King of Kings (1961)
Country: US
Technical: Super Technirama 161m
Director: Nicholas Ray
Cast: Jeffrey Hunter, Robert Ryan, Siobhan McKenna, Hurd Hatfield, Rita Gam, Frank Thring, Rip Torn
Synopsis:
The lives of the Christ, Barabbas and John the Baptist are intertwined and envisioned as three very different choices of path to freedom.
Review:
Handsome Bronston production with an historical angle on events, giving some sense of context to those dealt with in the gospels, whose verses are plentifully quoted by Philip Yordan's screenplay. There is some of the ponderousness and overt reverence peculiar to Hollywood films of the type, but generally this is a far more dynamic narrative than that of Stevens's version, with fabulously rich production detail picked out by the extremely artful cinematography, itself favouring dramatic compositions over the solemn artiness of the 1965 film. Rozsa provides wall to wall awe and passion and Ray uses the widescreen format to create some superb extreme depth-of-field two-shots amid the more journeyman stand-back-and-watch tableaux. In many ways this is the most satisfying commitment of the Passion to celluloid, even if it does take some dramatic liberties with the gospels and present an almost eroticized Jeffrey Hunter as the Christ.
Country: US
Technical: Super Technirama 161m
Director: Nicholas Ray
Cast: Jeffrey Hunter, Robert Ryan, Siobhan McKenna, Hurd Hatfield, Rita Gam, Frank Thring, Rip Torn
Synopsis:
The lives of the Christ, Barabbas and John the Baptist are intertwined and envisioned as three very different choices of path to freedom.
Review:
Handsome Bronston production with an historical angle on events, giving some sense of context to those dealt with in the gospels, whose verses are plentifully quoted by Philip Yordan's screenplay. There is some of the ponderousness and overt reverence peculiar to Hollywood films of the type, but generally this is a far more dynamic narrative than that of Stevens's version, with fabulously rich production detail picked out by the extremely artful cinematography, itself favouring dramatic compositions over the solemn artiness of the 1965 film. Rozsa provides wall to wall awe and passion and Ray uses the widescreen format to create some superb extreme depth-of-field two-shots amid the more journeyman stand-back-and-watch tableaux. In many ways this is the most satisfying commitment of the Passion to celluloid, even if it does take some dramatic liberties with the gospels and present an almost eroticized Jeffrey Hunter as the Christ.
Country: US
Technical: Super Technirama 161m
Director: Nicholas Ray
Cast: Jeffrey Hunter, Robert Ryan, Siobhan McKenna, Hurd Hatfield, Rita Gam, Frank Thring, Rip Torn
Synopsis:
The lives of the Christ, Barabbas and John the Baptist are intertwined and envisioned as three very different choices of path to freedom.
Review:
Handsome Bronston production with an historical angle on events, giving some sense of context to those dealt with in the gospels, whose verses are plentifully quoted by Philip Yordan's screenplay. There is some of the ponderousness and overt reverence peculiar to Hollywood films of the type, but generally this is a far more dynamic narrative than that of Stevens's version, with fabulously rich production detail picked out by the extremely artful cinematography, itself favouring dramatic compositions over the solemn artiness of the 1965 film. Rozsa provides wall to wall awe and passion and Ray uses the widescreen format to create some superb extreme depth-of-field two-shots amid the more journeyman stand-back-and-watch tableaux. In many ways this is the most satisfying commitment of the Passion to celluloid, even if it does take some dramatic liberties with the gospels and present an almost eroticized Jeffrey Hunter as the Christ.