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Pontius Pilate(1962) 100 min. color
The film begins in the year 36 AD, when Pontius Pilate appears before Emperor Gaius (Caligula) in Rome. Emperor Tiberius had recalled Pilate to face charges of suppressing a Samaritan uprising, but he died before Pilate arrived. Now Pilate stands before the new emperor, who asks Pilate to answer the charges. The entire film thereafter is a flashback, as Pilate tells Gaius what happened during his governorship in Judea. Ten years earlier Pilate arrived in Palestine. The Jewish people were not happy living under Roman rule. But the Jewish high priest Caiaphas tried to keep the peace. He welcomed Pilate to Palestine. Pilate promised Caiaphas a just governorship. But Pilate's address to the people was interrupted by an attack by a gang of outlaws led by Barabbas. The attackers killed some of the Romans, and even wounded Pilate himself. When the fighting subsided, Pilate ordered his men to stand down, saying, "I came here to build, not to destroy. I didn't expect a joyous reception, but I didn't expect to see my soldiers killed either." Pilate began a project of building of an aqueduct to bring water to the city, but the Sanhedrin (the Jewish high court) refused to contribute to the project. Pilate was told that the people's contribution to the Temple is to be used to glorify God, not man. Refusing to allow the Jews to delay his project, Pilate issued an order to levy an additional tax on the already-heavily-taxed people.
While the Romans carried out their orders and robbed the caravans, Pilate's wife (Claudia) and children arrived from Rome. Pilate promptly sent his wife and kids north to Galilee, presumably because the climate is better, but in reality he was involved with another woman, and didn't want his wife around. While up north, Claudia heard Jesus teach. She says, "I have need of his teachings." She had made up her mind to not forgive her husband for his betrayal, but Jesus taught her that love cannot be love unless there is forgiveness. The attacks on unarmed caravans soon brought Caiaphus himself to the aqueduct construction site to confront Pilate. He accused Pilate of stealing the money intended for the Temple. Pilate argued that the Temple tributes are contributions made by the Jewish people to be used for the common good. "And this aqueduct benefits everyone," he said. "You don't have the authority to decide how temple funds are to be used," responded Caiaphus. Caiaphus implored Pilate to listen to his plea, but Pilate refused, saying, "Without money, this work will stop." "Then let it stop!" declared Caiaphas. He cursed the aqueduct project, and left. The story of Pilate building an aqueduct using funds from the Temple treasury is based on history written by Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews. Claudia returned to Pilate. His mistress had left him, and he asked Claudia for forgiveness. He was surprised that she was willing to forgive him; she explained that a Jewish rabbi spoke to her about forgiveness.
At the Sanhedrin, Caiaphas complained that Pilate continued to take money intended for the Temple to pay for his aqueduct. The Sanhedrin voted for retaliation by force. Reluctantly, Caiaphas agreed to go along with the decision of the majority. The priests declared, "Pontius Pilate has made a mockery of our ancient laws!" Caiaphus reminded them, "Vengeance is mine, said the Lord." The Sanhedrin then hired Barabbas to retrieve the Temple's money. Barabbas and his gang of outlaws accomplished this task; they attacked the Roman caravan, killing all the Romans, including a small boy. With the exception of the Temple tribute, which they turned over to the Sanhedrin, they stole everything else. In retaliation, and to remind the people who is in charge, Pilate had two eagle standards (aquilae) erected on the roof of the Jerusalem Temple, a place that was holy to the Jews. Horrified, the Jewish people gathered in the square to protest. It was bad enough to have a pagan symbol of Roman rule on the Temple roof, but the real reason the people cried "Sacrilege!" was that the eagle is a forbidden image. Centuries earlier, God told Moses, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above, or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them” (Exodus 20:4-5, NIV). The Commandment was against idol worship, which was prevalent among ancient peoples. The Israelites set themselves apart by worshipping one God, and rejecting all images of earthly things that could be worshiped. (Remember the golden calf story?) It is not clear that Pilate wanted the Jews to bow down before the eagle standards, but he did place the eagles on the Temple, a place of worship. So it's understandable that the Jews would be offended. In conversation with Pilate, Caiaphus explained, "When the Temple of our God is profaned, his servants cry out in sorrow." Pilate demanded that Caiaphus make the people disperse and go home. Caiaphus replied, "When the eagles go, the people will go."
Claudia, Pilate's wife, pleaded with her husband to take down the eagles that offend the Jews. Pilate, however, refused to back down, and ordered the soldiers to raise their swords against the Jews who refuse to leave the square. Anticipating a blood bath, Caiaphus covered his face with his hands. Claudia begged again, and this time Pilate relented. When he announced to the people that the eagles would be removed, they cheered. This incident in the film is based on actual history. The first-century historian Josephus reported that Pilate repeatedly caused near-insurrections among the Jews because of his insensitivity to Jewish customs. While his Roman predecessors had respected Jewish customs by removing all images and effigies on their standards, Pilate allowed his soldiers to bring them into Jerusalem. As in this film, the Jews appealed to Pilate to remove the standards. In history, it took five days of demonstrations before Pilate finally removed the images. Jesus arrived in Jerusalem to much fanfare and shouts of "Hosanna!" He then entered the Temple courtyard, and immediately drove the merchants away and overturned the tables of the money changers while declaring, "It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves." (See Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-46; John 2:15-19.)
