Studio One (1948–1958): Season 4, Episode 30 - Pontius Pilate - full transcript

ANNOUNCER: Because of the
nature of tonight's program.

Westinghouse does
not wish to interrupt

the story with
commercial messages.

Therefore, our
product demonstrations

will precede and
follow the play.

Now that you've seen part one
of Westinghouse studio one,

let's turn to our program.

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NARRATOR: This Is a cross.

To most of us it is a
symbol of infinite love

and infinite humility.

To some, it is a symbol
of infinite suffering.

1,900 years ago, the cross
meant something very different.

It was a symbol of
the power of Rome.

It was a Roman
instrument of execution

and torture for criminals
and for subject peoples.

The Jews were one
of these peoples.

Their own laws forbade
the use of the cross,

but that did not stop
its use against them

under the overlordship of Rome.

And so one day, one among
them was taken by Roman guards

to the crest of a hill,
whereby orders of Rome

he was nailed to such a cross.

It was a season of the
Passover in the Roman year 783.

And on that day,
a certain man was

brought to trial
before Pontius Pilate.

My lady.

What is happening?

The court is waiting
in recess, my lady.

The prisoner's been
delivered over to King Herod.

To Herod?

Was this by order of my husband?

Yes.

But why?

The man's a Galilean.

And since his crimes were
not against the rule of Rome,

there was no cause to
hold him any longer.

But if he were innocent,
why was he not set free?

The decision was
not easy, my lady.

The man appeared completely
different to the outcome

of the trial.

Why have they
turned against him?

The followed him in
droves into the city.

Why are they howling
like that now?

[HOWLING]

There's some fatality to
all of us in this trial.

Manlius, see that
we are not disturbed.

The high priest has
requested audience,

and I've said I will see him.

Yes, my lord.

The commander
tells me that you've

turned the man over to Herod.

Yes.

Why?

More to gain time
than anything else.

I have little faith in
Herod's their willingness

to bear the burden.

He'll slither out of it.

In time, it'll give me a chance
to think what I should do.

And is it so hard to decide?

The man is a mystery.

He will not struggle against
events, not even against death.

I could save him
even now if he'd

make the slightest
effort of cooperation.

Does he still insist that
he is the rightful king?

I said to him, are you
the king of the Jews?

And he answered, you say I am.

And then he added that his
kingdom is not of this world,

that he came to fulfill the
law of his father, whatever

that may mean.

He's a mystic.

He's made the people
believe that he's

fighting for a new
idea, for the truth.

My dear, do you
suppose for one moment

that that mob of malcontents
and beggars that follow him

are even remotely
interested in the truth?

What they would like to do is to
storm this palace, string Herod

and me up by the neck and put
up some crazy revolutionary

government of their own.

Oh Pontius, how
little you understand

these people, least of all him.

Why, he's no more capable
of starting a revolution

than I am.

Perhaps.

The high priest is
here, Your Excellency.

Do not send me away.

Allow me to stay.

I would wish you to stay.

Good morning, Your Excellency.

I hope you do not
object to my having

brought my father's
along with me.

It never occurred to me
that you would not, Caiaphas.

My lady...

Caiaphas, Annas.

You made your request
for audience most urgent.

The matter is most
urgent, Your Excellency.

The releasing of
this man to Herod

destroyers the entire purpose
of our bringing him to you.

Oh?

But Herod is ruler of Galilee.

It is proper that he should deal
with this case I should think.

This man is no local
problem, Your Excellency.

He Is quite as a great a
threat to Rome as to us.

In short, you desire his death.

But as your laws do not
permit you to inflict

the extreme penalty,
you wish me to shoulder

the burden in the name of Rome.

If... if we could discuss
this matter in private.

My wife has followed the career
of this man quite closely.

I've asked her to stay.

I trust this does
not mean that you

are in sympathy with
this rebellion, my lady?

Rebellion nonsense.

He's no more than a simple
teacher, a reformer.

I have heard this man, and
I say that what he preaches

is blasphemy.

Perhaps you do not understand
what that means to us, my lady.

I understand very well.

I am half Jewish myself,
you may remember.

You should well know what it
means to be a subject people.

We are no more than a
province of a Roman province.

One thing only we have which
no mad imposter, no blasphemer

can from us... the laws of
our people, the Covenant.

We are the guardians
of those laws.

It is our duty...

Enough!

By what presumption
do you dare come

and say these things to me?

For all your robes
and panoply of office,

you are not even good Jews
nor rightful representatives

of your people's faith.

Because you've sold
yourselves to Rome.

You come here to demand the
death of one of your people.

I represent the law.

Tell me.

