CBS (8-11 p.m. ET)
Chris Sarandon stars as Jesus, with Keith Michell as Pontius Pilate and British actor Barrie Houghton as Judas, in this beleaguered interpretation of the Easter story. Jim Bishop, author of the 1957 bestseller on which the TV film is based, wanted his name removed from the production. He claimed it was "jazzed up" to suggest "Pilate and Judas got together and engineered a plot to crucify Jesus." The film is, in fact, a rather slow-moving combination of pageant, drama and Bible class. It does delve more than previous Hollywood efforts into the social structures threatened by Jesus' teachings, and it avoids the question of Christ's divinity by ending with His Crucifixion.
THURSDAY, MARCH 27
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