This blog entry is part of my “movie year countdown”. To read more about that check out my first Spout filmblog entry.
The King of Kings
Jesus Christ had been portrayed in film a couple of times before The King of Kings but, this is really the original epic Jesus movie. These historical and often religious epics are what Cecil B. DeMille became known for.
For those already familiar with the story of Jesus told in the New Testement of the Bible, watching a movie based on these texts reveals certain perspectives of the filmmakers. In this case the story is very epic and creates a few additional scenes and pieces of dialogue that were not exactly in the Bible from what I remember, or else they were kind of expanded or pieced together from other things. I don't think there is really anything here that counteracts my understanding of the primary message of the story of Jesus.
It was a gigantic budget for it's time, and features some really stunning and grandiose moments. There are some good quieter simpler scenes as well. The Criterion Collection released this film on a two DVD set feature two different cuts of the film. The longer cut that was shown at the original premier would be the preferred cut to watch I'd assume. There are many worthwhile moments in this cut that were missing from the "general release" version as it was called. One good scene I particularly remember missing between my viewings of both versions was when the tax collectors come and Jesus commands the disciples to go fishing and find a coin in the fish's mouth.
H.B. Warner is captivating as Jesus himself. Although there is sometimes what I consider to be somewhat hokey effects and framing regarding Christ's divinity, Warner mostly shows us a good range of emotions and reactions that Jesus has in these stories.
Definitely a great portrayal of the Jesus story to compare all subsequent film adaptations of the story against.
Rating: 8/10