Jesus death and resurrection classic Hollywood film is on TV this Easter weekend | Films | Entertainment

This weekend, Christians around the world will be celebrating Easter, remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Good Friday commemorates his death by crucifixion. This is when his followers believe that he, God incarnate, bore the punishment for the sins of the world in a substitutionary swap.

Then, three days later, on Easter Sunday, it’s claimed Jesus physically rose from the dead to prove the atonement and victory over death, for all who put their trust in him by faith.

Over the years, there have been many adaptations of the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) in the Bible.

And one of the classic Hollywood epics is broadcast this Good Friday morning before heading to BBC iPlayer.

The movie in question is 1961’s King of Kings, which tells the story of Jesus Christ’s birth, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection. A traditional adaptation of the gospels with Orson Welles as narrator, Jeffrey Hunter stars as the Son of God. Hunter’s casting was suggested by John Ford to director Nicholas Ray after working with him on the John Wayne Western The Searchers. He beat Peter Cushing, Christopher Plummer, Tom Fleming and Max von Sydow to the role, while the latter would end up playing Christ in 1965’s The Greatest Story Ever Told.

King of Kings is on BBC Two at 10:25am on Good Friday and will be streaming on BBC iPlayer for a limited time afterwards.