The film skips over the arrest of Jesus. It moves from the scene in which Caiaphas speaks with Judas, to a scene in which Caiaphas speaks to Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all state that Judas betrayed Jesus and led authorities to the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus. (See Matthew 26:14-16, 47-50; Mark 14:10-11, 43-46; Luke 22:3-6, 47-48; John 18:2-7.) But in the film, Judas has just told Caiaphas that he would not betray Jesus. Are we supposed to question whether or not he did? If we ignore what Scripture tells us, it's unclear why and how Jesus, his hands bound, appears before the high priest, as he does in the next scene. Speaking to Jesus, Caiaphas said, "I am talking to you as an old rabbi to a younger one. ... There are some who have accused you of blasphemy. Tell me, are you the Messiah? ... Are you the Son of David?" Caiaphas begged Jesus to confess his heresy, but Jesus was silent. Sadly, Caiaphas said, "Go then, for I have no other recourse than to return you to Pilate's guard."
As Jesus performed miracles, the religious leaders began to challenge him and publicly oppose him. Their fierce opposition led to rising doubt and uncertainty. (See Matthew 12:22-24.) When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:41-44), the Sanhedrin began to worry that maybe the rumors were true. They wouldn't have worried about a trickster. They were worried that he was indeed the Messiah. They feared for their jobs, their money, their power. In Judaism, the Messiah was to be a great political leader who was descended from King David. He was not considered to be God or the Son of God. Jesus drew a connection between himself and fulfillment of prophesy about the coming Messiah. This claim would not in itself have been thought of as blasphemy, but when Jesus claimed to be the son of God, the Sanhedrin found him guilty of blasphemy. Jesus' enemies wanted him killed, but no first-century Jewish court had the authority to impose a death sentence (John 18:31). That right was reserved to Roman courts alone. While the charge of blasphemy might call for the death penalty in Judaism, it was not a capital crime to the Romans. The religious authorities accused Jesus of political crimes. In presenting himself as the Messiah, Jesus had laid claim to being the King of the Jews, for the Messiah was to be a king. Such a claim would be treason, and would be punishable by death under Roman law.
Claudia told Pilate she had a terrible dream about what would happen if he condemned Jesus. She begged him to have nothing to do with Jesus. This event is also recorded in Scripture (Matthew 27:19). A crowd, including the high priest Caiaphas, assembled in the courtyard of Pilate's palace. Speaking from the front of his palace, Pilate called for the prisoner to be brought to him. The dialog that followed is almost verbatim what appears in John 18:33-38.
In all four Gospel accounts, Pilate is presented as reluctant to pass judgment on Jesus. (See Matthew 27:22-23; Mark 15:9-14; Luke 23:4-22; John 18:38–19:12.) In the film, Pilate doesn't appear to be reluctant, but he did confess to a fellow Roman that condemning this man was difficult for him. When Pilate pronounced the death sentence for Jesus, the crowd murmured. Pilate seemed puzzled that the crowd wasn't supportive of a death sentence for a man who has committed treason. "Why don't you agree?" Pilate asked. "Justice will be done!" Pilate told the crowd that he had no choice but to find Jesus guilty. He said to his wife, "I had no choice. I must uphold the law." He added his wish that Jesus would defend himself. and then he could set him free. Really? So apparently Jesus was guilty simply because he didn't defend himself.
Jesus was then crucified. When he died, there was an eclipse followed by an earthquake, in which Pilate's wife Claudia died. The earthquake event is corroborated by Scripture. At the moment of Jesus' death, the Gospels report a series of natural phenomena and extraordinary events. Intense darkness overwhelmed the land. Inside the Temple, the curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple, was torn in two. Matthew alone reports an earthquake (Matthew 27:51). But Scripture doesn't say anything about Pilate's wife being killed in the earthquake. The film ends where it started—Pilate standing before Emperor Gaius in Rome. He has told his story, and the emperor says, "Do you know that I have the power of life and death over you? That I can set you free?" Pilate replies, "The highest of all judges is not seated here, and it is for his infinite mercy I am praying, not yours." Pilate says he will be judged by the divine judgment of the Kingdom of Heaven. The film suggests that the Roman pagan Pontius Pilate has become a Believer! The Gospels are silent on this matter, however, some Christian churches believe that Pilate became a Christian and they venerate him as a martyr and a saint. The early Christian author Tertullian claimed that Pilate became a follower of Jesus and even tried to convert Emperor Tiberius to Christianity. (See Apology 21.)
Filmed in Italy in 1961, Pontius Pilate was released in Italy and France in 1962, but not in the USA until 1967. John Drew Barrymore plays both Judas and Jesus. But you would never know it. We never see Jesus' face. He is always seen from behind or the side, or a close-up of his eyes, his bound hands, or his bare feet. Barrymore is excellent at expressing Judas' tortured soul.
"Adequate retelling of events before and after Christ's crucifixion from viewpoint of Roman procurator. Dubbing and confused script hamper good intentions." —Leonard Maltin, Turner Classic Movies Presents Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide (Penguin, 2015)
Watch the Italian Trailer for Pontius Pilate:
See Page Two for pictures of posters and lobby cards. ..
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