Cheap The King of Kings - Criterion Collection (DVD) (Cecil B. DeMille) Price

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Customer Reviews of The King of Kings - Criterion Collection

a silent classic
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.

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The King of Kings was a cinematic tour de force
When I think about this movie, I have to remember to place myself back in 1927 - the last year in which all movies were made in a silent format. To see the life of Christ depicted in such a visually rich format, despite the limited technical resources available to a movie director like DeMille, was truly inspiring. What I liked the most was the end of the movie (and who doesn't like the end of the story of Jesus:), but I mean this from a cinematic point of view. Do not read any further if you don't want to, because I will reveal the DeMille genius. The last scene in black and white has the Apostles taking the Body of Jesus down the pathway and into the tomb. They then roll the stone in front and depart. The screen remains black for what feels like an "eternity". I am sure the people who originally saw the movie in a theater must have been nervous, with the only sound being the movie projector rolling above them. Then, the scene changes to reveal Easter Sunday morning, and the rest of the movie appeared in color, as if the whole world had changed for the better, thanks to the Resurrection. It is visually stunning, and worth watching the whole movie just for that. All in all, an excellent film, and one that gives classic movie buffs like myself great pleasure.

Rev. Mark Moretti

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Jesus Christ Never Existed.
'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.