Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

King of Kings is one of several biblical epic films that were made during the middle of the 20th century. Although the film was a modest success and has a loyal following, it has never achieved the popularity of other such epics like The Ten Commandments, Spartacus, or Ben Hur.  There are quite a few reasons why the film didn’t live up to expectations. But nevertheless, it’s not a bad film and probably deserves a better fate than it has been dealt.

King of Kings focuses on the life of Christ and the political situation within the Roman Empire from about 60 B.C. to A.D. 33.   The film initially provides a brief overview of the tension that existed between Roman authorities and Jews.  Once Jesus achieves adulthood the plot focuses mainly on his life and ultimate death.  While most of the film follows the biblical account of such events,  there are also a couple of subplots that play-up the roles of Barabbas and Judas Iscariot.

The major characters in King of Kings are Jesus (Jeffrey Hunter), Mary (Siobhan McKenna), John the Baptist (Robert Ryan), and Pontius Pilate (Hurd Hatfield).  Several other characters have prominent roles in the story too, such as Rip Torn portraying Judas Iscariot, Frank Thring as Herrod Antipas, and Harry Guardino as Barabbas. The characters Lucius (Ron Randall) and Salome (Brigid Bazlen) also have critical roles in the film’s plot.

One of the biggest knocks on King of Kings is Jeffrey Hunter portraying Jesus.  He has piercing blue eyes and a fairly sparse beard.  He also lacks the screen presence that one may expect in the top-billed star.  While I thought he did an ‘OK’ job in the role, I can understand why he may have been miscast. He seems to follow the script very closely and doesn’t seem particularly charismatic.

Quite a few other actors seem to outshine Hunter’s performance. That includes Harry Guardino as Barabbas, who was running a little guerilla warfare operation against the Romans, and Frank Thring as the arrogant Herrod Antipas. Brigid Bazlen also contributed to the role of colorful characters as she egged-on opposition to Christ and eventually asked for John the Baptist’s head on a platter (an idiom that exists to this day).

If nothing else the film is a visual feast. The colors are rich and bright and the landscape where the film was shot (Spain) looks convincingly like the Holy Land.  There are many scenes in bright, sunny skies where the characters wear clothing of the era.  A few of the sets look a little chintzy, but overall the film convinced me it was set in the Middle East nearly 2,000 years ago. I also enjoyed the musical score by Miklos Rozsa, which featured many soaring symphonic numbers and helped enhance many scenes.

King of Kings is a bit unusual in that it is heavily narrated by Orson Welles throughout the film. Perhaps this was done to help tie-together the various scenes that didn’t always flow well. Although the narration may have been overdone, I actually liked hearing Welles soothing, authoritative voice fill in the details about what was happening. 

If you are looking for a film that covers the life of Christ and is reasonably close to the biblical account, I think you will like King of Kings.  It has many memorable and moving scenes, including Christ healing the sick and delivering the Sermon on the Mount, plus some extended battle scenes with Roman soldiers. The film’s running time is quite long (just under 3 hours) and it seems a bit slow-moving at times. But I’ll still give King of Kings 4 stars and hope that people keep discovering the film in the crowded marketplace of biblical epics.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12