King of Kings (1961)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Nicholas Ray

Writer:

Philip Yordan (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

30 October 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

A Story of The Christ. The Glory of His Spoken Words.

Plot:

The life of Jesus Christ.

Plot Keywords:

King | Judea | Jesus Christ | Healing | Overture

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Jeffrey Hunter	...	Jesus
Siobhan McKenna	...	Mary
Hurd Hatfield	...	Pontius Pilate
Ron Randell	...	Lucius
Viveca Lindfors	...	Claudia
Rita Gam	...	Herodias
Carmen Sevilla	...	Mary Magdalene
Brigid Bazlen	...	Salome
Harry Guardino	...	Barabbas
Rip Torn	...	Judas
Frank Thring	...	Herod Antipas
Guy Rolfe	...	Caiaphas
Royal Dano	...	Peter
Robert Ryan	...	John The Baptist
Edric Connor	...	Balthazar
Maurice Marsac	...	Nicodemus
Grégoire Aslan	...	Herod (as Gregoire Aslan)
George Coulouris	...	Camel Driver
Conrado San Martín	...	General Pompey
Gérard Tichy	...	Joseph (as Gerard Tichy)
Antonio Mayans	...	Young John (as José Antonio)
Luis Prendes	...	Good Thief
David Davies	...	Burly Man
José Nieto	...	Caspar
Rubén Rojo	...	Matthew (as Ruben Rojo)
Fernando Sancho	...	Madman
Michael Wager	...	Thomas
Félix de Pomés	...	Joseph of Arimathea (as Felix de Pomes)
Adriano Rimoldi	...	Melchior
Barry Keegan	...	Bad Thief
Rafael Luis Calvo	...	Simon of Cyrene
Tino Barrero	...	Andrew
Paco Morán	...	Blind Man (as Francisco Moran)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Naschy	...	Extra (uncredited)
Randy Paar	...	Extra in Palm Sunday Scene (uncredited)
Aldo Sambrell	...	Jewish Rebel (uncredited)
Orson Welles	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Nicholas Ray

Writing credits
Philip Yordan		(screenplay)
Ray Bradbury		(narration) uncredited

Produced by
Samuel Bronston	....	producer
Alan Brown	....	associate producer
Jaime Prades	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa		(as Miklos Rozsa)

Cinematography by
Manuel Berenguer		(director of photography)
Milton R. Krasner		(director of photography) (as Milton Krasner)
Franz Planer		(director of photography) (as Franz F. Planer)

Film Editing by
Harold F. Kress
Renée Lichtig		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Enrique Alarcón		(as Enrique Alarcon)

Costume Design by
Georges Wakhévitch		(as Georges Wakhevitch)

Makeup Department
Anna Cristofani	....	hair stylist
Charles E. Parker	....	makeup creator (as Charles Parker)
Mario Van Riel	....	makeup designer

Production Management
Stanley Goldsmith	....	general production manager
Tadeo Villalba	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Noël Howard	....	second unit director (as Noel Howard)
Carlo Lastricati	....	assistant director
José López Rodero	....	assistant director (as José Lopez Rodero)
José María Ochoa	....	assistant director (as José Maria Ochoa)
Sumner Williams	....	second unit director
Julio Sempere	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Stanley Detlie	....	master of properties
Georges Wakhévitch	....	set designer (as Georges Wakhevitch)
Benjamín Fernández	....	storyboard artist (uncredited)
Julián Martín	....	painter (uncredited)
Vicente Sempere Sempere	....	assistant set decorator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Basil Fenton-Smith	....	sound recordist (as Basil Fenton Smith)
Franklin Milton	....	recording supervisor

Special Effects by
Lee LeBlanc	....	special photographic effects
Alex Weldon	....	special effects (as Alex C. Weldon)

Camera and Electrical Department
Norton Kurland	....	supervising electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eric Seelig	....	costume supervisor

Music Department
Eugene Zador	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Carl Gibson	....	supervising technician
Maciek Piotrowski	....	murals
Betty Utey	....	choreographer: Salome's dance
Agnes Moorehead	....	dialogue coach (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Samuel Bronston Productions

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1961) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1961) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1961) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Neue Visionen Filmverleih (????) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violent content. (2004 re-issue)

Runtime:

168 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) | Mono (35 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #19712) | West Germany:6 | South Korea:All | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (2004)

Filming Locations:

Chinchón, Madrid, Spain

Company:

Samuel Bronston Productions

Trivia:

The crucifixion scene had to be re-shot because a preview audience was offended at Jesus having a hairy chest.

Goofs:

Continuity: Two boys arrive running when Jesus is healing a paralyzed man and then change places several times between shots.

Quotes:

John the Baptist: [to Herodias] Woman, is not your cup of abominations full enough?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Maynila: Sa mga kuko ng liwanag (1975)

A Classic!

Growing up as a young boy in the early 1970's and attending catholic school you weren't assured of many things but you could always count on your Mom making sure that at Easter and Christmas time you were parked in front of the television watching "King Of Kings" in two parts on channel 7's "4:30 Movie"! Now in my late 30's I own a copy of this film on video and watch it much in the same manner with my young daughter who is so eager to learn about the life of Jesus Christ. I'm no religious fanatic but I am as good a catholic as I can be and must say that this is one of my all time favorite movies and certainly THE classic among all biblical epics! The photography is gorgeous, the direction tight and often seamless and the musical score will raise goosebumps on the most hardened person. Clocking in at 3 hours the film not only details the life of Christ but also focuses on Roman rule and it's politics as well as the turmoil of Judas and the radicalism of Barabbas among other things. Directed by Nicholas Rey, the unusual cast does it's best led by Jeffrey Hunter as Christ and including veteran actor Robert Ryan as John The Baptist. Most of the rest of the cast seems to have their dialogue dubbed in but I am not sure that is the case, though that is the way it appears. There are many emotional highlights in the film such as Johns first meeting with Christ at his baptism. No words are spoken between the two but the intercutting camera work of both mens eyes as they stare at each other with that wonderful background music puts a smile on your face before you even realize it. Other scenes of note include the healing of the paralyzed boy who emerges from his bed and walks towards the door which is bathed in bright sunlight. Also powerful is Christ calming the raving mad man by simply holding him in his arms and staring into his eyes. There are many wonderful scenes throughout the epic film and of note is the "battle" scene between Barabbas and his followers and the Roman army whcih for 1961 comes off quite violently. There are also some vital scenes that are not in the movie which may leave you with an "empty" feeling. Scenes that should have been included I feel are Christ calming the raging sea and walking on water and the incident where just before he is arrested an apostle lops off the ear of a roman soldier to whcih Christ picks up the ear and repairs it. This would have made the film even more powerful. Overall this is a wonderful, uplifting movie that is truly a classic of it's genre. And then of course there is Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus Christ. Though his performance is a bit understated, he does fine and gave many of us baby boomers the ultimate "image" of Christ with his handsome features, long hair and the incredible, piercing blue eyes. for many of us, we were convinced that when we went to heaven, Hunter would be there with a white robe and arms outstretched. See this wonderful film or better yet, share it with your family and young ones and help pass on a wonderful tradition.