{"id":5597,"date":"2008-05-23T11:35:02","date_gmt":"2008-05-23T18:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5597"},"modified":"2023-04-07T22:25:33","modified_gmt":"2023-04-08T05:25:33","slug":"king-of-kings-1961","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5597","title":{"rendered":"King of Kings (1961)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;For I say unto you, love your enemies; bless them who curse you; and pray for those who despise and persecute you! For if you love only those who love you, what reward shall you have?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/King-of-Kings-Poster-1961.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/King-of-Kings-Poster-1961-205x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"205\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-67387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/King-of-Kings-Poster-1961-205x300.png 205w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/King-of-Kings-Poster-1961-700x1024.png 700w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/King-of-Kings-Poster-1961-87x128.png 87w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/King-of-Kings-Poster-1961-185x270.png 185w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/King-of-Kings-Poster-1961.png 747w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 205px) 100vw, 205px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nShortly after the Romans invade Judea, Jesus of Nazareth (Jeffrey Hunter) becomes a preacher and encourages his followers to rely on faith and peace for their salvation.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ancient Greece and Rome<\/li>\n<li>Biblical Stories<\/li>\n<li>Biopics<\/li>\n<li>Historical Dramas<\/li>\n<li>Hurd Hatfield Films<\/li>\n<li>Jeffrey Hunter Films<\/li>\n<li>Nicholas Ray Films<\/li>\n<li>Rip Torn Films<\/li>\n<li>Robert Ryan Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAt the time of its release, this Biblical biopic by director Nicholas Ray was snidely referred to by many as <em>I Was a Teenage Jesus<\/em>, in reference to both Ray&#8217;s previous youth-oriented films (most notably <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5513\"><em>Rebel Without a Cause<\/em><\/a>), and the casting of blue-eyed matinee idol Jeffrey Hunter (actually 35 years old) in the title role. In truth, Hunter is reasonably effective as Jesus, and <em>King of Kings<\/em> as a whole remains a surprisingly tame and &#8220;respectful&#8221; historical drama. Screenwriter Philip Yordan wisely frames Jesus&#8217;s life squarely within the political context of his day (Roman occupation), and establishes a convenient &#8212; albeit historically suspect &#8212; &#8220;rivalry&#8221; between the peace-loving Jesus and rabble-rousing Barabbas (actually just an anonymous thief who was set free on the day of Jesus&#8217;s crucifixion). This fictionalized subplot allows for Jesus&#8217;s emphasis on faith and pacifism in the face of foreign occupation to ring out loud and clear, and places his overall message to mankind within a refreshingly timely and realistic context. <\/p>\n<p>Ray and Yordan are at their best when humanizing iconic biblical events, such as the justly praised Sermon on the Mount sequence, and their intimate recreation of the Last Supper; less interesting are the massive battle scenes, which perhaps are expected fare in an epic drama but distract from the very real human story being told. Some have argued that too much time is spent showing the Romans&#8217; reactions to Jesus&#8217;s growing popularity, but the actors in the key Roman roles &#8212; including Viveca Lindfors, Frank Thring, and Hurd Hatfield &#8212; are all enjoyable to watch, and their decadent lifestyle ultimately provides a nice contrast with that of the hard-working Jews. My favorite &#8220;Roman scene&#8221; shows the infamous Salome (played by Brigid Bazlen as a sexy teenage hussy) tempting her stepfather, King Harrod (Thring), into decapitating John the Baptist (a shaggy-headed Robert Ryan) and bringing her his head on a platter; while this vignette may not be substantiated by biblical scholars, it plays well on the screen! Ultimately, <em>King of Kings<\/em> will be of most interest either to Christians (who likely will be pleasantly surprised by how events are depicted) or fans of mid-century historical epics; for all-purpose film fanatics, it&#8217;s worth a look simply for its historical notoriety. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> In 1980, Hunter was (perhaps unfairly) nominated by the Medved brothers as one of the worst actors to play Jesus Christ in a film &#8212; though he lost out on winning the Golden Turkey Award in this category to Ted Neeley in <em>Jesus Christ Superstar<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Brigid Bazlen as psychopathic Salome, who requests John the Baptist&#8217;s head on a platter<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/king-kings-salome.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/king-kings-salome.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5599\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Jesus preaching the Sermon on the Mount<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/king-kings-sermon.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/king-kings-sermon.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"275\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5600\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Nice humanization of many iconic Biblical events &#8212; such as the Last Supper<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/king-kings-last-supper.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/king-kings-last-supper.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"279\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5601\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Miklos Rozsa&#8217;s Score<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, simply for its importance in film history. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary&#8217;s book. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0055047\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1961\/10\/12\/archives\/king-of-kings-has-its-premiere-at-state.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tvguide.com\/movies\/king-kings\/review\/103245\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/king-of-kings\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;For I say unto you, love your enemies; bless them who curse you; and pray for those who despise and persecute you! For if you love only those who love you, what reward shall you have?&#8221; Synopsis: Shortly after the Romans invade Judea, Jesus of Nazareth (Jeffrey Hunter) becomes a preacher and encourages his followers to rely on faith and peace for their salvation. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Ancient Greece and Rome Biblical Stories Biopics Historical Dramas Hurd Hatfield&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5597\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5597"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90882,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5597\/revisions\/90882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}