By what law does
he deserve to die?

He plots the overthrow of Rome.

Did we not send you countless
witnesses to attest this fact?

Witnesses?

Do you think I'm a
blind fool that you

send such people to my court?

They lied so crudely.

Each denied the other as soon
as he could open his mouth.

There is no sentence
of death permitted

unless the accused men be
guilty of treason to Rome.

This you know.

Adhere to it or this
audience is at and end.

Has he not publicly affirmed
that he's king of the Jews?

And is this not open
admission of rebellion?

He is priest of Anubis.

When I looked at him
in the courtroom,

I saw black wings
hovering above him.

There is a terrible
evil in his silences.

See the things you've
built up in your minds.

I have heard him
speak many times,

and always with the utmost
most calm and gentleness.

You, a Jewess, defend this man?

Because I am a Jewess,
I defend justice.

Every man who is accused
has a right to be defended.

During your governorship
we have many times

been faced with revolts
identical to this.

You've never before hesitated
to execute their leaders.

Yes.

I have spilled more
blood of your countrymen

than I care to remember.

And always to your applause.

But during my eight years
here I've learned many things.

Not again will you persuade
me by false reports

or coerce me to passing
false sentence for you

to get a tighter hold on
the coffers of the Temple.

This I had not expected,
Your Excellency.

You compel me to
believe that you have

some personal
interest in this man.

Could there be in this rebellion
something of advantage to you?

You dare to suggest,
Annas, that this Nazarene

is in the pay of Rome?

What can I think
when you so impugn

our motives on your own behalf?

Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of
Galilee, Your Excellency.

Excellency, my lady.

The birds of ill omen gather the
prospect of a death sentence.

I suspect that for once we may
count you on our side, Herod.

With some shame, I admit it.

Expediency has driven
me into your camp.

We need none of us pretend that
we have the good of our people

at heart.

This I deny!

Our national heritage, the
Covenant itself is threatened.

There's no need
to sound so noble.

We are quite aware that
this man represents

a threat to all of us.

If he proves to be the
Messiah, your powers

will be considerably curtailed.

If he's the hereditary
king, I lose my throne.

And if the people rise and
join him as seems most likely,

it will lead to a
revolutionary war with Rome.

Had you overlooked
that possibility,

Pilate, when you
sent the man to me?

Does this mean that you
refuse responsibility

of one of your own subjects?

We are all subject to
the overlordship of Rome.

I resent that sufficiently to
admit that had the man shown

evidence of being
the true messiah,

I might quite possibly
have espoused his cause.

Since he did not, I return
him as a matter of precaution

to you.

Waste no more time on
legalities, Pilate.

Crucify the man now
and get it over.

I have no intention
of providing

you with a martyr, Herod.

I warn you, Pilate!

Unless this man is sentenced,
it will go ill with you

both in Judea and in Rome!

Whatever complaint you
care to make to the Emperor

will not affect the
outcome of this trial.

Good day.

Do not let stubbornness
rule you, Your Excellency.

This Nazarene is too
dangerous to live.

The unknown is always dangerous,
to you as well as to us.

Old mud-eating scavengers.

They have their
claws on this country

like hawks on a dying mouse.

To every decent Jew
they do grave harm.

What do you want
with me now, Herod?

You sent this man
back to me to judge.

What more have we to discuss?

You're taking it
very calmly, Pilate.

Very calmly indeed,
considering your position.

I'm not aware that my position
has changed in any way.

Look at that crowd out there.

How many would you
say there were?

10,000?

Possibly.

NARRATOR: 10,000.

And you have only
a hundred soldiers.

I have been threatened
enough for one day.

Have you ever seen how a
rebellion starts, Pilate?

Out of those 10,000,
there are perhaps

50 men who are there
with a definite purpose.

Some of them are
in Annas's hands

and pay, and the others in mine.

So what happens?

One of those 50
men throws a stone.

It hits one of the guards.

To defend himself,
the man whacks

one of the bystanders over
the head with his sword.

Others come to
the man's defense.

Suddenly, a lust to destroy
sweeps over those people.

After eight years
of ruling in Judea,

I do not need you
to give me a primer

course in mob psychology.

All I'm trying to make you
understand, my dear Pilate,

is that those 50 men are
only waiting for the signal.

A signal that both
you and I know you

will never dare to give.

You underestimate me, Pilate.

I have been waiting
for a long time

for an opportunity like this.

One thing is certain... if
I strike for myself now,

you will fall.

If I fail, we shall
fall together.

And if I fall, another governor
will be sent to take my place.

My personal career is of
no consequence whatsoever.

Isn't it?

You've already
lasted eight years.

