When any kind of religious, Christian-based movie came out back in the late 50s to the early 60s, my mother would take my three sisters and me to the theater to see it. That would include, among others, Ben Hur and of course King of Kings. My mom was not overly religious. But she figured that a little religion wouldn't do any of us any harm. When King of Kings hit the theaters in 1961, I was 10 years old. I know that it was at least a half decent movie because for more than a week after seeing it I did not cuss and on Sunday, I willingly went to church. Of course, in due time the effects of the movie wore-off and I went back to my old ways.
Of all the movies that feature Jesus, King of Kings' Jesus is easily the most handsome. Played by Jeffrey Hunter with white teeth, longish hair, a trimmed beard and deep blue eyes, he looked like some stylish, 1960s California hippie. The performances, including Hunter's, are all pretty good but except for some fighting scenes, everything seems to be going in slow motion, at least a little. A lot of the dialogue is spoken in a gentle, pensive manner. Since the story is actually complicated, the film has periods of narration to let the viewer know who is doing what, and why they are doing it.
King of Kings was supposedly filmed on a tight budget, but you can't tell. The sets look pretty realistic, and they did not skimp on the size of the cast. There were a lot of extras. Anyway, looking back at what I have just written, there are no spoilers, but I think we all know how the story ends, right?
Of all the movies that feature Jesus, King of Kings' Jesus is easily the most handsome. Played by Jeffrey Hunter with white teeth, longish hair, a trimmed beard and deep blue eyes, he looked like some stylish, 1960s California hippie. The performances, including Hunter's, are all pretty good but except for some fighting scenes, everything seems to be going in slow motion, at least a little. A lot of the dialogue is spoken in a gentle, pensive manner. Since the story is actually complicated, the film has periods of narration to let the viewer know who is doing what, and why they are doing it.
King of Kings was supposedly filmed on a tight budget, but you can't tell. The sets look pretty realistic, and they did not skimp on the size of the cast. There were a lot of extras. Anyway, looking back at what I have just written, there are no spoilers, but I think we all know how the story ends, right?