Rating: 
Summary: Finally, the silent Biblical masterpiece available on DVD!
Review: "The King of Kings," Cecil B. DeMille's 1927 silent classic, is one of the greatest Biblical films from the man who has become Hollywood's master of the Biblical epic. And now Criterion has finally brought "The King of Kings" to the DVD market with this 2-disc set. Disc One contains the original 1927 release of the film, complete with a new, restored high-definition digital transfer and a new score composed by Donald Sosin. Disc Two features the shorter version of the film released in 1928 with a new restored digital transfer and two scores, including Hugo Riesenfeld's original score, and a new score composed by organist Timothy J. Tikker. "The King of Kings" is one of the greatest screen representations of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. This film is well-written and directed. Many of the film's cast turn in outstanding performances here, including H.B. Warner as Jesus, Jacqueline Logan as Mary Magdalene, Victor Varconi as Pontius Pilate and Ernest Torrance as Simon Peter. "The King of Kings" is not just a great Biblical epic, it's one of the greatest movies of the silent era, and I'm glad to see this masterpiece finally available on DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Jesus Christ Never Existed.
Review: 'King of Kings' made in 1927 is a famous film some people have seen or at least heard about. Most people fail to realize all of that doesn't matter because Jesus Christ never existed!! Jesus Christ is a mythological figure the church 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 Jesus Christ existed. Even if he did exist, it would be highly unlikely he would have received that kind of punishment.
It is a shame that con artists like these filmmakers are using this mythological figure to make millions of dollars. People have to start swaying away from the manipulations of the church and the filmmaking industry and start looking at the hard facts. Jesus Christ and his crucifixion never happened.
Rating: 
Summary: Simple, Reverent, and Memorable
Review: Cecil B. DeMille never overestimated public taste, and his films tend to be overblown to the point of garish vulgarity. True to form, he splashes his 1927 silent film of the life of Christ with sex and violence, and he never misses an opportunity to emphasize the obvious. But KING OF KINGS has a simplicity and reverence that transcends DeMille's tendency to overt display, and it is to my mind the finest of his silent films.This is not a "line for line" translation of the scripture to the screen, and DeMille makes no effort to turn the Gospels--which occasionally disagree with each other re sequence and detail--into the seamless story typically found in later films about Christ. Instead, the film moves in episodic manner, highlighting various events in the life of Christ: the woman taken in adultery, driving the money changers from the temple, the last supper, the betrayal, the encounter with Pilate, and ultimately the crucifixion. As is typical of the era, there is not a single member of the cast that looks distinctly Middle Eastern; indeed H.B. Warner, who plays Christ, is very blonde. Interestingly, though, the film falls all over itself to avoid even the barest hint of anti-Semitism, placing blame for Christ's crucifixion squarely on the shoulders of high priest Caiaphas, who is carefully shown to be intolerably corrupt. While this is not precisely scriptural, I personally found it a breath of fresh air in the wake of the rather problematic THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. While some of the performances are excessively broad, on the whole they are within the boundaries of what was considered realistic in the silent era, and some of them are quite fine. H.B. Warner has a quiet elegance; the actor who plays Pilate gives what I consider a definitive performance of the role, easily surpassing later sound-film interpretations; and the actress playing an improbably scripted Mary Magdalene (who would have thought she was having an affair with Judas and had a chariot drawn by zebras?) is also extremely memorable. Is this a truly great film, a film for the ages, the perfect cinematic vision of the last days of Christ? No. DeMille takes far too many liberties with the material. But in watching it, you sense that every one involved had good intentions in making the film; it was not intended to stir controversy, but to provide a vision of Christ that is at once reverent, human, and Godly. And that is perhaps more than other filmmakers have accomplished to date. GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Rating:
Summary: a silent classic
Review: Cecil B. DeMille stated that "King of Kings" was his most important film, and it is a remarkable work that continues to have a world-wide impact. Because it is a silent film, it is used to this day by missionaries, and 77 years after its release, is still one of the best religious films available.
The cinematography by J. Pervell Marlay is excellent and it has marvelous effects, including the casting out of seven demons from Mary Magdalene in multiple images, and the earthquake after the crucifixion is astonishing; one has to wonder how they managed such brilliant effects with the limited technology of the time.
