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Barabbas

Barabbas

History · Drama · Adventure · 1961

Epic account of the thief Barabbas, who was pardoned for his crimes and spared crucifixion when Pilate offered the Israelites a choice to pardon Barabbas or Jesus. Struggling with his spirituality, Barabbas goes through many ordeals leading him to the gladiatorial arena, where he tries to win his freedom and confront his inner demons, ultimately becoming a follower of the man who was crucified in his place.

Movie details

Barabbas

“The man of violence in whose place Christ died”

1961 History · Drama · Adventure 2h 17m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.9 / 10

7.2K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

89 %

Tomatometer

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Epic account of the thief Barabbas, who was pardoned for his crimes and spared crucifixion when Pilate offered the Israelites a choice to pardon Barabbas or Jesus. Struggling with his spirituality, Barabbas goes through many ordeals leading him to the gladiatorial arena, where he tries to win his freedom and confront his inner demons, ultimately becoming a follower of the man who was crucified in his place.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Barabbas?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Richard Fleischer

Written by

Diego Fabbri · Salvatore Quasimodo · Christopher Fry · Nigel Balchin

Anthony Quinn

Anthony Quinn

Barabbas

Silvana Mangano

Silvana Mangano

Rachel

Arthur Kennedy

Arthur Kennedy

Pontius Pilate

Katy Jurado

Katy Jurado

Sara

Harry Andrews

Harry Andrews

Peter

Vittorio Gassman

Vittorio Gassman

Sahak

Norman Wooland

Norman Wooland

Rufio

Court is in session

Put Barabbas on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.