One of my all time favorites.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

As Good As It Gets

Admirable film.

Jesus Christ (H. B. Warner) faces religious and political oppression during his ministry and in the days before his death and resurrection.While this was not the first telling of the Jesus story on film, it was probably the first epic telling, or at least the first really good epic telling. The film is now 90 years old but could still be shown in theaters today and appreciated by audiences, whether they happen to be Christian or not. It is just fine film-making.The film is the second in Cecil DeMille's biblical trilogy, preceded by "The Ten Commandments" (1923) and followed by "The Sign of the Cross" (1932). Perhaps more people should be watching these films than the far more popular Charlton Heston version.

ONCE AGAIN, RANTING about a topic in film that is one about which that we feel very strongly' brings us to our feet and 'up to the podium'. The subject is that of films of the silent screen form. While having been relegated to a position of being either 'old hat' or passé; there are many among us who never have lost their connection with the silent screen, but also have a deep love for the form. Some would go so far as to suggest their superiority and view them as being the Cinema at its purest form.WE WOULD PROBABLY agree with about 75% of this and still spend a great deal of our time in film study (glorified 'Movie Watchin')with some of these "Olde Time Movies". The form demands a state of non interruption and of minimal distraction. One surely cannot be doing a crossword puzzle, paying your bills on-line, reading the daily newspaper or participating in a Board game of Risk, Parchesi or Monopoly; while at the same time as viewing an old Classic of the Silent Screen. The venerable, dialog free, title card ridden form is just too demanding on one's attention.AS FOR TODAY'S subject matter, Cecil B. DeMille's THE KING OF KINGS (DeMille Pictures Corporation/Pathe Exchange, 1927), it does likewise hold sway over one's concentration; but it is done in such a manner as to make us willing mind slaves. The story, cast and the film, archaic as its style may be, convinces our senses to surrender to it willingly with our personal gratitude. That is the power of this true work of art.FACTUALLY AND BIBLE based as this story is, and few will dispute that these events did occur and this is therefore mostly historically correct. Any difference of opinion concerning the Passion, Crusifixion and Glorious Ressurrection are matter to be left to each one's own religious traditions and upbringing.AS TO THE story, other than the 4 Gospels, Director,Mr. DeMille and his production crew start off with some contrivance in the scenario concerning Mary Magdalene (Jacqueline Logan); who we truly no very little about. In this Scenario, Magdalene is a courtesan** with wealth and many friends in high places in the Roman dominated Puppet Government and a "Girlfriend" of Judas Iscariot.THIS SETS US up with a good story foundation; as Mr. DeMille proceeds to focus the action on that short period of time in which Jesus enters Jerusalem triumphantly, greeted as a hero and the time he is dishonestly condemned to death on the cross.ALL OF THE events between those above mentioned happenings are portrayed and chronicled as they are in the New Testament narratives. A fine touch is the use of scriptural quotations, line and verse,with the particular quote being attributed to one of the Four Gospels and their authors; being either Matthew, Marl, Luke or John.THE CAST MEMBERS would be largely unfamiliar to most any viewer in our now nearly 2010 Anno Domini. 0ther than the above mentioned Jacqueline Logan (Mary Magadelene), we have Jesus the Christ (H.B. Warner-probably known best as Mr. Gower, the Druggist in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, Dorothy Cumming (the Blessed Mother, Mary), Ernest Torrence (St. Peter), Montagu Love (the Roman Centurian at the Crucifixion), William Boyd (that's the future Hopalong Cassidy as Simon of Cyrene!)and versatile beefcake exponent Noble Johnson (Chariot Driver).MAKING IT A SORT of family affair, a young, handsome, matinée idol-type Joseph Schilkraut is prominent (in the pivotal role of Judas Iscariot); while his Father, Rudolph Shilkraut is cast in an equally important part (the Roman appointed High Priest of Israel,Joseph Caiaphas).THE RESTORED DIGITAL print that we watched a week or so ago, is so strikingly beautiful in its mostly black & white scenes, that it would seem to be quite enough; with its clean, archival appearance,one's subconscious is surely fooled into thinking it is witnessing the actual events. Then, to top it all off, the Movie has about a full half-dozen scenes that were originally shot in an early, two strip Technicolor. These newly restored sequences are truly breathtaking to behold.WHEN ONE ADDS the innate, dream-like quality of the Silent Film, with the lack of human voice and the vibrant and emphatic incidental music, you may believe deep down that you HAD actually viewed these events of nearly 2000 years ago! THERE SHOULD BE a DVD or VHS Copy of this in every Christian Home.NOTE * A 'Courtesan' is defined as prostitute with a courtly, wealthy or upper class clientèle; kind of like a modern day political bimbo or Rock Band groupie.