Another two years, and
it will all be over.

You will return the
Roman in triumph

with adulation and a
bright career before you.

But one serious disturbance now,
and all that will be wasted.

In disgust you will be recalled
to Rome like so many others

before you.

Or worse still... transferred to
some barren outpost of empire

to live out the bitter
years neglected and ignored.

This is your moment, Pilate.

A crowd is a wonderful
thing, a terrible thing,

the weapon of power,
the anvil of the mighty.

Forgive me, Your Excellency,
but the court is assembled.

Have the prisoner brought back.

What makes a king, Pilate?

It is not in a throne,
not in an army.

Not even in a crowd.

I have hated you
for eight years.

There is nothing
in the world more

uninspiring than a
government official.

Except a king who has not
the courage to be a king.

I might find the courage.

Yes.

Quite suddenly I might find it.

Do not listen to him.

It's only words, empty threats.

Yes.

He might be just mad
enough to try it.

My head is splitting.

Lie down.

Rest for a moment.

The court can wait.

How does that feel.

I wish Herod hadn't had
mentioned those two years.

Well, he was but
trying to frighten you.

Yes, but there's a lot
of truth in what he said.

I am ambitious.

I've dreamt of our return home
and the honor we shall receive

and of a house we shall build
on the slopes outside of Rome.

The house with
the white pillars.

I've seen it so
often in my mind.

I know every inch of it.

So do I.

And also what he
threatened is true.

That man represents
a storm that could,

at any moment, burst over us..

In all this clamor there are
only two men who count... you

and Jesus of Nazareth.

It is between you two.

Tell me.

Why does the fate of this one
man matter so much to you?

There are time when one
has to stand by what one

believes, whatever
the consequences.

You cannot condemn
a man you know

in you're hear to be innocent.

It's a denial of
all that you are.

What he may be in his intrinsic
soul is no concern of mine.

That's the province of the gods.

But I must judge him by his
acts, by his statements,

and by the necessities
of government.

If he insists on killing
himself king of the Jews,

he is guilty of
the act of treason.

If I tolerate treason,
I tolerate revolution.

[TRUMPETS SOUND]

This trial has
nothing to do with us,

what we feel for one another.

But it does.

Because it's not
only he is on trial.

It is you and I. It is
everything we stand for.

We both know and without
a doubt that this

accused man is guiltless.

Yes, but that's
not answer enough

where violence is threatened.

That didn't concern you until
your own future was threatened.

Oh, I have dreamed of the house
with the white pillars as much

as you.

But I always thought that if
I were faced with a crisis,

I could choose what
was difficult, even

fatal, because I loved you.

You are not called upon to
make judgment outside your home.

I am not so fortunate.

The man I am with you, here in
my home, is not always the man

I have to be in my courtroom.

I live in the world.

I am forced to compromise.

But the beginning of all
wisdom is compromise.

It's the basis of all
success in government.

You judge life
with the arbitrary

intolerance of a child.

I judge it with the intolerance
of a woman who's loved a man

and believed in him
completely for a long time.

I cannot believe in you in one
room and doubt you in another.

I cannot respect
you as my husband

and question you as a judge.

If it's true that you have
indeed fought all these years

for the principle
of justice, then you

should be ready to leave
this palace with nothing

for the sake of your principle.

Are you daring to suggest that
I should give up my career?

Abandon my position as governor?

To save the life
of an innocent man?

Yes.

You've never lived
through revolution.

I have.

I've seen a city set on
fire, buildings burned,

and the people
pillaged and tortured.

Why, the lives of 400,000
people, of yours and mine

may be hanging in the
balance at this very moment.

But no right was ever
defended without danger

anywhere, anytime.

I think I am best able
to judge what should

and what should not be defended.

It's unjust of you
to use our marriage

as a weapon to sway my judgment.

Oh my darling, it's only
because I don't want you to be

swayed by anything but your
heart that I argue with you.

[SHOUTING]

I must go in.

Pilate, listen to me.

What's the matter with you?

You're trembling.

I cannot help it.

There must be no ghost,
no rift between us.

Only absolute honesty can face
the power of this strange man.

What I can do for him
under the law I will do.

Pilate!

Procula, I've never
seen you like this.

I beg you to go inside and rest.

You know that I would never
condemn a man without doing

everything I could
on his behalf.

[SHOUTING]

This is your moment, Pilate.

It is upon you and upon you
alone that the fate of this day

depends.

NARRATOR: Now from
the 6th hour there

was darkness over the
land until the 9th hour.

The lady is nowhere in the
palace, Your Excellency.

Was she not seen to go out?

No, My Lord.

And yet she's gone.

