Rating: 
Summary: Generally effective adaptation of the Gospels
Review: Samuel Bronston's production of "King of Kings" is a generally satisfying "epic" based on the life of Jesus. Not as elaborate as 1965's "The Greatest Story Ever Told," but not as boring either. Directed by Nicholas Ray, the auteur behind "Rebel Without A Cause" and "Johnny Guitar," it was controversial at the time of its 1961 release with some critics finding it blasphemous (the very characteristic that would likely earn it praise today), apparently because the miracles are presented with a certain subtlety, a quality not generally associated with a genre mastered by Cecil B. DeMille. This is not a thorough adaptation of the Gospels, and far below the standards of the later "Jesus of Nazareth," but it is respectful and generally well-done. The late Jeffrey Hunter makes for a very charismatic Jesus. Then 33 years-old, the same age as Jesus at the crucifixion, Hunter gives a sincere performance, one that didn't warrant the "Teenage Jesus" charge popular at the time. The unjustified pans his performance received did seem to have a negative impact on his career, with the actor turning to TV as the star of the Jack Webb produced "Temple Houston" only a year or two later). Robert Ryan, usually cast as psychotics and killers, gives some appropriate muscle to John the Baptist. Orson Welles narrates from a script to which Ray Bradbury contributed. Miklos Rosza's score is superb and inspiring, the best thing about the film.
Rating: 
Summary: Hunter as Jesus Shines!
Review: 'King of Kings' features Jeffrey Hunter's finest performance, as a young, dynamic Jesus of Nazareth, and his intrerpretation, open and earnest, is the best part of a movie both uneven and flawed. Produced by many of the people responsible for 'Ben Hur', the film utilizes some of the same sets, actors (Frank Thring appears in major roles in both films), and composer (Miklos Rozsa, whose score for 'King of Kings' was one of his finest). The cast was fleshed out by respected actors (Robert Ryan is too old but charismatic as John the Baptist, Siobhan McKenna is a glowing Mary, Brigid Bazlen, a deliciously wicked and oversexed Salome, Harry Guardino, an 'over-the-top' Barabbas, a VERY young Rip Torn scores as Judas). While the cast didn't have the 'star power' of 'Ben Hur', or many other Christian epics, the actors, by and large, perform credibly in their roles, particularly Hurd Hatfield and Viveca Lindfors, as Pilate and his wife, Claudia, and Ron Randell as Tribune Lucius. The film was a MUCH less expensive project than 'Ben Hur'; the budget restraints show most glaringly in recreating Jesus' ministry (most of Christ's miracles are only referred to, not shown), and extras casting (Spanish townspeople, overdubbed with some truly RIPE dialogue!). The film works best when focusing on Jesus; unfortunately, it veers off into distracting subplots about Barabbas and the zealots, and the decadence of Herod's court. These stories consume a LOT of screen time, and damage the overall impact of the film. Yet rising above all this is Jeffrey Hunter's interpretation of the Savior. Easily the most audience-friendly of all the actors who have assailed the role, Hunter took a lot of flack for his 'matinee idol' good looks, and piercing blue eyes, but his kindness, his sincerity, and the complete believability with which he delivers Christ's words overcome any qualms about his appearance! The Sermon on the Mount is a film high point, and magnificent; the Crucifixion and Resurrection have the kind of power that can bring a lump to your throat, even after repeated viewings! While 'King of Kings' lacks the big names and budget of 'The Greatest Story Ever Told', or the emotional core of 'Jesus of Nazareth' or 'The Last Temptation of Christ', in Jeffrey Hunter, the film presents possibly the most compassionate of all screen Messiahs, and makes this film a MUST for the holidays, and your collection!
Rating: 
Summary: Worth buying for sermon on the mount scene alone
Review: I love this movie. Interesting backstory told as well. Jeffrey Hunter did a great job playing our Lord. The sermon on the mount scene was brilliantly done. Narration by the unbilled Orson Welles himself. What's not to love about this movie?