Cecil B. DeMille was a director remembered for a great many things. He was a perfectionist, he was strict, he filled his motion pictures with authenticity and spectacle, he worked on enormous sets, he controlled his cast and crew with meticulous planning and conditions, and he is most certainly remembered along with his masterpieces, such as this glorious piece of craftsmanship from 1927. "The King of Kings", another one of DeMille's biblical epics, this one from the silent era, tells the famous story of Jesus of Nazareth, starting from his emergence into fame throughout the land, to his crucifixion, and ultimately to his resurrection from the dead in what is possibly, even now, eighty-two years later, the most wonderful film adaptation ever.Cecil B. DeMille regarded "The King of Kings" as one of his greatest achievements and I can easily understand why. If I myself created a film as magnificent as this, I would be proud of myself. "The King of Kings" is one of the greatest, if not THE greatest silent film ever made. Even at a length of nearly three hours (which was almost unheard of during the silent era), it rarely slows down and even when it does, it doesn't stay there for long. Again, there is DeMille's long takes, but it is so full of spectacle and wonder and power that one cannot help but keep their eyes locked upon the screen.What I really admired about "The King of Kings" is not only is the fact that it is a fairly accurate telling of the story of Jesus, but that it creates a sense of spectacle and wonder about God and His son. Jesus is not even seen until nearly thirty minutes into the film and uses the previous half-hour to develop his character with word of mouth from the other characters and when we do see him (as he performs one of God's miracles) and we see him emerge, it's as though we were really there, those centuries ago, when he walked the earth because we are absorbed by the majesty and understand what people at the time must have felt standing in his presence. DeMille uses wonderful cinematic tricks and special effects that even today boggle our minds with how they could have been done under so primitive of conditions, and creates a sense of awe about the power of God, the gracefulness of Jesus Christ, and the sorrow that plagued the hearts of his followers when the Romans nailed him onto the cross, subjecting him to several hours of unimaginable torture and suffering.Not only is "The King of Kings" a film full of substance, but it also has a tremendous amount of style, which is a given since it was directed by DeMille. Like with both of his versions of the Ten Commandments (one made in 1923 and the other, more famous one in 1956), DeMille uses life-sized sets of extraordinary detail to give presence to this gone world he's recreating. DeMille was a persnickety director; he paid attention to the smallest, inconceivable details, for it meant a lot to him in the impact of his films. And when we see these temples and palaces and villages and the people in them, it's like we're looking into the past itself.According to Robert Osbourne of Turner Classic Movies, it's estimated that over a billion people have seen Cecil B. DeMille's "The King of Kings" and the fact that it's often regarded as the best film version of the story of Jesus means it will remain in our collective conscience for at least a long while more. Here's one that it will always linger in. Out of all of the films to watch on the Easter holiday, this is the quintessential choice.

King of Kings, The (1927) **** (out of 4) It's interesting that Mel Gibson was originally going to show The Passion of the Christ without any subtitles because he felt the story spoke loudly enough and that audience members would know the story well enough so words weren't really needed. With The King of Kings being a silent film the silence really adds to the story but on the other hand, unlike Gibson it's very apparent that DeMille wasn't quite sure whether the audience would know the story good enough and that leads to the film's one weak spot. The film probably would have lost a good twenty-minutes if it weren't for all the intertitles, which become quite annoying because it's easy to read the lips of what the actors are saying. Even with that one flaw DeMille created one of the greatest tellings of the story of Jesus.The first hour and half deals with Jesus (H.B. Warner) as he walks the Earth with his disciples where he cures the blind and helps the cripple to walk. The second hour then turns to the crucifixion and eventual resurrection and with each passing frame you can tell this is a film being made by someone very passionate about the subject matter. The great lengths DeMille went through to create this film have become somewhat legendary. The director would have ministers bless the film each day before filming and even made his actors sign papers swearing they wouldn't get into any trouble to where the audiences might not believe them in their part.I find it quite odd to bash a religious film for not staying true to the source material because no movie ever has and I'm sure one never will. DeMille adds some interesting changes including having Mark be a young boy who is cured by Jesus but the most infamous change is the romance between Judas and Maria Magdalene. According to the liner notes, this so-called romance was a German legend but why DeMille decided to use it is anyone's guess. DeMille also said that the Jews were the most unfairly treated in the Bible and to avoid any anti-Semitic controversy, it's made quite clear that Rome was behind the deeds of that certain day.As I said earlier, The King of Kings is epic in scale but DeMille thankfully never goes over the top and remembers that the story is the most important thing to make a movie work. Each and every frame is told in such loving care that it doesn't take any time for the film to transfer you back and make it seem as if you're actually there witnessing these events on your own. The lavished sets and thousands of extras also add a great deal of realism to the story and W.B. Warner, while a bit too old for the role, delivers a remarkable performance where he tells every feeling of Jesus with a simple look or body gesture.The film is also quite moving especially the scenes with Jesus working with a group of sick people. DeMille usually slows the pace down so that we can see the love these sick people felt for Jesus and that clearly jumps right off the screen. DeMille also makes sure to show Jesus as a mythical character who can work wonders and most importantly, the film allows Jesus to be seen as someone who knows what love is and knows his mission in life.When Jesus is working these wonders the director usually has a light shining on him, which would come off as camp but once again DeMille knew how far to push this and the effect works quite nicely. Another wonderful thing is that DeMille allows some humor to be thrown in with the off-screen violence. The best example of this is the guards getting ready to put the crown of thorns on Jesus but they keep hurting their hands trying to make it.Another wonderful scene has a little girl asking Jesus to heal her doll, which has had a leg broken off.Perhaps this was the showman side of DeMille coming into play but the director decided to film the resurrection with Technicolor. In the 1927 "Premier" version, Technicolor is also used at the very beginning of the film but soon fades to black and white when Jesus is introduced. The resurrection sequence with the use of color perfectly brings the detail of a life returning back to the Earth. It's rather hard to put it into words but when the B&W fades and the color comes shining through, with this little experiment DeMille is able to create some wonderful emotions and get his point across very quietly.There have been dozens of religious movies since The King of Kings (including a remake) but I feel this one here is a film that would appeal to everyone no matter what their personal beliefs are. This is classic DeMille, which shows his talent at storytelling as well as his showmanship of delivering a spectacle like no other.