The George Stevens Lecture on Directing presents the premiere screening of the 4K restoration of “The Greatest Story Ever Told” (1965) at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Jan. 17 with special guest, three-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. The George Stevens Lecture series was established in 1982 in honor of the legendary director.
For the 2026 edition, del Toro joins the Academy Museum before the screening to speak about Stevens, the restoration of “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” and the impact of the film.
Amazon MGM Studios initiated the restoration of “The Greatest Story Ever Told” for the film’s 60th anniversary. The restoration was done in collaboration with George Stevens, Jr. and The Film Foundation headed by Martin Scorsese. Del Toro is a member of the Foundation board. Working from the original 65mm Ultra Panavision Technicolor negative, Kostas Theodosiou, senior colorist at FotoKem, made 8K scans and digitally restored the film with keen appreciation for the film’s artistic quality. Audio restoration was made utilizing original six-track print masters and stems, digitally remastered in Dolby Atmos to preserve the original 70mm format channel configuration.
The film, directed by two-time Oscar-winner Stevens (“A Place in the Sun,” “Giant”), is a lavishly produced and thoughtful look at the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, with Max von Sydow making his U.S. film debut in a subtly powerful lead performance. The lengthy location filming in the American Southwest had its share of problems, including unseasonal weather and the death of the film’s cinematographer, William C. Mellor, but the result was one of Stevens’s most ambitious and heartfelt projects, avoiding the sensationalism of most Hollywood Biblical epics while supporting von Sydow with an impressive cast that included Charlton Heston, Claude Rains, Dorothy Maguire, Jose Ferrer, Sidney Poitier, David McCallum, Martin Landau, Donald Pleasance, Carroll Baker, Telly Savalas, Shelley Winters, Ed Wynn and Van Heflin. The film received five Oscar nominations including Mellor and Loyal Griggs for cinematography.
The Academy Museum has previously hosted the lecture with guests Christopher Nolan for a screening of “Shane” (1953) and Annette Bening for a screening of “The More the Merrier” (1943). Other past participants in The George Stevens Lecture series include Robert Benton, James Mangold, Gregory Nava, Sidney Poitier, Steven Spielberg, and Robin Swicord.
The 2 p.m. lecture and screening will mark the 60th Anniversary of “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is located at 6067 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. Tickets to the Academy Museum are available only through advance online reservations via the Academy Museum’s website and mobile app. Admission to daytime film screening is $5.
