King of Kings

Everything fits together as soon as the film opens with Orson Welles' narrating the story of the Son of God. Little Jesus grows up to be the very American and impossibly blue-eyed Jeffrey Hunter (his opening scene with Robert Ryan's Baptist is superb), who goes on to cure the lame, the insane, the blind, rehabilitate Mary Magdelene, and all the usual things. Hunter is very good in the role, which may have been surprising at the time given his previous form in Westerns (and later in Star Trek's pilot episode!). Other good points - Hurd 'Dorian Gray' Hatfield as Pilate, the dance of the seven veils, the ending, the glorious score ...

It fits together better than The Greatest Story Ever Told, which got too starry and was spoiled by John Wayne's son of gawd. Here everyone knows their place and the religious context remains unscathed by the whitewash of Hollywood. Excellent.

For me and, I suspect, a lot of other Boomers who were pious as kids and tipped off by nuns about the 4:30 Movie on Good Friday, this one is beyond criticism. When it's time for us to go, many of us will be seeing Hunter's face, baby blues and all, in the midst of the white light... But personal soft spots aside, it's a pretty good Jesus picture. Hunter may speak with the unctious blandness of a TV game show host, but he's earnest and vigorous and has a certain charisma you could take as Godhood... The music is sublime. Ray's direction has a lot of the REBEL WITHOUT quirks. Note the weird angles during Salome's dance. The Sermon on the Mount is probably the best sequence. Those oddly lit and artsily angled close-ups of Jesus are intriguing. Then He comes over the hill with His arms outstretched and it's pure glory... Sweet as a jelly bean, redolent of Easter lilies.

This movie is so underrated. I think it's one of the best movies about Christ which was well played by Jeffery Hunter. There was also a great supporting cast that included Sobian McKenna, Robert Ryan and many others. Why this film

didn't get any attention at the 1961 Oscars, i'll never know. I would have given this film an Oscar Nomination for Miklos Rosza's music score which is one of his best scores ever. I think also the set designs were pretty good and worth of an Oscar nomination as well. The Cinematography was pretty good even though

there was better work at that time. I think this movie beats 1965's "The Greatest Story Ever Told" which went way too long and just wasn't as interesting as this one. Nicholas Ray did a great job with this one and this film deserved a lot more than it got.

A few years earlier than George Stevens mammoth all star film about the life of Jesus was this film by Nicholas Ray. Taking, it's title from the Cecil B. DeMille silent film, this version of King of Kings is in no way a remake of the DeMille epic. This King of Kings is a moving reverential account of the life of the obscure carpenter from Galilee whose thoughts still move millions today. The voice you hear doing the narration bridging of the various episodes of Jesus's life is the familiar one of Orson Welles.

Nicholas Ray shot this film in Spain with the broad central plain serving as Judea in the early years of AD. Unlike Stevens, Nicholas Ray used second line players for the most part, the biggest name in the cast is that of Robert Ryan as John the Baptist.

Jesus is played by Jeffrey Hunter and if you were to ask today's movie fans what they most remember about Hunter, they will either say his role in the original Star Trek pilot as Captain Christopher Pike, or his two roles in John Ford films, The Searchers and Sergeant Rutledge. Some reviewers have remarked about Hunter's blue eyes, personally I think Nicholas Ray might have cast Hunter with those baby blues to mark Jesus as indeed unique among the populace of Judea. In any event it's a sincere portrayal that Hunter gives. He's most effective in the Sermon on the Mount scene.

King of Kings takes a great deal more liberties with the four Gospels than does the Greatest Story Ever Told. It fleshes out the peripheral characters in the Bible giving them more identity than Scripture does. Barabbas as played by Harry Guardino is a guerrilla leader rather than a bandit and Rip Torn who is Judas is one of his associates who leaves Barabbas after the Sermon on the Mount.

Judas's motives for betrayal are explained as an effort to force Jesus's hand. He wants Jesus to use his power of miracles to aid in the freedom fight against Rome. I think most people view Judas as doing what he did because he totally failed to understand the mission and nature of who he was following, What Ray does here is deepen that context.

There are a few scenes in their besides this part of the storyline that are not biblically found. After Jesus saves Mary Magdalene, Carmen Sevilla as Mary goes searching for him and visits with Mary his mother who is played by Siobhan McKenna. They talk for a bit, McKenna describes some of the miracles attributed to her son.

Jesus himself drops out of biblical dialog in a scene where he asks to visit John the Baptist. The scene is with the Centurion Lucius who was present at the massacre in Bethlehem and later would pronounce His epitaph at the cross. Ron Randell plays Lucius and his Lucius is a world weary professional soldier, sickened by the court of Herod the Great and his successor Herod Antipas. He hates having to serve these people because Rome is backing them as surrogate leaders. Randell has a key role here, he serves as a prototype for the gentiles who Jesus says his disciples must minister to.

Being inveterate star gazer I am, I do like The Greatest Story Ever Told better. But King of Kings is still a fine retelling of that selfsame story.

The story of Jesus has been told many times from the very beginning of the movies, but this version, underrated when first released, is one of the best.

KING OF KINGS creates and sustains a dignified yet highly entertaining tone that is unique among biblical epics. The screenplay is extremely intelligent and effective, concentrating not just on Jesus, but on the society and personalities that surround him. Pilate, Caiaphas, Mary, John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, the apostles, and a sublimely oversexed Salome are all well-drawn characters and well-cast, especially in contrast to the uncomfortable "superstar cameo" approach George Stevens used in his inferior "Greatest Story Ever Told".

The political background is well handled, making clear the wish of Judas and others that Jesus foment a revolution to free the Jews from Roman rule.

Handsome, myopic Jeffrey Hunter may not be a great actor, but his low-key, measured performance matches the overall design of the film very well. Orson Welles' rapt, mellifluous narration is a plus, as is Roschka's passionate musical score.

Definitely see this letter-boxed to appreciate the gorgeous scenery, photography, and spectacular scenes.