Barabbas the film is a 1961 religious epic starring Anthony Quinn in the lead role of a thief who is released from Roman custody instead of Jesus Christ. The film was based on a 1950 novel by Par Lagerkvist and was conceived as a grand epic, with producer Dino De Laurentiis and director Richard Fleischer sparing little expense in creating a film spectacular. For the accompanying music they approached noted composer Mario Nascimbene and conducted by Franco Ferrara. The end result is one of Nacimbes best known works, an intriguing mix of traditional film music with the introduction of electronic sounds achieved by manipulating tape speeds.