There's something most
strange in the air, my lord.

An unnatural darkness
hangs over the city

as far as the eye may see.

'Tis but the
gathering of a storm.

No doubt, My Lord.

And yet it is so still.

How is it that in
such a stillness

the veil of the
temple should be rent?

I am not concerned with these
superstitious maunderings.

I would know only what's
happened to my lady.

It may be that she
joined the procession

that followed him to Golgotha.

To Golgotha?

Why, that's impossible.

She shrinks from the
very sight of pain.

Maybe, Your Excellency.

And yet when they were leading
him forth from the court,

a sudden heaviness
settled over the palace.

I went to the roof in search
of a stirring of wind.

My lady was there before me.

What?

She was seated on the parapet
looking out over the city

and weeping, as the women in
the streets below were weeping.

This diabolical trial.

And then as the procession
disappeared from view,

I heard her utter a cry.

She rose abruptly
and went below.

Everything connected with
this man leads to discord.

If I might suggest...

Could I have saved him?

Could I have done
anything but what I did?

No, My Lord.

You offered him every
chance to escape.

Seemed to me that all
along he wanted to die.

[SHOUTING]

See what that disturbance is.

The high priest.

Annas is with him.

Bid them come in.

It was time they were
silenced once and for all.

The governor will receive you.

By what right do
you dare invade

this palace without request?

We have just learned of the
inscription you have seen

fit to have placed on the cross
of this blasphemer, Pilate!

Does it offend you?

You have had written
in three languages

that he is king of the Jews!

We demand that this lie,
this insult, be torn down.

What respect can we
command among our own people

if this insult is
permitted to remain?

The respect you command
is absurd that best.

It is hollow and
without meaning.

I defend the principle of
Rome, its law, and its power.

If this man that you describe
is the impostor that you claim,

then indeed is he guilty of
the penalty for blasphemy

and no more.

It is only as he
was indeed your king

that he deserved the
penalty of death.

It is so he was
judged and condemned.

It is so he was crucified.

Call this lettering an
insult if you'd like,

but it is for me the
justification of the judgement

that I have passed down, and
as such in the name of Rome

it will remain.

May you be cursed for
this thing, Pilate,

until the end of your days!

And may the power that
is Rome's one day blow

like dust through the
gutters of Jerusalem.

Heed not my silence, O God.

Send two guards to
Golgotha to search for her.

The necromancer is having his
revenge on all of us it seems.

Oh, spare us your
dreary maledictions.

You've have your way.

You should be satisfied.

We have defended the Covenant.

And betrayed your people.

None of us have cause for
gloating at this hour.

There's no need for the four
of us to keep on bickering here.

We can do without
each other's company

till the next crisis of
the next crucifixion.

I wonder if it is over.

We are all still here.

The unholy alliance
just exactly as we were.

Only he has gained
his objective.

What was his objective?

To fulfill the
prophecies by proving

that he is a true messiah.

Had you failed to
recognize that fact?

What blasphemy!

He will die before this day is
up on the Hill of the Skull,

like thousands of others.

Only the Messiah is above death.

He is not like the others.

I was afraid of him.

I admitted it.

I wanted to destroy him.

But now I wonder.

Was my desire for his
death merely a deception?

Was I and my fear merely
a contributing factor

to the... to the event?

The event, do you see,
that had to happen.

He was crucified, because you
demanded it, the three of you.

You left me no choice.

We left you no choice?

You knew that Annas and
Caiaphas were powerless,

and that I would never
really start an insurrection.

You condemned him, because
he had to be condemned.

You were in the
grip of something

stronger than you, Pilate.

I am warning you.

Who knows how deeply he may be
versed in the arts of magic?

Suppose he were to be taken
down and revived and rise again?

We should have no
means of denying

that he is what
he pretends to be.

He would have the whole
nation behind him.

If he were indeed the Messiah,
why did he not save himself?

If he were the Son
of God, he would've

come down from the cross!

My soldiers will
remain at Golgotha

until death is proved
according to law.

I will discuss it no further.

That is not enough.

Order you men, after he is
taken down, to cut off his head,

like I did to John the Baptist.

That is the only way
to ensure that death

is indeed the end of everything.

[THUNDER CRACKS]

Lady Herodias.

What are you doing here?

Go back to your room at once!

Have you forgotten?

This is the say I
stay awake to watch

the triumph of the
man you cannot kill.

Go back to your room.

You thought you'd
killed him at Galilee,

but he came back,
John the Prophet.

And he always will.

You'll kill him again
and again all your life,

and he'll still be there with
that same smile on his lips.

You poor, frightened puppet.

