Evening meditation: Some Jesuit friends and I were speaking about this film, and this scene, one of favorites. To my mind "Jesus of Nazareth" is the best of the "Jesus movies." Directed by Franco Zeffirelli, written by Anthony Burgess (with an assist..
....from the New Testament scholar William Barclay), it often quotes directly from the Gospels. It draws from both the Synoptics and John and tries to "harmonize" them and does a good job of it...
In my meditations on the Healing of the Centurion's Servant, I can't help but picture Ernest Borgnine's presentation of the centurion as a practical and direct man, who, recognizing Jesus's power, has no trouble crossing certain boundaries to ask for help for his servant...
It also shows Jesus's willingness to reach out to someone on the margins (a pagan, a man not part of the Jewish milieu, someone who likely believes in multiple Roman gods) and to treat him with great compassion and even to praise his faith...
Of course there are some problems with the film (Mary Magdalene is portrayed, wrongly, as a prostitute; and the Boy Jesus, absurdly, is blond-haired and blue-eyed) but in the main it's tremendous....
Interestingly, the film's dramatic highlight is, as I see it, not the Resurrection, but the Raising of Lazarus, which made an immense impression on me as a 16 year old boy. It's one reason I'm so drawn to this story (and why I'm writing a book about it)...
And believe it or not, the entire film in HD is available on YouTube. At least for now. Enjoy.
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