and he is haunted by the image of Jesus for the rest of his life.

Release Date: October 10, 1962

Genres: Drama, Biography, History

Director: Richard Fleischer

Writers: Christopher Fry

, Pär Lagerkvist

, Nigel Balchin

Runtime: 2 h 17 min

MPAA: Approved

Production: Columbia Pictures, Dino De Laurentiis Company

Distributor: Columbia Pictures, CBS, Columbia TriStar Home Video, RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video

Countries: Italy, United States

Language: English

Domestic: $ 6,322,000

Esther and the King (1960)

Summary: Two decades before she would gain fame and some fortune as Alexis Carrington on Dynasty (1981), Dame Joan Collins starred as Esther in this melodramatic, routine Biblical story. The setting is Persia in the fourth century B.C., as...

Release Date: December 14, 1960

Genres: Drama, Biography, History

Directors: Raoul Walsh

, Mario Bava

Writers: Raoul Walsh

, Michael Elkins

, Ennio De Concini

Runtime: 1 h 49 min

MPAA: Approved

Production: Twentieth Century Fox, Galatea Film

Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox

Countries: Italy, United States

Language: English

Ben-Hur (1959)

Summary: A Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, but it's not long before he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.

Release Date: November 18, 1959

Genres: Adventure, Drama, History

Director: William Wyler