Hold your red tongue!

Do you think you can kill
him by nailing him to a cross?

He's here in this
room, behind every door.

He's standing by every chair.

He's inside us, in our
brain, in our blood.

He'll never leave us... never!

Till death and after.

I warned you, Herodias.

I have heard enough.

You thought you'd be
a king, a great king.

But a prophet smiled at you,
and all the glory of a Herod

shrank to the whisper of
rats in a rifled tomb.

My lady, go back
to your apartments.

I beg of you.

I salute you, king of nothing.

[THUNDER CRACKS]

That was unforgivable.

You may sleep
tonight in my room.

At least you will
be alone there.

Is he dead yet?

These are my
apartments, King Herod.

I ask you to leave them.

Is he dead yet, I asked you!

Is he dead, the
king of the Jews?

No death in this
world can wipe out

the smile on his lips, not
even the everlasting dark.

[THUNDER CRACKS]

I shall go up to
the roof and wait.

You'd do better to
hide in the cellars.

I shall wait for you to
bring me the head of this man.

Well, if you are wise in your
own interests, you will do...

We must go and pray.

Yes, pray.

For we are all
guilty, all of us.

You may examine
your own consciences.

I am satisfied.

I have done my duty.

It is fitting that you
who have sold out to Caesar

should feel no shame.

You gave me your word you
would not leave the palace.

I'm very angry with you.

Why have you done this?

I had to find out
why he had to die.

I told you again and again.

He was condemned, because
he would not save himself.

He did not want to be saved.

And what has he gained?

He died a convicted
felon, no more.

No.

It is we who are
condemned as felons.

You said that we must
live in the world.

I think I've seen for the
first time what the world is

and what the world can do.

The world can hang a body
on a cross and drive nails

through the quaking flesh and
sit and jeer and play dice,

while a man's heart is
torn out and tortured.

It can dip a sponge in
vinegar and thrust it

between the bleeding lips
made meaningless by pain.

And that is all.

That is the world's only answer
to the riddle of what we are.

I would have given anything to
prevent you from seeing this.

But I saw something else
in the midst of this horror.

Suddenly, he was
beyond your soldiers

with their gleaming
breastplates and their spears.

There was nothing they
could do to him, nothing.

He'd passed beyond the
thunder and the wind

into a... a silence... splendid,
terrible, and perfect.

I should have watched over
you and kept you near me.

You're cold.

You're like ice.

Listen.

What you've seen
today is a vision

of the world's brutality.

But it has no more
meaning to it than that.

You must now try with all
your courage and your trust

in me to face the shock
of this realistically.

It will help you and
pass from you sooner.

Will the truth pass so quickly?

I will tell you
what the truth is.

It is our life together.

Do you understand?

The walls of our house that
shut out the anger and the pain.

If I have wrestled
with the intrigues

and bitter, twisted wickedness
of this city the so long,

it is only that we should
retire sooner and lead

the life that we've dreamed of.

Oh.

So it is for me that
you let him die.

I did not let him die.

It was a political necessity.

Do you imagine that
careers in politics

are achieved without incidents?

Many incidents like this?

But I never wanted a career
for you at such a cost.

I would rather we had
nothing and wore nothing.

My Lord.

What?

A man named Joseph
of Arimathea is here.

He begs to see you.

Do I now him?

He says you do not, My Lord.

What does he want?

He would not say more
than that it is urgent.

He shows at an ill moment.

My wife and I...

No.

See him.

I beg you.

Show him in.

The governor will see you know.

Well, what reason have you to
demand audience at this time?

None, Except that
I have nowhere else

to appeal, Your Excellency.

Appeal?

For what?

I cannot expect you to
respect what I have to say,

yet I must say it.

I have come but
now from Golgotha.

I have stood and I have
seen, and no matter

what anger I may arouse,
I must say to you

that I believe you and we
have done a monstrous thing.

What?

No, let him say
what is in his mind.

Go on.

Thank you, my lady.

Your Excellency had
reason, I am sure,

to command that
this man should die.

You are Roman.

I am a Jew.

He faced you with silence.

To me, he said, if you would be
perfect, sell all that you have

and give to the poor.

Come then and follow me.

I had neither the
faith nor the courage

then to give up so much.

I slid away.

Well?

What do you wish?

To make amends.

I denied him once
while he was alive.

I would not deny
him a second time.

If I have given nothing
to the poor till now,

at least I can give to
him a place to rest.

This man will be
dead by morning.

It is ended.

Is it, Your Excellency?

I have no time for these
meaningless questionings.

Forgive me.

I'll be direct.

I have a tomb, freshly hewn
in the garden of Gethsemane,

which I've kept in
readiness for myself.

