Asked which condemned man they wish to set free, the people of Jerusalem vote for thief Barabbas (Anthony Quinn), leaving Jesus of Nazareth to be crucified. Barabbas returns to his life of crime, is arrested and sent to the sulphur mines, and eventually becomes a gladiator, but slowly begins to believe that Jesus might have been someone very special and probably deserved to live more than he did. Needless to say, he feels a bit guilty.Several years back I posted on IMDb's "I Need To Know' board, asking whether anyone could identify a film featuring a scene set in a mine where the main character could be seen 'riding' large containers of molten metal transported by a pulley system. Someone suggested 'Barabbas'. Being a fan of sword & sandal/epic biblical adventures, I bought the film on DVD, thinking 'What have I got to lose?'.Now I know: time and money.Not only is this NOT the film I was looking for, but it's incredibly dull as well. Made just two years after William Wyler's multiple Oscar winning blockbuster Ben-Hur, Barabbas clearly hopes to emulate that film's success with an impressive cast, lavish production values and wonderful cinematography, but fails thanks to a dreadfully miscast lead in Anthony Quinn (who looks old and unfit), a ponderous, heavy-handed script which labours the religious angle, a dreary pace and a lack of decent action.Ben-Hur might also have been guilty of over-doing the melodrama at times, but it had Charlton Heston in his prime, a compelling story, and—most importantly—that chariot race (the pathetic gladiator fights in Barabbas simply cannot compare, despite Jack Palance making for a great 'boo hiss' baddie).3.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 4 for the brutal stoning of Barabbas's ex-lover Rachel (Silvana Mangano) and for the camel that keeps shaking its head while making funny noises.

Pontius Pilate releases the violent criminal Barabbas (Anthony Quinn) instead of Jesus. Barabbas returns to his drunken friends to find his lover Rachel (Silvana Mangano) has become one of Jesus' follower. He goes blind for awhile as Jesus is crucified. Rachel gets stoned to death for blasphemy. Barabbas is arrested again for robbing a temple caravan but Pilate tells him that he is not allowed to sentence him to death again. Instead he is sentenced to the sulfur mines in Sicily. He is chained to a Christian Sahak but he still refuses to believe in Christ. After many years, they are brought to Rome and become gladiators under the famous champion Torvald (Jack Palance).Nobody can claim that the film went cheap on the production. This is a big scale movie of Old Hollywood. The acting is very broad at times. I really didn't like the constant referencing to Jesus in the first half. It becomes too much when he meets Lazarus and the Disciples. Rachel and Sahak are much better conduits for the message. I do like the sulfur mines as a substitute for hell. I would have liked him to find salvation down in the mines. It would be poetic and make the movie shorter.

I will give 9 out 10 because this film was well presented. Anthony Quinn, as usual, was a good actor. I do not know how accurate is the historical events regarding Barabbas in this film, but I believe that Barabbas was more a rebel against the State...the State which was and it is up to nowadays million of times more evil than Barabbas.At the end we have some doubts were Barabbas was repent in the cross while Rome was burning.Forgot to mention Jack Palance, another good actor and Ernest Borgnine.I have this film in DVD and I recommend for those who like history and cinema. I will compare this film with Ben Hur, Spartacus, Eld Cid, King of kings...and many classics from the 60's.

***SPOILERS*** The film "Barabbas" starts where the New Testament left off with petty thief bandit and womanizer Barabbas, Anthony Quinn, having his life speared by Roman Mayor of Jerusalem Pontius Pilate, Arthur Kennedy.This was done as a as a good will jester by Pilate to placate the angry crowd,mostly members of the Pharisees, that wanted the other person scheduled to be crucified the innocent Jesus of Nazareth, Roy Mangano,to be executed instead. It's from that point on without of the holy scriptures that were treated to what happened to Barabbas since his escape from death. And we soon see he was more or less the same nasty uncouth and unfeeling person as he was up until then.In fact Barabbas was infuriated when he found out that his girlfriend Rachael, Silvana Mangano, had become a Christian and follower of Jesus! The very man that was crucified in his place! This had Barabbas try to find out what exactly this new religion was all about by getting in touch with some of Jesus' disciples hiding out in Jerusalem ! Finding out that Christianity has to do with loving not only your neighbor but enemy as well had the very disappointed Barabbas go back to his old ways of womanizing robbing as well as murdering which he felt quite at home with. Captured and sentenced to work in the Sicilian sulfur pits for life had,since having his life speared by Pontius Pilate prevented him for any future execution, Barabbas finally finds God with the help of fellow prisoner newly converted Christian Sahak, Vittorio Gassman, just to be able to survive his ordeal. Later released from the pits, together with Sahak, for good behavior a what looked like in his 60's Barabbas was recruited by the Roman Emperor Nero to fight in the Colosseum as a gladiator against men young enough to his sons or even grandsons! It's when Sahak refused to denounce his Christian faith and was executed for doing it that a sudden change of heart came into Barabbas head and he himself accepted Jesus' teachings and became a Christian. Still Barabbas had some unfinished business to take care of by battling the head of the gladiator Torvald (Jack Palance), who killed his good friend Sahak, in a fight to the death at the Roman Colosseum. Being a lot more formidable then Trovald thought he was the haggard and out of shape looking Barabbas made short order of him by using his head and outmaneuvering and outsmarting Torvald at his own game! Trovald who was so sure of himself in him winning the "death match" against Barabbas that he got himself good and gloriously drunk before the festivities even began and kept on drinking in his early matches, that he won hands down, and even during during his battle with Barabbas when he could barley stand on his feet!***SPOILERS*** Now a free man and what he thought practicing Christian Barabbas later makes the fatal mistake of eagerly taking the blame for setting Rome on fire when he sees thousands of Romans fleeing the city. Thinking that was what his fellow Christians, who were totally non violent even to their abusive Roman masters, wanted he ended up where we first saw him nailed to a cross for what in this case turned out to be a crime that he didn't commit! It was the mad as a hatter Emperor Nero who set the city on fire not the luckless and confused,in him thinking he was doing the right thing, Barabbas! With all the breaks Barabbas got throughout the movie he never realized that his life was speared for a reason. That was to give him a second chance in life by becoming a decent God fearing law abiding and and honest human being. Instead Barabbas who has a cross to bare in his new life resorted back to his old and evil ways that put him right back to square one, nailed to the cross, where we last see him as the film finally ends.