Drabinsky believes that ultimately there will be a time and place to “look at Genesis or Exodus, the Book of Psalms and the Book of Proverbs and so on and so forth. But John became the consensus for everyone on the committee, despite emotional connections to different books and personal favourites.”

“Why John? I think that it explores the life of Christ in the most philosophic and important way,” adds Drabinsky. “Not only the miracles or signs of Christ, but the ministry of Christ and his teachings were, in fact, very optimistic in this book. In John, the crucifixion personifies the glorification of Christ. And it was so fascinating from a historical perspective. It really allows one to focus on this period of religious transition and then to understand why there were splinter groups that broke off and began to engage in a polemic which leads to severe antagonism with the Jewish religious establishment of the time, and the implication of all of that. And then of course, the metaphorical richness of the text was spectacular. Its diversity in terms of locations all seemed to work perfectly as a springboard for the project.”

With the unanimous decision from the committee to proceed with the Book of John, Drabinsky embarked on a unique cinematic journey.

Recalls Drabinsky, “We began with such high ideals, lofty ideals in fact, because everyone involved in the project really wanted to do something special. We wanted to distinguish this as a major theatrical picture and as a turning point in how movies from biblical text are handled. I believe we have succeeded.”

Drabinsky suggests that through the years, as a result of other biblical films, the distinction of the four distinct gospels has been lost.

“It’s amazing how Hollywood has managed to confuse and blur the Gospels, to the point that there are so many people who do not understand the differences between John, Mark, Matthew and Luke. I am hoping that by the approach taken with this picture, we will re-engage the public in this whole period of history of mankind. And it is such a profound period.”

Perhaps what impresses Drabinsky the most about this film is the attention to detail, not only in the meticulous recreations of the antiquated architecture, music and costumes, but the focus on the text itself.

“Line for line, we had to pay attention to every single word. And in doing so, things became clear, really clear. And that’s the importance of the project. I think that it will illuminate people about this text, give them insight into this historic time and their approach to the Bible, far greater than I could imagine.”

Click here to read an interview with director Philip Saville.

Click here to read an interview with executive producer Sandy Pearl.

Click here to read a review of "The Gospel of John."