The Gospel of John (2003 film)

American Bible Society film

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The Gospel of John

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Philip Saville
Screenplay by| John Goldsmith
Produced by|

* Garth H. Drabinsky
* Chris Chrisafis

Starring|

* Henry Ian Cusick
* Stuart Bunce

Narrated by| Christopher Plummer
Cinematography| Mirosław Baszak
Edited by| Michel Arcand
Music by| Jeff Danna

Production
company

Visual Bible International

Distributed by| ThinkFilm

Release date

* 26 September 2003 (2003-09-26)

Running time

| 180 minutes
Countries|

* United Kingdom
* Canada
* United States

Language| English
Budget| $10–11 million[1][2]
Box office| $4.1 million[1]

The Gospel of John is a 2003 epic biblical drama film that recounts the life of Jesus according to the Gospel of John.[3] The film is a word-for-word adaptation of the American Bible Society's Good News Bible and follows the Gospel of John precisely, without additions to the story from the other Gospels or omissions of the Gospel's complex passages. It stars Henry Ian Cusick as Jesus of Nazareth, Stuart Bunce as John and is narrated by Christopher Plummer.

## Cast

[edit]

* Henry Ian Cusick as Jesus of Nazareth
* Christopher Plummer as The Narrator
* Stuart Bunce as John
* Daniel Kash as Simon Peter
* Stephen Russell as Pontius Pilate
* Alan Van Sprang as Judas Iscariot
* Diana Berriman as Mary, mother of Jesus
* Richard Lintern as Leading Pharisee
* Scott Handy as John the Baptist
* Lynsey Baxter as Mary Magdalene
* Diego Matamoros as Nicodemus
* Nancy Palk as Samaritan Woman
* Elliot Levey as Nathanael
* Andrew Pifko as Philip
* Cedric Smith as Caiaphas
* Tristan Gemmill as Andrew
* Mariam Brown as Martha
* Mariam Hughes as Mary
* Nitzan Sharron as Lazarus
* Stuart Fox as Blind Man
* David Meyer as Lame Man
* Nicolas Van Burek as Young Levite
* William Pappas as Elderly Levite

## Production

[edit]

This film was created by a constituency of artists from Canada and the United Kingdom, along with academic and theological consultants from around the world. The cast was selected primarily from the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and Soulpepper Theatre Company, as well as Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal National Theatre. The musical score, composed by Jeff Danna and created for the film, is partially based on the music of the Biblical period. The film was produced by Visual Bible International. Filming took place in Toronto, Ontario, and Almeria and Andalucia, Spain.[citation needed]

## Reception

[edit]

### Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 37% of 49 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Gospel of John takes a reverent approach to its story without ever bringing it to life, proving that cribbing from the Good Book isn't enough to guarantee a good movie."[4] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 52 out of 100 based on responses from 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[5]

### Criticism

[edit]

While the film is largely a faithful depiction of the Gospel of John, Rhonda Handlon of Plugged In noted that the inclusion of Mary Magdalene at the Last Supper has no direct Biblical citation, and might cause issue with viewers who prefer only direct scriptural references.[6]

## See also

[edit]

* The Gospel of John, a 2014 word-for-word film adaptation
* List of Easter films
* The Visual Bible: Matthew
* The Visual Bible: Acts

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "The Gospel of John". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
2. ^ "The Gospel of John". The Numbers. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
3. ^ John F. A. SawyerThe Blackwell Companion to the Bible and Culture 2012 "Overshadowed by The Passion is British director Philip Saville's The Gospel of John (2003) a film whose text is the Gospel of John, ... The film is narrated by Christopher Plummer, whose authoritative voice makes the text sound like gospel"
4. ^ "The Gospel of John". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
5. ^ "The Gospel of John". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
6. ^ Handlon, Rhonda. "The Gospel of John Movie Review". Plugged In. Focus on the Family. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2019. "Some Christians may take issue with Mary Magdalene's silent presence at Christ's last supper with his disciples (it's not noted anywhere in scripture)."

## External links

[edit]

* The Gospel of John at IMDb
* The Gospel of John at Rotten Tomatoes
* Enthusiastic review by Andy Naselli
* Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films list
* The Blog on The Gospel of John Film

* v
* t
* e

Gospel of John

Bible
(New Testament)|

| Chapters|

* John 1
* Book of Signs
* 2
* 3
* 4
* 5
* 6
* 7
* 8
* 9
* 10
* 11
* 12
* Book of Glory
* 13
* 14
* 15
* 16
* 17
* 18
* 19
* 20
* Epilogue: 21

|

Verses|

* John 1:1–20; 23; 25–33; 35–42
* 3:16
* 14:6
* 18:38
* 20:1–31

Events
(chronological)|

* Wedding at Cana
* Bread of Life Discourse
* Feeding the 5000
* Healing a blind man
* Healing a paralytic
* Healing a sick son
* Jesus and the woman taken in adultery
* Walking on water
* Raising of Lazarus
* Anointing
* Foot washing
* Passion of Jesus
* Last Supper
* Farewell Discourse
* Crucifixion
* Burial
* Empty tomb
* Resurrection of Jesus
* Miraculous catch of fish
* Restoration of Peter

Phrases|

* In the beginning
* Logos
* Disciple whom Jesus loved
* Doubting Thomas
* Ecce homo
* Feast of Dedication
* "Love one another"
* Jesus wept
* Noli me tangere
* Quod scripsi, scripsi
* That they all may be one
* Via et veritas et vita
* The truth will set you free

People|

* Andrew
* Annas
* Caiaphas
* Herod Antipas
* Jesus Christ
* John the Baptist
* Joseph of Arimathea
* Judas Iscariot
* Mother of Jesus
* Lazarus
* Malchus
* Martha
* Mary Magdalene
* Mary, sister of Martha
* Nathanael
* Nicodemus
* Philip
* Pontius Pilate
* Simon Peter
* Thomas
* Zebedee

Groups
Angels
Pharisees
Sadducees
Samaritans
Sanhedrin

Places|

* Ænon
* Bethabara
* Bethany
* Bethsaida
* Cana
* Capernaum
* Galilee
* Jacob's Well
* Jerusalem
* Jordan River
* Judea
* Kidron
* Samaria
* Sea of Galilee
* Solomon's Porch
* Sychar

"I AM" sayings|

* I am (biblical term)
* Bread of Life
* Light of the World
* Gate for the Sheep
* Good Shepherd
* Resurrectio et Vita
* Via et veritas et vita
* True Vine

Related|

* Authorship
* Johannine community
* John the Apostle
* John the Evangelist
* Johannine literature
* Holy Spirit
* Textual variants
* Apocryphon of John
* Second Apocalypse of John
* Pillar New Testament Commentary

Adaptations|

* St John Passion (J. S. Bach, 1724)
* Structure
* Discography
* Passio (Pärt, 1982)
* Johannes-Passion (Gubaidulina, 2000)
* The Gospel of John (2003 film)
* The Gospel of John (2014 film)

Manuscripts|

* Papyrus 2
* 5
* 6
* 22
* 28
* 36
* 39
* 44
* 45
* 52
* 55
* 59
* 60
* 63
* 66
* 75
* 76
* 80
* 84
* 90
* 93
* 95
* 106
* 107
* 108
* 109
* 119
* 120
* 121
* 122
* 128
* Ohrid Glagolitic fragments

Sources|

* Greek Text
* Latin Vulgate
* Wycliffe Version
* King James Version
* American Standard Version
* World English Version

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