Let me take down the body
of Jesus and bury it.

Let me bury it well
and with respect.

He must hang on the
cross until he is dead.

He is dead already,
Your Excellency.

Not possible.

He's been on the cross
less than five hours.

My lady, you were there.

I saw you.

You know that I speak the truth.

Procula, is this true?

Yes, it is true.

He died while I was on the hill.

Give me the permission, Pilate.

It is so small an atonement.

Very well.

Take down the body and see
that it is laid properly

in the tomb, and a stone rolled
before the door, and sealed.

And let's have an end to
this unlucky business.

Manlius?

At least he'll be guarantee
a decent burial... burial.

Your Excellency.

See that my horse is saddled.

I shall use a taper
of wax and my big seal

to set upon the
door of the tomb.

And I want six guards
to watch the place

until the Passover is finished.

And let there be no
rumor of resurrection

to plague us further.

Very well, My Lord.

I will see you outside.

I will await you, My Lord.

Do not let this
come between us.

NARRATOR: 15 years later,
in the Roman year 798,

Pontius Pilate was Roman
governor of Cappadocia

with headquarters
in Tyana at the foot

of the Taurus Mountains.

This was many miles from Judea,
but the shadow of that incident

in Jerusalem had
begun to spread far

beyond the olive
groves of Golgotha.

More?

These mothers are hydra-headed.

For each crucifixion
we perform, there

are 10 ready to die tomorrow.

It's endless.

No, not endless,
just long and tedious.

How many more?

Only five, Your Excellency.

When I have finished, bring
the leaders from the prison.

I wish to examine them.

Yes, Your Excellency.

Is my wife in the garden?

No, she and Lucius Lepidus
are in the next room.

He wishes to bid you farewell
before returning to Rome.

We must hasten then.

I've kept them waiting
an hour already.

So you see, Lucius, being his
Second wife has not been easy.

He's greatly changed, I'm sure.

Whenever he has to
try these Christians,

one can see it settling over
him like a thunder cloud.

I dread these arrests.

It means for two or three
weeks he'll wander around

in a terrible silence,
down by the lake,

under the pines... gloom!

It's like being married to the
collected works of Euripedes.

This is a terrible
thing to say, Lucius.

But I don't believe he wants
these Christians to recant.

He likes to see them crucified.

He thinks that by sentencing
them to death that he could

stamp out some
obsession in himself.

But he can't.

Well, Lucius, so you're
leaving us, after all?

I'm afraid so.

Yes.

We shall miss you.

Been like a breath of
spring having you here.

I must go and see
if everything is

in readiness for your departure.

Forgive me.

These Christians
seem to be taking

up a great deal of your time.

Yes, but I think we can
say we're past the flood.

As long as we
continue to be strong,

they will soon lose
their love of martyrdom.

It's amazing how
it spreads though.

The demonstrations are
breaking out everywhere.

The longer I live, the more
I detest religious fanatics.

We'd struggled to bring
these barbarians in countries

the best the civilization
has to offer, and along

come these lunatics who
deny reason and attack

the very structure
of rational living.

And then after finally
sowing discord and sedition

everywhere, march to their
death caterwauling their hymns

as though they were
going to a festival.

You know, in a
way I admire them.

At least they have the
courage of their convictions.

Man has a unique birthright...
The faculty of reason.

To deny the existence
of God is the one

honest tribute one can pay him.

Tell me.

I've always wanted to
ask you if I dared.

What really happened to Procula?

I never knew.

Without warning, without
a word to anyone,

she left everything...
Her home, her family,

her future, everything.

This Nazarene must have
had some extraordinary power

to have appealed
to her so strongly.

It was not his strength.

It was her weakness, a
woman's indescribable

desirable for immolation.

Well, whatever
else you've lost,

you've certainly
kept your reputation

for legal rectitude, the
incorruptible Pilate.

I put my trust in the law.

The law's the only thing that
survives without betrayal.

Your litter's in the
courtyard, Lucius.

I can't bear to see you go.

It's been such a
relief for Pontius

to have some
civilized to talk you.

Goodbye, Lucius.

Salute the Eternal City for me.

I shall hold you
to your promise

to come and stay
with me next year.

We will, the gods be willing.

I shall convey your
respects to the Emperor.

Most of the ringleaders have
been caught, Your Excellency.

Do you know something, Manlius?

It is tomorrow.

15 years ago, tomorrow.

I know, My Lord.

The trial never ended, really.

And yet it was the
end of everything.

Well, if there has to
be... how many are here?

Four, My Lord.

His Excellency, the Proconsul.