Rating: 
Summary: Moving but Inaccurate
Review: I first saw King of Kings on TV a few years ago and I find it quite an interesting film. With a superb score and narration from Orson Welles Nicholas Ray tries to tie his major charachters together but sadly in doing so he almost fictionalises the story. Jefferey Hunter is good but only in patches and at times looks uncomfortable with his role, this goes for the whole film. Pilate is played well but the Baptist played by Robert Ryan is terrible while the apostles are nobodies and act as such. The political landscape is described accuratly at the beginning but decends into farce with Herod, Pilate and Caiphas plotting together to kill Jesus - NOT TRUE. These three all despised each other and would never had sat in a room together. The scenes involving Christ, except for the sermon on the mount are at times rushed as Ray wishes to get back to Barrabas who rises from a minor detail of the Gospels to some kind of historical leader while Jesus becomes increasingly oblivious to all that is going on, I mean Jesus just shuts himself up in the Temple while Barrabbas starts a full scale rebellion. The passion is quite moving but the sight of Hunter's clean shaven chest and armpits is quite strange and in the end it all looks a bit unreal. The ressurection scene is then rushed through terribly and looks something like a dream or hallucination. Nevertheless an interesting look at the Gospel story but definately through holywood eyes.
Rating:
Summary: An Underappreciated film.
Review: "King of Kings", directed by Nicholas Ray ("Rebel Without a Cause"), is an underrated film that is marked by some dazzling cinematic moments (Pompey's desecration of the Temple, the death of Herod, and an extended Sermon on the Mount). Miklos Rozsa ("Ben Hur") is responsible for the moving score and Orson Welles provides some tasteful narration at the film's beginning. Jeffery Hunter delivers an adequate portrayal of Jesus although the cynical critics at the time savaged his performance. Robert Ryan and Siobhan McKenna are too old to play John the Baptist and Mary respectively and Royal Dano is ridiculously miscast as Peter. However, film buffs will delight to see a young (and thin) Rip Torn as Judas Iscariot and Harry Guardino as Barabbas. Fans of Nicholas Ray should see this film as should students of epic cinema. As a portrayal of Jesus' life and mission, "King of Kings" falls far short of "Jesus of Nazareth". However, "King of Kings" was made for the large screen and I think that lovers of the cinema will appreciate its strengths and overlook its faults.
Rating:
Summary: An intelligent, inspiring life of Christ.
Review: "King of Kings" was my favorite religious motion picture when growing up, and I believe it still is. When MGM first released it in 1961, movie critics irreverently dubbed it "I Was a Teenage Jesus", since the role of Christ was given to teen idol Jeffrey Hunter. In hindsight, it was an unfair appraisal. Unlike other actors who have played Jesus in the more sublime, "stained-glass" manner that appears to be the norm, Hunter's portrayal showed a very human, energetic Messiah whose divinity still could not be denied. Interestingly enough, "King of Kings" was directed by Nicholas Ray, who six years earlier had directed James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause". This time around, our "Rebel" has a well-defined Cause which places Him at odds with the religious and civil authorities of His day. The film's international supporting cast consists mainly of lesser-known character actors whose performances are mostly able. The great actor/filmmaker Orson Welles gives an uncredited performance as the film's narrator; curiously, the narration was written by science fiction author Ray Bradbury, who is also uncredited. The film's stirring music was composed by Miklos Rozsa, who was no stranger to religious epics (the soundtracks to "Quo Vadis?" and "Ben-Hur" stand out among his other works). Beautifully filmed in Spain, "King of Kings" is an intelligent and reverent profile of He who has been the Way, the Truth, and the Life to hundreds of millions for almost 2000 years. END
Rating:
Summary: i was a teenaged jesus
Review: that's what the pundits were writing about this at the time of it's release. mailnly because of the very youthful look of hunter.
and, hunter is possibly a bit too pretty and aryan for the role, but his performance isn't bad at all. now, the rest of the film.... forget it. boooring.
Rating: 
Summary: Jesus Christ Never Existed.
Review: 'Kings of Kings' is a famous film that a number of people know about or have seen. Most people fail to realize all of that doesn't matter because Jesus Christ never existed!! Jesus Chirst is a mythological figure the chruch has exploited for hundreds of years and now the film industry has for almost a hundred years. There is absolutely no archeological or historical evidence that he existed. Even if he did exist, it would be highly unlikely he would have received that kind of punishment.
