Telly Savalas shaved his head bald for his role as Pontius Pilate; he kept it shaved for the rest of his life.

The American movie debut of Max von Sydow. Prior to this movie, von Sydow was highly popular Swedish actor who appeared in Ingmar Bergman films such as The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawberries (1957), The Virgin Spring (1960), and Through a Glass Darkly (1961). Producer and director George Stevens wanted an unknown actor free of secular and unseemly associations in the mind of the public.

George Stevens was under pressure to hurry the John the Baptist sequence, which was shot at the Glen Canyon area. It was scheduled to become Lake Powell with the completion of the Glen Canyon Dam, and the production held up the project.

Max von Sydow said that the hardest part about playing Christ was the expectations people had of him to remain in character at all times. He could not smoke between takes, have a drink after work, or be affectionate with his wife on the set.

MGM spent upwards of $500,000 restoring the movie for its 2001 DVD release.

Continuity

After Jesus brings Lazarus back from the dead, three men run to a castle on a hill to announce the miracles that Jesus has performed. In the long shot, the first man runs up to the castle entrance into the shade. The shade disappears and reappears between shots.

At the beginning, a figure is shown walking in the manger. The lantern brightly lights the ox in the background as the person passes. However, the one holding the lamp remains in full shadow.



Incorrectly regarded as goofs

Differences from the source material are not considered to be goofs, especially when relating to dramatic decisions. Many historical inaccuracies also get a pass, especially when caused by reliance on religious and/or artistic traditions.



Revealing mistakes

When King Herod and his courtiers move around his throne room, the set floors sound distinctly like wood and plaster, instead of the solid stone they're supposedly made of.



Audio/visual unsynchronized

When the crucifixion is show at a distance, the sight and sound of the mallet blows arrive at the same time. At the distance shown, the sound would be slightly, but perceptibly, delayed.

When the Roman Centurion (John Wayne) utters his line "Truly, this man was the son of God", with close speculation, his lips aren't moving (due to it being a voiceover).



Errors in geography

Throughout the film there are shots of snow on the ground and snow on the mountains of Utah. Israel rarely gets any snow.