The King of Kings - Criterion Collection

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant DeMille - A Silent Block Buster...
Review: The King of Kings could and should be enjoyed by all audience members as it should not matter whether the audience is composed of believers, agnostics, or atheists. The film has a global perspective, in sense, of religion, politics, economy, social responsibility, kindness, and existential philosophy, as it projects mankind's right to make daily decisions without influence by some greater power. It is the choice of each person which the tale of Jesus represents as he offers everyone the opportunity to choose the light, which is a righteous path despite religious affiliation. Nonetheless, the film emphasizes, as expected, Christianity as Jesus is the prophet that is spreading the values that come with the Christian faith.

On its premier in May 1927, the King of Kings could be compared to today's biggest blockbusters, while it attracted a larger audience than most films as some 50000 people were present just to catch a glimpse of the celebrated cast of the film. The day after the premier the official release packed theaters to the limit as they allowed as many standing spots as the fire department would allow. That is right, standing spots, just imaging to stand for two and half hours while viewing this epic film as it offered a silent cinematic experience. Nonetheless, the film was accompanied by an orchestra that provided an auditory enhancement to the film while the images were moving on the silver screen.

The story needs no introduction, however, the King of Kings begins with Mary Magdalena (Jacqueline Logan) displaying her sinful lifestyle as she awaits her beloved. When she finds out that he has abandoned her to follow Jesus (H.B. Warner) in anger she decides to visit the carpenter that she has heard so much about as he has cured blind, healed lame, and walked upon water. When Mary Magdalena finally meets Jesus he purges her from the demons of the seven deadly sins. This is the beginning of the Jesus' story which follows his set path to repent for the sins of humanity on the cross with his hands and feet impaled with nails.

The silence of the film provides much room for thought as visual interpretation of each scene is saturated in grand performances and detailed mise-en-scene. The performances by the actors display meticulous details that emphasize the goodness of Jesus Christ and nature of all other characters. The audience should pay extra attention to the movement and behavior of the characters in regards to the social setting in which they are located while viewing the film. These movements are on occasion large and dynamic as they help convey the larger message to the audience, yet some movements among the characters are seemingly insignificant and minute. However, it is these small movements that brings out the virtuous and compassionate nature of Jesus as it also presents the disposition of the other characters. For example, whenever Jesus shakes hands or touches someone he does it in a caring manner which is displayed through his full embrace of the handshake as he grabs the hand while letting the other hand gently hold onto the wrist. These small details emphasize the goodness and willingness of him to help people choose the right path.

The director Cecil B. DeMille created an epic film that left the world with one of the grandest silent films ever made. The film was also technically superior when it was released as the introduction and epilogue were colored and there was use of superimposed imagery, which was used when Mary Magdalena's demons were exorcised. Cleverly Demille incorporated the written passages out of the Bible's New Testament, which improves the audience's understanding for what is being depicted. The recent film, Passion of the Christ (2004), seems to have used large portions of this film in order to convey a similar message, but it fell short to DeMille's creation as his film has the power to withstand time.

CRITERION - provides this brilliant film with two different releases, the 155-minute version and the 112-minute version. There are also numerous extra material such as telegrams, photos, and much more for the audience to muse over as Criterion offers a truly excellent release of the King of Kings.

Rating:
Summary: Cecil B. DeMille's Favorite Film..
Review: THE KING OF KINGS is a remarkable film. I don't think that I 've ever seen a more reverent version (sound or silent) of the life of Jesus. It stands out among other biblical epics in that it strives not just for a retelling of events but for a recasting of them into myth. DeMille captures the essence of Christ and those around him with sincere performances coupled with soft focus photography and 19th century lighting. There are many memorable sequences scattered throughout the film. The casting out of the seven deadly sins from Mary Magdalene is one and the raising of Lazarus from the dead is another. The crucifiction scene is impressive even by today's standards with lighting in the style of Gustave Dore' and a massive earthquake sequence. There are some outlandish moments as well (it is DeMille after all) especially Mary Magdalene (as Judas' lover!) arriving to confront Jesus in a chariot driven by zebras. At 50 H.B. Warner should be too old to portray Christ but it is his age that lends a sense of gravity to the role. He has wonderfully expressive eyes which help to convey the inner spirituality of Jesus. Ernest Torrance as Peter strikes just the right balance between great strength and childlike simplicity. It's also interesting to see Rudolf and Joseph Schildkraut (real life father and son) portray Caiaphas and Judas. Watch for their scenes together. DeMille took great pains to avoid charges of anti-semitism by adding a prologue and having Caiaphas take the blame for Christ's death upon himself. The restored 155 minute road show version is superb with the two technicolor scenes that bookend the movie looking great. There are important scenes missing from the general release version so it's great to have them both available so you can make the comparison. Thanks to Criterion for making this important film available once again. You don't have to be religious to enjoy THE KING OF KINGS. It stands on its own merit as one of the greatest movies of the silent era. It was also Cecil B. DeMille's favorite among all his films.

Rating:
Summary: The Demille Epic
Review: This was the first silent film that I saw in its entire form. The 1927 King Of Kings, directed by Cecil B. Demille. As with D.W Griffth, Charlie Chaplin, and Greta Garbo, he is right up their amoung silent icons. This movie, starring H.B. Warner as Jesus is a truely a jewel of a film. Everyone knows the story, but it is told very well here. Demille knew his bible films, like Ten Commandments(1924,1956) Samson And Delilah and this movie, The King Of Kings. The film maybe dated a tiny bit, but can the story of Jesus be dated. I love Jesus movies, like Jesus Of Nazareth, The Greatest Story Ever Told. The 1961 King of Kings, and the musicals Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell. And the story of Christ was also tackled in the 1916 D.W Griffth classic Intolerence. But this film is broughhow much t out in much better detail. The special effects are amazing for 1927, the crucifixion scene is astondishing,and a scene in color, which is the resurrection scene.The cast of characters is also amazing. In our era of movies, if you need a big scene, a will have only 100 people, and CGI the other tens of thousands. Since there was no CGI back in 1927, or computers for that matter, they directors like Demillie and Griffth had to actually get thousands of extras for there scenes in these epics. I know people think silents are boring but for an 18 year old, they are a gateway to the past. Without those groundbreaking films, no one would care about movies. Those early silents were the catalyst for what would become. I would recommend this film. This movie is a true classic, no matter what religion you are.

Rating:
Summary: Unexpectedly moving.
Review: Uh...wow...not really a religious type of person, and it's not like we've HEARD this story before you know...
...but I found myself incredibly moved.
Heck, I'm not really particularly a silent movie buff, although I know that's not a popular thing to say amongst "real" critics.
But I think the combination of the silence, with the black and white footage, and an actor playing Jesus who pretty much looks like every single image I grew up with (lapsed Catholic) made it feel pseudo-documentary-ish. Kind of an odd feeling to be honest.
There for me to see, with what I perceived as authenticity, were people like Mary, Peter, Judas...all fairly clearly defined.
The movie is nicely paced...I'm talking about the long road show version here...and I wasn't ever really bored. Hypnotized, actually.
It's quite spiritual, and by the end, I felt like I was exposed to a beautiful presentation of the end of Christ's life.
You can read the more eloquent and educated reviews below; I just thought this was a really really good film, and I enjoyed it more than someone with more modern sensibilities would have expected.