You, I understand, are
the confessed ringleaders

who have enjoined the populace
to defy the authority of Rome.

You are also responsible
for inciting them the mob

to desecrate the statue of
Jupiter in the public square.

Well, please answer
my questions.

Are you aware of the penalties
incurred by these acts?

I would ask you to
answer individually.

Yes.

We knew the penalty, yes.

Yes.

Yes, I knew.

I would... i would
wish the prisoners

taken back to their cells.

I would talk to...
Examine this one only.

Yes, Your Excellency.

You wish to be alone, My Lord?

Yes.

Procula, what are you doing
here with this band of rebels?

I was arrested.

Your hair?

It's been white for years.

Fate certainly
played a supreme jest,

bringing us together
here like this.

I think it is very fitting
that you should judge me.

At least I'm certain
of a fair trial.

Why did you never send me word?

There were no words.

It seems that I was
deceived in placing

so high a value on
the bond of marriage.

I never loved you more
than when I left you.

I had to give up
what I loved most

in order to learn to love more.

It was little enough
beside Golgotha.

And what precisely
did he give up?

He endured no doubt a few
terrible hours on the cross,

but he was sufficiently
recovered to vacate

the tomb two mornings later.

He had risen.

Don't tell me that
you of all people

support this incredible
belief in this resurrection?

It's no myth.

You have the
temerity to believe

this incredible fabrication?

He rose from the dead as he had
promised, as all men may leave

the prisons of their mortality.

Do you not think that I
examine enough prisoners

not to know what happened?

I've collected proofs
for the last 15 years.

They're in my files
a thousandfold.

And still the final
proof always escapes you.

Because the final proof
isn't in him, but in you.

And the truth that
he stood for...

All you Christians
babble about the truth.

And yet in the courtroom,
when I asked him the question,

what is truth, he
made no answer.

What could he say?

What could he have said
that you would've accepted?

I knew that you hated me, but
I didn't realize how much.

This is no time to settle
our personal differences.

There is the oath of allegiance.

Read it.

There is only one oath,
and I have already taken it.

You will take the oath of
Rome, or I will force you to it.

Force?

You have none left to
call on, and yet you

go on trying Jesus and
every man and woman

who is brought before you.

Will you stop this
pernicious quibbling?

It is your own trial, and
I... this is reality, not

a quest to remodel abstractions.

You face the penalty of
death by crucifixion.

Yes, I know.

You fool.

You blind, drugged,
self-deceiving fool.

Can't you understand?

There'll be no Joseph to
take you down, no tomb

for you to recover in.

You'll lie out
there for two days

until they break the
joints in your legs,

and your heart bursts
with the rush of blood.

And they will throw your
body into the common grave.

There's no indignity in being
buried with one's friends.

Oh, I wish I could make
you understand how... how

unimportant the act of dying is.

This is your whole
life, and it hangs

on one word... one
word of denial.

What else is what
dying or living

for but to give
witness to the truth?

So this is the end that
your pernicious faith

has brought us to?

You prefer to die?

Death is your
ultimate insolence,

Your final gesture of
outrageous egotism?

Damn it!

March to your death tomorrow,
singing and praising

the divine mercy
while they batter

the nails into your
hands and feet!

There's no need to describe it.

I've seen it often enough.

And what will I do?

Resign my post to stop
signing your death warrant?

You can try to
understand if I can

find words that you
will understand.

You asked me what I
found on my journey.

I have found that in very
truth, Jesus is the Son of God,

but he's also the search.

He's the thirst for freedom
and the hunger for knowledge.

He's an infinite
number of resurrections

over the deaths
of outlived ideas.

He moves in the restless
mind and in the heart

that cannot be satisfied.

He's the storm of hope
and the center of change.

He's everything
that is undaunted

and passionate and undiscovered.

He was no fireside
philosopher that one

could follow in
ease and comfort.

He offered only the
unyielding struggle

to become master of one's
self and a servant of God.

And so we search.

We leave everything,
our families, our homes,

our duty to one another, even
our respect as human beings.

And for what?

To pay tribute to a man
who performed only one

genuine miracle before
founding a religion

on a miracle that
never happened.

No, but it did happen, and it
goes on happening every day.

There's a new world
coming into being.

I would go doubly
happy if I knew

that you would be a part of it.

I prefer to stand
by the world I know.

I will send you the
oath at dawn tomorrow.

You have 12 hours to
reconsider your decision.

Then they'll bring the crosses?

Don't think of me tomorrow.

I shall be well armed
and well protected.

And I shall pray
for you my darling.

Until my final breath, I shall
pray that for you too one day,

you will be granted
the miracle of sight.

