Review of King of Kings (1961) by Gary C — 29 Mar 2006

[b][color=white]King of Kings[/color] [/b](1961, Ray):

I love the simplicity and the unconventionality of this underrated Biblical epic. Ray manages to tell a story about the life of Christ, without taking the story down its typical conservative path. Instead, Ray and screenwriter Philip Yordon mostly concentrate on the effect of Christ upon others through the lens of Zionist nationalism. The results are striking. Most of the key moments in Jesus' life are recorded as secondhand accounts and hearsay, which keeps the film moving and interesting. Barrabas is no longer just a name, but a political extremist with designs on utilizing Jesus to usurp Roman authority; Judas becomes less a traitor and more a tragic fool; Jeffrey Hunter's philosophical Jesus is given a rare earthiness and human frailties such as fear and doubt; Robert Ryan's John the Baptist is perhaps the best ever on film. The supporting cast is extremely effective as is Miklos Rozsa's brilliant score, the deep-focus cinematography, Orson Welles composed narration and Ray's fluid direction. Thus, we have a rare epic that is striking visually, yet not bloated in terms of pace and length.

A+ (10/10).

[more to be added later].