ST. JOSEPH IN CINEMA HISTORY

St. Joseph, the humble carpenter of Nazareth and earthly father of Jesus Christ, has long stood in the background of salvation history—silent in the Gospels, yet unwavering in faith. His portrayal in cinema has mirrored this quiet strength: understated, but deeply meaningful. From the earliest silent films to the digital age, filmmakers have continually returned to Joseph’s character, uncovering fresh dimensions of this often-overlooked patriarch. Spanning more than a century—from 1898 to 2025—the cinematic history of St. Joseph reflects not only the evolution of filmmaking, but also the growing depth and nuance of his on-screen presence.

What follows is a selection of highlights from over 40 films featuring St. Joseph.

1898 – LA VIE ET LA PASSION DE JESUS-CHRIST
Director: Georges Hatot, Louis Lumiere / St. Joseph Actor: Unknown

1903 – LA VIE ET LA PASSION DE JESUS-CHRIST
Director: Ferdinand Zecca, Lucien Nonguet / St. Joseph: Monsieur Moreau

1906 – LA VIE DU CHRIST
Director: Alice Guy-Blaché / St.Joseph: Unknown

1912 – FROM THE MANGER TO THE CROSS
Director: Sidney Olcott / St. Joseph: Montague Sidney

1916 – CHRISTUS
Director: Guilio Antamoro / St. Joseph: Augusto Poggioli

1925 – BEN HUR
Director: Fred Niblo / St. Joseph: Winter Hall

1945 – REINA DE REINAS: LA VIRGEN MARIA
Director : Miguel Contreras / St. Joseph : Luis Mussot

1959 – BEN HUR
Director: William Wyler / St. Joseph: Laurence Payne

1961 – KING OF KINGS
Director: Nicholas Rae / St. Joseph: J. Gerard Tichy

1963 – SNAPAKA YOHANNAN (JOHN THE BAPTIST)
Director: P. Subramaniam / St. Joseph: Unknown

1964 – IL VENGELIO SECONDO MATTEO
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini / St. Joseph: Marcello Morante

1965 – THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD
Director: George Stevens / St. Joseph: Robert Loggia

1968 – THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY (Animated)
Director: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr. / St. Joseph: No actor

1971 – JESUS EL NINO DIOS
Director: Miguel Zacarias / St. Joseph: Guillermo Hernandez

1972 – JESUS, MARIA Y JOSE
Director: Miguel Zacarias / St. Joseph: Guillermo Murray

1973 – JESUS
Director: P.A. Thomas / St. Joseph: Unknown

1975 – IL MESSIA
Director: Roberto Rossellini / St. Joseph: Yatsugi Khalil

1977 – JESUS OF NAZARETH
Director: Franco Zeffirelli / St. Joseph: Yorgo Voyagis

1978 – THE SMALL ONE (Animated)
Director: Don Bluth / St. Joseph: Gordon Jump

1978 – KARUNAMAYUDU (THE COMPASSIONATE ONE)
Director: A. Bhimsingh / St. Joseph: Unknown

1978 – THE NATIVITY
Director: Bernard L. Kowalski / St. Joseph: John Shea

1979 – JESUS (THE JESUS FILM)
Director: Peter Sykes, John Krish / St. Joseph: Yosef Shiloach

1986 – LA VIDA DE NEUSTRO SENOR JESUCRISTO
Director: Miguel Zacarias / St. Joseph: Guillermo Murray

1987 – UN BAMBINO DI NOME GESU
Director: Franco Rossi / St. Joseph: Bekim Fehmiu

1987 – THE GREATEST ADVENTURE: THE NATIVITY
Director: Don Lusk / St. Joseph: Gregory Harrison

1990 – CHRISTHU CHARITHAYA (STORY OF THE CHRIST)
Director: Sumil Ariyaratne / St. Joseph: Prasanna Wickramasinghe

1993 – THE VISUAL BIBLE
Director: Regardt van den Bergh / St. Joseph: Tony Caprari

1995 – MARY OF NAZARETH
Director: Jean Delanney / St. Joseph: Francis Lalanne

1995 – THE REVOLUTIONARY
Director: Robert Marcarelli / St. Joseph: Alon Marcalit

1999 – MARY MOTHER OF JESUS
Director: Kevin Connor / St. Joseph: David Threlfall

1999 – JESUS
Director: Roger Young / St. Joseph: Armin Mueller-Stahl

2000 – GIUSEPPE DI NAZARETH
Director: Raffaele Mertas / St. Joseph: Tobias Moretti

2003 – BEN HUR (Animated)
Director: William Kowalchuck Jr. / St. Joseph: Michael Dobson

2004 – SHANTI SANDESHAN
Director: P. Chandrasekhar Reddy / St. Joseph: Unknown

2006 – SON OF MAN
Director: Mark Donnford-May / St. Joseph: Joel Mathethwa

2006 – THE NATIVITY STORY
Director: Catherine Hardwicke / St. Joseph: Oscar Isaac

2006 – LA SACRA FAMIGLIA
Director: Raffaela Mertes / St. Joseph: Alessandro Gassmann

2010 – THE NATIVITY
Director: Coky Giedroyc / St. Joseph: Andrew Buchan

2012 – MARIA DI NAZARET
Director: Giacomo Campiotti / St. Joseph: Luca Marinelli

2014 – SON OF GOD
Director: Christopher Spencer / St. Joseph: Joe Coen

2014 – THE SAVIOR
Director: Robert Savo / St. Joseph: Jamil Khoury

2015 – SAVIOR
Director: Freedom Church / St. Joseph: Simon Hudson

2015 – THE GOSPEL OF LUKE
Director: David Batty / St. Joseph: Abdellatif Chaouqui

2015 – FULL OF GRACE
Directo: Andrew Hyatt / St. Joseph: Eddie Kaulukukui

2016 – THE YOUNG MESSIAH
Director: Cyrus Nourasteh / St. Joseph: Vincent Walsh

2016 – JOSEPH & MARY
Director: Roger Christian / St. Joseph: Kevin Sorbo

2017 – THE CHOSEN
Director: Dallas Jenkins / St. Joseph: Raj Bond

2017 – THE STAR (Animated)
Director: Timothy Reckart / St. Joseph: Zachary Levi

2019 – JESUS: HIS LIFE
Director: Ashley Pearce, Adrian McDowall / St. Joseph: Ramin Karimloo

2019 – The Christ Child: A Nativity Story
Director: John Foss / St. Joseph: Jake Sidney Cohen

2020 – THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST
Director: Bruce Neibaur / St. Joseph: Alex Greenfield

2022 – WHY THE NATIVITY?
Director: Paul Joiner / St. Joseph: Logan Polson

2022 – A FATHER’S HEART
Director: Andres Garrigo / St. Joseph: Paco Perez-Reus

2023 – JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM
Director: Adam Anders / St. Joseph: Milo Manheim

2024 – MARY
Director: D.J. Caruso / St. Joseph: Ido Tako