The scene where Jesus is asked to judge a woman caught in adultery (John 8:3-11) has a nice twist to it, in that what Jesus writes on the ground are the sins of the people ready to stone her. It is effective and good use of imaginitive filmmaking. The cast:
H.B. Warner is a very nordic, stoic Jesus, blond with light blue eyes, often in a pose like that of traditional inspirational art, or the dashboard plastic Jesus of days gone by. Joseph Schildkraut (one of his last films was as Nicodemus in 1965's "The Greatest Story Ever Told", but is most often remembered as the father in the 1959 "Diary of Anne Frank") is a handsome bejewelled Judas, Ernest Torrance is wonderful as Peter, and Mickey Moore is a charming child actor as a young Mark (the future Gospel writer). Mary Magdalene (Jaqueline Logan) is shown as a wealthy courtesan, with zebras instead of horses to draw her carriage, living an empty life in a lavish environment, until she meets Jesus. It has a few comparisons to Mel Gibson's recent "The Passion", in that they both received a furor of negative press upon release, both being accused of bigotry (which I believe to be a baseless claim for either film), and because DeMille's is silent with dialogue cards, and Gibson's in Aramaic/Latin with subtitles, one is sometimes reading directly from the Bible; in the case of this film, the scripture is sometimes out of sequence, often including verses from diverse sections in a single scene. Also, a memorable image they share that I do not recall from any other film is the crow on the bad thief's cross.
The end sequence is subtly colorized in parts, making the resurrection full of light with a pastel sunrise. Total running time one hour and 55 minutes.
Rating:
Summary: a silent classic
Review: Cecil B. DeMille stated that "King of Kings" was his most important film, and it is a remarkable work that continues to have a world-wide impact. Because it is a silent film, it is used to this day by missionaries, and 77 years after its release, is still one of the best religious films available.
The cinematography by J. Pervell Marlay is excellent and it has marvelous effects, including the casting out of seven demons from Mary Magdalene in multiple images, and the earthquake after the crucifixion is astonishing; one has to wonder how they managed such brilliant effects with the limited technology of the time.
The scene where Jesus is asked to judge a woman caught in adultery (John 8:3-11) has a nice twist to it, in that what Jesus writes on the ground are the sins of the people ready to stone her. It is effective and good use of imaginitive filmmaking. The cast:
H.B. Warner is a very nordic, stoic Jesus, blond with light blue eyes, often in a pose like that of traditional inspirational art, or the dashboard plastic Jesus of days gone by. Joseph Schildkraut (one of his last films was as Nicodemus in 1965's "The Greatest Story Ever Told", but is most often remembered as the father in the 1959 "Diary of Anne Frank") is a handsome bejewelled Judas, Ernest Torrance is wonderful as Peter, and Mickey Moore is a charming child actor as a young Mark (the future Gospel writer). Mary Magdalene (Jaqueline Logan) is shown as a wealthy courtesan, with zebras instead of horses to draw her carriage, living an empty life in a lavish environment, until she meets Jesus. It has a few comparisons to Mel Gibson's recent "The Passion", in that they both received a furor of negative press upon release, both being accused of bigotry (which I believe to be a baseless claim for either film), and because DeMille's is silent with dialogue cards, and Gibson's in Aramaic/Latin with subtitles, one is sometimes reading directly from the Bible; in the case of this film, the scripture is sometimes out of sequence, often including verses from diverse sections in a single scene. Also, a memorable image they share that I do not recall from any other film is the crow on the bad thief's cross.
The end sequence is subtly colorized in parts, making the resurrection full of light with a pastel sunrise. Total running time one hour and 55 minutes.
Rating:
Summary: CRITERION DVD IS MARVELOUS!
Review: Having just seen an advance copy of the two disc DVD set of Criterions release for Cecil B. DeMille's 1927 THE KING OF KINGS, I can tell you that you don't know just how great this film is until you have seen the uncut 155-minute roadshow version as first shown at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in LA and the Gaiety Theatre in New York.
Running 37-minutes longer then the fine 1928 shorter version (also included in this set with the original Hugo Riesenfeld score and sound effects as released in 1928, and an excellent newly recorded pipe organ score by Timothy J. Tikker), this is a marvel to experience! Beautifully preserved by the DeMille family, it has been transferred complete with two Technicolor sequences (rather then just one as we are used to seeing), and it has an outstanding orchestra score by Donald Sosin, that adds a new dimension to the film.
THE KING OF KINGS in its longer version is a far greater film then it ever was in its shorter form. This is easily the finest rendering of the Life of Christ ever put on film. A reviewer for The Saturday Evening Post (1927) correctly stated that:
"DeMille has achieved a masterpiece...a picture that is worth more than all the sermons ever preached. It is Spirit, on the screen."
