Barabbas

This man has been brought to me

as one who misleads the people.

He is accused of sedition and blasphemy,

for which he should suffer death.

My Lord Governor!

My Lord Governor...

...there is a custom in Jerusalem,

that at this season of the feast...

...one condemned man should be released.

I remember the custom.

Who shall it be?

This man who many of you call their king?

Or shall it be Barabbas?

Release Barabbas!

-Release Jesus of Nazareth!

-No, not Barabbas!

-Barabbas!

-Release Barabbas! Crucify the Nazarene!

They're mad, Lord Governor.

Barabbas is a rebel.

A robber, an assassin.

Release Barabbas!

Take the Nazarene,

scourge him and bring him here again...

...and he shall be crucified.

All right, that's enough.

Take him out.

Open up.

Come on.

One man to be set free.

Set free?

You ought to know the custom

of the season.

The Governor offered them

either the prophet or you.

He listened to the voices

and they chose you.

I make no comment.

Come on. Get on the move.

All right.

Give us a hair of your beard.

It ought to be lucky,

considering how things have gone for you.

I'm not used to the light. It plays tricks.

If I was you, I shouldn't loiter.

I'd want to see the back of this place

before they change their minds.

Get on your way, will you?

-Who do you think you're shoving?

-Get going.

All right. I'm going.

Move on.

-There he is. Release the Nazarene!

-Get out of the way.

What are you standing for, like an idiot?

What are you all hanging around for?

Here's a fine sight.

Six weeks and nobody's moved.

What's happened then?

How did you get out?

This is a surprise, let me tell you.

Is that my duck? It's him!

-Sara!

-There's the black knave himself...

...come back to his own.

Cheating his death again, like a good boy.

The clever one. How did you do it?

I was released to celebrate the holiday

as a surprise for you.

Here's a day to celebrate in all my god.

Come on and tell us the whole story.

You've not heard?

I'm the choice of the people.

"Give us Barabbas," they said.

Give me some food.

Food for Barabbas. Food for a hungry man.

How does it feel?

How did you feel when they told you?

The choice of the people, eh?

Old Sara here dropping tears so fast

all the slopping wine got watered.

-Where did you get your luck?

-What witch gave you that?

Pass him across to me!

-Touch him for luck. That's it.

-I'm not taking chances.

Get away.

Where's Rachel?

Shut away mourning for me?

Fetch her down here.

She's no good for you or anyone else.

-She's completely changed, I'm telling you.

-What's wrong with her? Bring her down.

She's no good to my old rascal now.

She thinks of nothing, day or night...

...except this prophet from Nazareth,

who's on trial for blasphemy.

Ever since she heard him preach,

she has gone off her life...

...like a sick child goes off its food.

Come on, you old empty belly.

There's no food inside you worth vomiting.

Sit down and eat.

Barabbas, that girl's no good for you.

Take my word for it.

As morbid as a crow in a chimney.

Bewitched by a prophet.

A waste of a handsome girl.

And she's gone to his trial

looking like a widow already.

She knows what happened to her prophet.

That's the end of him.

-Condemned, was he?

-That's just it.

They had the choice between him and me,

and they chose me. How do you like that?

The idol of the city.

Tell you what.

You're as good as a king, Barabbas.

They call the prophet King of the Jews,

but they chose you.

Show your respects to King Barabbas.

-Let's have a crowning of him.

-Yes!

-The wicked old King of Judea.

-What are you doing?

-Come on, give him his robes.

-You be nice to your King Barabbas.

More wives than Solomon

and his subjects as ripe as old pumpkins.

Here's your sceptre. Take it.

Set him on his throne.

-What's that?

-That's the sceptre.

Sit down on your throne.

Kneel down, all you miserable scum

of the earth, and acknowledge.

Kneel down, you scum of the earth.

Hail! Hail!

I'll make laws for you

that will tax your constitutions.

I crown you, King Barabbas.

Here she is, Barabbas, if you want her.

Look here, Rachel,

look who's been asking for you.

The old rascal back from the dead.

So, here she is.

What's the matter with me?

Why don't you look at me?

Barabbas, let me go.

Not until you've told me

you're glad I'm alive.

-I wouldn't wish any man his death.

-What do you mean by that?

Don't make me speak to you.

-What do you mean by that?

-Don't make me speak to you.

That's a warm welcome.

I couldn't follow any further.

I daren't say what is still to come,

but God forgive us all if he can.

What did I tell you?

She's no good to you now, Barabbas.

Come on.

I'm not here to be made a fool of.

What's the matter?

Remember how it used to be.

Barabbas, don't you see what's happening?

Don't you understand what set you free?

I just got out of prison.

I need to get the cramp out of my bones.

That's what's happened.

-I'm not the same. Nothing is the same.

-You'd better try and make it the same.

Barabbas, listen to me.

For pity's sake believe me.

He came from God,

the man who's taking your place.

You think I should have been killed

instead of him?

You think I ought to be dead?

Barabbas, hear what I say.

He came from God.

That's none of my worry.

God can look after his own.

-And you can look after me.

-No!

That girl up there was always coming back

with strange ideas.

She's got her head full of them.

Well, it seems she's got something

to think about now, anyway.

-I don't like the look of it.

-Look of what? What's the matter?

The sky. The light's gone out of it.

I've never known it dark like this

in the middle of the day.

Get a light, for mercy's sake.

Something's wrong with my eyes.

I can't see.

Something's wrong.

Everything's black.

Black as death.

I knew there was something wrong

when I saw that light.

Tell me. Am I going blind?

Am I going blind?

What's happening?

You know what has happened.

Even the light has left us,

now that we've killed him.

Well, are you satisfied now?

He's dead.

Just the same as any other man.

-We've seen it. That's the end of it.

-He promised to come back.

We shall see that, too.

Only two days

and he'll be in the world again.

Look at his friends.

You think they believe it?

I tell you, you're mad. That's the end of it.

Not tomorrow, but the morning after.

How many days have I been here?

How many days have I been here?

Can't you hear me?

What's the matter with you?

What's the matter? Two days.

Two days.

Then today's the third day?

Two and one make three. What's so odd?

We'll see, then.

This is the morning of the third day.

Barabbas, where are you going?

Now you know it's true.

All I know is the tomb is empty.

-Who moved the stone?

-God moved it.

God himself? You saw him do it?

A power came from the sky.

It was when the sun was rising,

at the beginning of the day.

-First there was the music of a horn.

Rate this script:3.3 / 3 votes