King of Kings

Portraying the birth, life and death of Jesus, this film tells one of the greatest stories in the history of mankind, a life and teaching that form the basis of the Christian faith., King Of Kings is an epic retelling of the life of Christ starring Jeffrey Hunter and directed by Nicholas Ray., Nicholas Ray’s epic film tells the story of Jesus Christ, played by Jeffrey Hunter, from his birth to the Ascension. The cast also includes Robert Ryan as John the Baptist, Siobhan McKenna as Mary, Rip Torn as Judas and Harry Guardino as Barabbas, a fiery rebel leader whose message of violence contrasts with Christ’s message of peace., One major film star referred to director Nicholas Ray as a “loser,” because of Ray’s alleged willingness to let his more temperamental actors walk all over him. Evidently, Ray had a very compliant and cooperative cast in King of Kings, inasmuch as the film emerged as one of the most disciplined Biblical epics ever made. Jeffrey Hunter is cast as Jesus Christ, delivering a wholly credible performance in this most taxing of roles (never mind the wags who referred to the film as “I Was a Teenage Jesus”). Siobhan McKenna is a radiant if somewhat overaged Mary; Hurd Hatfield offers a properly preening Pontius Pilate; Rip Torn portrays Judas more for the tragedy than the treachery; Robert Ryan (a personal favorite of Ray’s) is one of the best John the Baptists you’re ever likely to see; and Harry Guardino convincingly interprets Barabbas as a firebrand political extremist. The only false note in the casting is the MGM-dictated selection of teenaged Brigid Bazlen as Salome. The best aspect of the film is its handling of the days after the Resurrection; the “Jesus sightings” are offered as secondhand information, so as to retain some of the mystery inherent in the Scriptures. King of Kings was previously filmed in 1927 by Cecil B. DeMille, with a middle-aged H.B. Warner as Jesus., New Testament epic telling of the life of Jesus Christ, the court of Herod the Great and the political intrigues of Barabbas., Colourful dramatisation of the birth, life and death of Jesus Christ. The film also depicts the tensions between Herod’s court and the Roman administration, the execution of John the Baptist at Salome’s behest, and the story of Barabbas, told in counterpoint to that of Jesus., A Story of the Christ. The Glory of His Spoken Words.