The Criterion Collection DVD release includes 2-versions of the film with three music tracks, a wealth of "Extras", including almost 15 minutes of wonderful behind-the-scenes on the set footage, reproductions of press books, the theatrical program, a trailer for the NY run of the film, stills, sketches, and a booklet.
This is the finest DVD to date on a silent classic, even surpassing Fox's excellent job on F.W. Murnau's SUNRISE. This is a MUST HAVE DVD!
Rating:
Summary: A MAGNIFICENT DVD TRANSFER ( I LOVE & COLLECT SILENT FILMS )
Review: I first saw this film my in teens, and it was a sepia print. I thought then that the film was stodgy and moved very slowly, but it was a worthwile and important film to see. Later I had a dreadful B/W video, which was all fuzzy and faded. Then I had the Kino VHS, which was a clearer print and had the 2-strip Technicolour sequences which bookend the film. NOW I have this magnificent Criterion 2 - DVD set and am just overjoyed. The transfer is clear and crisp, and the Technicolour sequences gleam and glisten. Because I could see more, I found the film to be increasingly enjoyable. The lighting and the mood settings are very effective. The spectacular Cecil B DeMille epic trademark effects are staggering. No matter what you think of the subject matter, Criterion have now emphasised KING OF KING's historical importance in American Cinema, as well as providing a clear viewing of a film that is thoughtful, reverential, entertaining, moving, instructive & enjoyable. The extras are informative and historically fascinating. I almost felt I was back in 1927 ! I can only hope that Criterion will be able to gain copywright of Cecil B DeMille's other religious silent epic: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, as well as restoring and presnting on DVD other major silent films: Greed; The Big Parade; Flesh & the Devil; Wings; Ben Hur etc, etc. Thank you Criterion. Another fine DVD job, well done.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Remarkable!
Review: I hadn't seen this movie since I was a little girl; then, I saw on my way to a church hall party that the film was going to be shown later in the church that very night with live organ accompaniment. Well, I left the party early to see "King of Kings" and that was no mistake! HB Warner turns in a sensitive performance as Christ, one of the best I've seen. His Jesus is gentle without being weak, which so often happens in other films. There's also a very talented child actor playing the part of a young evangelist Luke, who is healed of his lameness by Christ. For me, the most effective special effect sequence was in the beginning, when Mary Magdalene barges in on Christ and his followers. She is a brazen hussy driving a zebra-drawn chariot and is determined to give Christ a hard time for stealing away Judas, her apparant boyfriend. Then, as Christ merely looks at her, she undergoes a transformation as she is cleansed of the Seven Deadly Sins before our eyes. The appearance of each sin as it is drawn from her body is astounding. From that moment on, I was hooked! If you would like to see an excellent version of the Christ story, look no further than this silent masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: The Silent Movie Version of The King Of Kings!
Review: I have this movie on video. It is the 1927 silent movie The King of Kings and was directed by famous film director Cecil B. Demille. I first saw this movie on Turner Classic Movies and at first I was taken aback by all of the heavy theatrical makeup that was used on some of the actors, a look that was very popular at the time (Yes I know it was a black and white movie but you could still see that some of the actors had a lot of make up on especially the actress who played Mary Magdalene) and I thought that the actor who played Jesus looked a lot older then the 33 years old that they say Jesus was at the time but after awhile you get past those things and the story of Jesus really shines through and the actor who played Jesus really gave a moving, inspirational performance and I very highly recommend this movie for his portrayal. Has this version been put out on DVD yet? If not it really should be transferred to DVD! The only negetive thing about this movie is the bizarre and overly theatrical depiction of Mary Magdalene and her riding in on a carriage driven by zebras and I almost gave up on the movie because of that but the scenes with the actor playing Jesus made up for that! BTW: This movie is mostly in black and white but has one color scene. There is a remake of this movie from 1961 that I also have on tape and that is a good movie too and I recommend both movies! Update: October 30, 2004: I just found out today on Amazon.com that this movie is coming out on DVD on December 7, 2004.
Rating:
Summary: The best film on the Christ to date!
Review: Moving and inspiring, THE KING OF KINGS by DeMille has never been surpassed for its reverent treatment of the life of the Christ. H.B. Warner gives an impressive portrayal of Jesus that is not lost among the towering sets and mob scenes. This film version remains outstanding despite the lack of sound and color. One can only wish that DeMille had lived long enough to remake this movie with all the advances in cinematic science that we have today. Nevertheless, viewing his KING OF KINGS is still a devout experience. A must-see film for all movie buffs!
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