Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 4th, 2013
Although he’s only mentioned briefly in the Bible, the man known as Barabbas was a key figure during the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. According to the Gospels, Pontius Pilate gave the crowd in Jerusalem the choice of either sparing Jesus’ life or saving the rebel/thief Barabbas during Passover. (No “Spoiler Alert” necessary; I’m sure you can guess which one they picked.) Since very little is known about Barabbas, his life story has basically been transformed into the first documented case of “survivor’s guilt.”
Swedish author Par Lagerkvist won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1951, the year after the release of “Barabbas,” his best-known novel. The book was most notably turned into a 1961 film starring Anthony Quinn and directed by Richard Fleischer. “Barabbas” has most recently been adapted into this intriguing, wildly-uneven (and occasionally painful) two-part miniseries, which debuted on ReelzChannel in March.
