King of Kings

"Of good and evil, of love and hate, of peace and war."

1961 2h 51m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 245

DramaHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Who is Jesus, and why does he impact all he meets? He is respected and reviled, emulated and accused, beloved, betrayed, and finally crucified. Yet that terrible fate would not be the end of the story.

“Of good and evil, of love and hate, of peace and war.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Jeffrey Hunter
Jesus
Siobhán McKenna
Mary
Hurd Hatfield
Pontius Pilate
Ron Randell
Lucius
Viveca Lindfors
Claudia
Rita Gam
Herodias
Carmen Sevilla
Mary Magdalene
Brigid Bazlen
Salome

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Nicholas Ray
Writers: Philip Yordan
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 171 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

65 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Nicholas Ray, shot by Milton Krasner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Miklós Rózsa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Harold F. Kress shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jeffrey Hunter and Siobhán McKenna and Hurd Hatfield carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Of good and evil, of love and hate, of peace and war.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0055047 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Nicholas Ray directs. Milton Krasner behind the camera. Miklós Rózsa scores. Harold F. Kress cuts. A long sit — settle in. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 171 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
265 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Nicholas Ray, shot by Milton Krasner. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Miklós Rózsa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Harold F. Kress shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jeffrey Hunter and Siobhán McKenna and Hurd Hatfield carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Of good and evil, of love and hate, of peace and war.".
8IMDB entry: tt0055047 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "christianity", "crucifixion", "bible", "biography".

The technical file

Cinematography: Milton Krasner
Original score: Miklós Rózsa
Editing: Harold F. Kress
Costume design: Georges Wakhévitch
Makeup / hair: Anna Cristofani
Runtime: 171 min · 2h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,775,000
Box office: $13,400,000
Return: 172% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: King of Kings (1961)

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Nicholas Ray

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-01-02
★ 8/10
The best of the Christ story epics. King Of Kings is a good film, and certainly one that is better than its reputation suggests. It's for sure better than the poorly put together The Robe from 1953 and the gargantuan excess that would be The Greatest Story Ever Told four years post this MGM piece. Produced by legendary Samuel Bronston and directed with assurance and imagination by Nicholas Ray, the film tells of the 33 years of Jesus Christ's life. From his birth in Bethlehem to his Crucifixion, to the Resurrection and finally the Ascension. A familiar story that is nicely spread to a movie under three hours long, takes in the Apostles selection, John The Baptist, 40 days in the desert, the miracles (though we are short changed here), Sermom on the Mount, Judas' betrayal and of course The Last Supper. The film contains a narration by Orson Welles, which was written by Ray Bradbury. It's a wise move for it helps the narrative immensely, while lets face it here, Orson had a great voice, perfectly biblical and it lends a touch of class to the material. Of the cast, Jeffrey Hunter has the glory role of Christ. A relative unknown (this helps I feel), Hunter is effective with his steely blue eyes, while Robert Ryan is first rate as the doomed John The Baptist. Also turning in good performances are Harry Guardino (Barabbas), Viveca Lindfors (Claudia), Royal Dano (Peter) and Rip Torn (Judas). Though not hurting the movie, Hurd Hatfield as Pontius Pilate is a touch too animated, while Frank Thring as Herod Antipas takes the woe is me mantra a step too far. Naturally with a budget of $8 million the film has considerable scope. Thousands of extras are a given of course, all captured among the Spanish locations in 70mm Technicolor (Cinematography by Manuel Berenguer, Milton R. Krasner & Franz Planer). While the sets (almost 400 used) are very pleasing on the eye and Miklós Rózsa provides a suitably effective score. The writing from Philip Yordan is lean, there's no heavy filler and for a film of this type it's a pleasant surprise to see such restraint. Ultimately it's just real good story telling given a good technical work out. The appearance of Judas for the first time still sends a shiver down the old spine and the Crucifixtion instills a sadness that is hard to shake off once the credits have rolled. Job done really. 8/10

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