It is a shame that a con artists like these filmmakers are using this mythological figure to make millions of dollars. People have to start swaying away from the chruch and its manipulations and start looking at the hard facts. Jesus Christ and the crucifixion never happened.
Rating:
Summary: The best one in its genre.
Review: I'm positive that a lot of people have turned back their gazes to former versions of Jesus's life and death in view of the huge acceptance of Mel Gibson's recent film. Revisiting some of the classic titles is a good exercise in hindsight. How things have changed? To the worse, to be sure. "King of Kings" is an excellent film, one of the best epics ever -alongside the also painfully underrated "The Fall of the Roman Empire"-. The film tells the story straightforwardly, mixing in it a little of historic and political speculation. It has a good rhythm, high visual artistry, admirable sets, genuine multitudes... Of course, Jesus is the wisest and most benevolent of men, and it is but right that he be also the most handsome of all: Jeffrey Hunter at his physical best and with bizarre -but culturally right- characterization. Miklos Rosza's score is precisely one of its major assets. I think that he hit the target when it came to produce grandiloquent but available music, apt to bring up a sense of the religious or the military, not forgetting some passages of a sweet beauty, like that one with the Wise men in Bethelem. The film treats Jesus as an all-out hero, on the terms set by his followers: he is a superman, compassionate, able of working miracles, godlike as God's son should be. He delivers his teachings unashamedly and boldly. We are spared ridiculous moments that could issue from clinging too close to the letter of the Gospels. Nicholas Ray is clever enough to offer tactfully the blind man's recovery of sight, the lame walking again, etc Most of the cast is ideally suited, although I find Hurd Hartfield too strained and joyless as Pilate. The battle scenes are amazing, and so are the initial images with Pompey breaking into the Sanctum of the Temple. Whatever your actual feelings about Christianity and Jesus be, you can go back happily to a world of certainties and security ("suspension of disbelief") with a fine work of arte like "King of Kings", very enjoyable. After all, and in the worst of cases, you'll get back your childhood's hero in style. And praise Samuel Bronston, the producer and the man behind half a dozen of the last and best epics from the sixties. He got the money and contributed much more than that. Gen. Franco, by the way, contributed the masses, since the film was shot in Spain and the Spanish Army was put at the team's disposal.
Rating:
Summary: YOU FUNDAMENTALISTS MAKE ME SICK
Review: I just got done watching my newly acquired dvd of KING OF KINGS.So I decided to go online to write a review.And like always I read other reviews as not to repeat what others have already said.To my shock and disgust I'm hit with one berating after another.READ THE NEXT SECTION LIKE A WHINEY FIRST GRADER: ("That didn't happen in the bible" "This didn't happen in the bible"I'm gonna tell!) That's what you fundamentally retarded people sound like.I can care less about SO CALLED SCRIPTURAL ACCURACIES.If that's so important to you watch your lame copy of JESUS W/Brian Deacon.Wow! badly portraying word for word what's in the bible. You're absolutely right! That is the way to go. Conveying a message and emotional connection are far more important to me.All 4 gospels total approximately 200 pages (give or take the size of the print).Hardly a dent in the life of a 33 year old man.I sure am glad you stopped the movie as not ruin your childrens' thinking. They'll make great document lawyers.I'm done with likes of you. NOW I WRITE TO THE TRUE CHRISTIANS,The ones that believe with their hearts, not a KING JAMES six gun.I bought this disc about a week ago.While (Jesus of Nazareth) is my favorite and (The Greatest Story Ever Told) is a close second,this movie has an untouchable magic of it's own.Sure they spent a little too much time on Barabbas,and Robert Ryan's portrayal of John the baptist is no better than a cold reading, as if he's seen the script for the first time.Or any thing else you want to nitpik about.But the score is wonderful and so many moments will force tears from your eyes,if you only relax yourself into movie.If you contemplate getting this DVD I strongly suggest that you do.The picture is remastered nicely and the sound is very fulfilling,bonus features;not much, total less than 10 minues.Even if you have a personal recording from TCM like I do. Get the disc.It offers you an even more panoramic view not shown on Turner Classic Movies.
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