“Most Translated Film” in history.

A docudrama on the life of Jesus Christ based on the Gospel of Luke. This film has been translated into more than 1,000 languages since its 1979 release.

This Gospel of Luke is told from the Good News Bible (Today’s English Version) spoken in English.

The historical story and truth of Jesus of Nazareth in an accurate and very well produced big screen film.

The film was created by Campus Crusade for Christ International, with the support of the church of Christ.

Jesus (1979 film)

Directed by: Peter Sykes, John Kirsh
Starring: Brian Deacon

Jesus (also known as The Jesus Film) is a 1979 American Biblical drama film directed by Peter Sykes and John Krish, and produced by John Heyman. In Jesus, the life of Jesus Christ is depicted, primarily using the Gospel of Luke as the main basis for the story. A voice-over narration is featured sporadically throughout the film, providing background information on characters and events.^[3]

Shot on location in Israel, the film was financed primarily by Campus Crusade for Christ with a budget of $6 million, and was released without production or cast credits, as producer John Heyman declared that the creators of this picture were “simply being translators” of the New Testament’s Gospel of Luke, “so nobody will know who produced or directed the film.”^[3] The end of the film states that the Good News Bible (Today’s English Version) was used during filming, and instead of telling a parallel story or embellishing the Biblical account like other Biblical films, the filmmakers chose to adhere to the Gospel of Luke as closely as possible.^[4]

The film was created by Campus Crusade for Christ International, with the support of the church of Christ.

Jesus Film Project

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The JESUS Film Project is an organization created in 1981 by Campus Crusade for Christ founder Bill Bright to distribute the 1979 film, Jesus, not only in English, but also in many of the world’s languages with the stated goal of reaching “every nation, tribe, people and tongue, helping them see and hear the story of Jesus in a language they can understand.” The JESUS Film Project is also a member of the Forum of Bible Agencies International.

History

Bright wanted to bring a biblically accurate depiction of the life, ministry, and death of Jesus to the big screen, and in 1978, filming began in the Middle East with British Shakespearean actor Brian Deacon in the role of Jesus.

When the original American theatrical run of Jesus ended in 1979, Bright asked Paul Eshleman, who was involved in the production, to head the organization. Eshleman remained in the position until 2004, when Jim Green was named as the organization’s executive director.^[1]

By the end of 2018, the Jesus Film was available in 1,724 languages. and was viewed nearly 375 million times.^[2] This has resulted in the JESUS film being recognized by The Guinness Book of World Records as the “Most Translated Film” in history, revealing the seriousness with which the JESUS Film Project takes their objective to share the gospel with people from every nation, tribe, and tongue.^[3]