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The King of Kings
Supreme in Theme! Gigantic in Execution!
The King of Kings is the Greatest Story Ever Told as only Cecil B. DeMille could tell it. In 1927, working with one of the biggest budgets in Hollywood history, DeMille spun the life and Passion of Christ into a silent-era blockbuster. Featuring text drawn directly from the Bible, a cast of thousands, and the great showman’s singular cinematic bag of tricks, The King of Kings is at once spectacular and deeply reverent—part Gospel, part Technicolor epic.
- Original title
- The King of Kings
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $1,265,284
- Revenue
- $2,641,687
CinemaSerf
Jun 6, 2022 · via TMDB
As biblical epics go, this is probably the best in my book. Cecil B. de Mille has crafted a masterpiece of silent cinema depicting the tale of the Christ from the beginnings of his journey until the resurrection. Using partly scripted and actual verses from the bible, the intertitles are expertly spaced to offer support to the dialogue when required, but largely we are left to follow the story with the grand scale imagery doing the talking for it. The detail is meticulous - costumes, sets etc, as you would expect - but the use of light and shade, particularly at the end, is magnificent. The characterisations from HB Warner as Jesus; Joseph Schildkraut (Judas) and Jacqueline Logan as the courtesan Mary Magdalene, replete with zebra-driven chariot all contribute to a rich, extensive, cast whose facial expressions carry far more weight than any words might do. Long? Well it's not, actually - the enterprise flies by (I saw it beautifully accompanied by the Sosin 2004 score) and if you've any interest in the history of cinema (or Christianity) then this is a must watch.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Jesus, The Christ
Dorothy Cumming
Mary, the Mother
Ernest Torrence
Peter
Joseph Schildkraut
Judas Iscariot
James Neill
James - Brother of John
Robert Edeson
Matthew - the Publican
Sidney D'Albrook
Thomas, the Doubter
Jacqueline Logan
Mary Magdalene
Charles Belcher
Philip
Victor Varconi
Pontius Pilate - Governor of Judea
Montagu Love
Roman Centurion
William Boyd
Simon Of Cyrene
Julia Faye
Martha
May Robson
Mother of Gestas
Sidney Franklin
(uncredited)
John George
(uncredited)
Rex Ingram
(uncredited)
Ayn Rand
(uncredited)
Sally Rand
Mary Magdalene's Slave (uncredited)
Charles Requa
James the Lesser
John T. Prince
Thaddeus
Rudolph Schildkraut
Caiaphas - High Priest of Israel
Sam De Grasse
Pharisee
Casson Ferguson
Scribe
Majel Coleman
Proculla - Wife of Pilate
Michael D. Moore
Mark (as Micky Moore)
Theodore Kosloff
Malchus - Captain of the High Priest's Guards
George Siegmann
Barabbas
Josephine Norman
Mary Of Bethany
Kenneth Thomson
Lazarus
Clarence Burton
Dysmas - the Repentant Thief
James Pier Mason
Gestas - the Unrepentant Thief (as James Mason)
Dot Farley
Maidservant of Caiaphas
Otto Lederer
Eber - a Pharisee
Bryant Washburn
Young Roman
Lionel Belmore
Roman Noble
Monte Collins Sr.
Rich Judeaean
Sôjin Kamiyama
Prince Of Persia (as Sojin)
André Cheron
Wealthy Merchant
Willy Castello
Babylonian Noble
Noble Johnson
Charioteer
Jim Farley
Executioner
Winifred Greenwood
—
Adrian
Costume Design
D.W. Griffith
Assistant Director
Cecil B. DeMille
Director
Anne Bauchens
Editor
Cecil B. DeMille
Producer
Jeanie Macpherson
Story
Jeanie Macpherson
Writer
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