They refused to sign
the oath, My Lord.

They must learn or they
must be taught to learn.

It is the law.

The law.

What does it matter
what they believe?

Let them go, My Lord.

But it does matter,
and they know it.

It is all that matters,
what you believe.

Caesar or Christ,
what you believe.

[SOBBING]

She was everything I had,
everything I ever cared for.

PROCULA (VOICEOVER):
What else is worth

dying for but to give
witness to the truth...

To give witness to the true...
To give witness to the truth.

Manlius, tell the
executioner to stop.

Let them go.

Let them go.

I built my life on my
belief in a Roman world

and on my love for one woman.

I don't know where I failed.

VOICE: What is truth?

What is truth?

What is truth?

This is your answer?

The answer you never gave?

I asked you what is truth,
and you kept silent.

This is the only
answer you ever had.

NARRATOR: The crucifixion was
done, but nothing was settled.

Nothing was ended.

The agony goes on and
has never been stilled.

Roman soldiers drove
the first nails

through those hands and feet.

Were they the crucifiers?

No, not alone.

Was it Rome?

1,900 years ago, yes, in part.

So in part was the
emissary of Rome

and a few men in high places who
were jealous of their position

and who were afraid.

But not the people of Rome,
who knew nothing about it,

nor the people of
Judea, many of whom

loved and followed the one
who had died on the cross.

But this is not answer enough,
for the crucifixion still

goes on.

Every hour of every day,
the agony is reenacted.

This is the season of
reminder to look to ourselves.

The guilt or innocence
is in our own hearts,

for anyone today as then who
lives in fear, anyone who would

secure his own
well-being by sacrificing

this principles, anyone who
would still his conscience

to his own gain,
anyone who would

by false dealing or
false report cause

hurt to another,
anyone who would throw

the blame for Jesus' death
on another man, another race,

or another people, is himself
crucifying Christ again.

Look to ourselves.

It is only we every
hour of every day

who cause the agony to go on.

Now, let's pause a
moment, look again

at our Westinghouse
program with Betty Furness.

Freedom from cooking drudgery.

Say, I guess all women
are interested in that.

You bet we are.

And that's why I'm so
interested in showing you

this Westinghouse
Commander electric range.

For instance, here is
freedom from wasted time

in the kitchen.

What is it?

It's by far the
fastest cooking surface

unit on the market today.

It's the sensational
Westinghouse Super Corox Unit.

You just turn it on,
back here, and it's

hot right now, and
red hot in 30 seconds.

It gets your cooking
off to a faster start.

You can even fry bacon and
eggs in just three minutes

from a cold start.

And here's something
else I want to show you.

It's the wonderful Westinghouse
two level speed cooker.

In the well position,
like this, it's

perfect for stews,
deep fat frying,

and lots of other cooking jobs.

But suppose you want
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Well, you just lift
it up like that,

give it a turn to
the side, and there.

You have a fourth surface unit.

And each one of these
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because these color glance
controls up here each give you

five different speeds
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And this wonderful
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gives you freedom from
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And that's because in
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That's because the heat
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And look.

All around here there
is a seal of fiberglass.

That's a Westinghouse exclusive.

And that seals the
heat right in the oven.

Oh, and that remind me.

When you cook the
Westinghouse electric way,

you're free from an
overheated kitchen,

and you're free too from
all the grease and grime

that forms on walls and curtains
from other kinds of cooking.

So go to the Freedom Fair at
your Westinghouse dealers,

and see this most
perfect, most modern

range that you ever set eyes on.

I know you'll be
thrilled with it.

And remember, you can be
sure if it's Westinghouse.

NARRATOR: And now
Betty Furness wants

to show you a
picture of freedom.

Here they are again, those
great Westinghouse appliances

that are now on display
in the Freedom Fair

at your Westinghouse dealers.

They bring you hours of freedom
from drudgery every day.

Here's the frost-free
refrigerator.

It brings you freedom from
the nuisance of defrosting.

And Westinghouse
electric sink frees

you forever from washing dishes.

And here is freedom
from cooking drudgery

in the new Westinghouse
electric range.

And here are America's favorite
laundry twins, the Westinghouse

laundromat and
the clothes dryer.

They free you from all the work
of washing and drying clothes.

And the Westinghouse
electric heater

frees you from waiting
for precious hot water.

It keeps water hot
always and at low cost.

And here is real freedom
from the messy chore

of emptying garbage.

The wonderful
Westinghouse Waste-Away.

See for yourself how these
great Westinghouse appliances

bring new freedom
into your home.

And remember, your own
Westinghouse dealer

invites you to come
to the Freedom Fair.