King of Kings
Directed by	Nicholas Ray
Produced by	Samuel Bronston
Written by	Philip Yordan
Starring	Jeffrey Hunter Siobhan McKenna Robert Ryan
Music by	Miklós Rózsa
Cinematography	Manuel Berenguer Milton R. Krasner Franz Planer
Editing by	Harold F. Kress Renée Lichtig
Distributed by	MGM
Release date	October 11, 1961
Running time	168 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

King of Kings is a 1961 American motion picture epic retelling the story of Jesus from his birth to his crucifixion and Resurrection. Image File history File links KingOfKings. ... Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle) (August 7, 1911–June 16, 1979) was an American film director. ... Philip Yordan (April 1, 1914 - March 24, 2003) was a popular and talented screenwriter of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. ... Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (November 25, 1926 - May 27, 1969) was a film and television actor. ... Siobhán McKenna ( May 24, 1923 - November 16, 1986), was a Irish stage and screen actress. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... Miklós Rózsa (April 18, 1907 - July 23, 1995) was a Hungarian-American composer, best known for his film scores. ... Milton R. Krasner was a film cinematographer. ... Film cinematographer Franz Planer (March 29, 1894 - January 10, 1963) was born in Karlsbad, Austria-Hungary (now called the Czech Republic). ... MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ... October 11 is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years). ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as part of... Jesus (8-2 BC/BCE — 29-36 AD/CE),[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity. ... Artistic depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus. ... The resurrection of Jesus is an event in the New Testament in which God raised him from the dead[1] after his death by crucifixion. ...

An earlier silent film about Jesus was titled The King of Kings, released in 1927 and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Director Nicholas Ray's 1961 version places Jesus's life in the political context of Roman conquest. As Jesus becomes an active preacher and healer, his activities are contrasted with the political stance of Barabbas and his insurgents who battle against the Roman occupiers. A silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. ... The King of Kings The King of Kings is a movie directed by Cecil B. DeMille. ... Cecil Blount DeMille (August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959) was one of the most successful filmmakers during the first half of the 20th century. ... Nicholas Ray (born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle) (August 7, 1911–June 16, 1979) was an American film director. ... The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome developed. ...

The film features scenes of Jesus' miracles and his Sermon on the Mount (shot with many thousands of extras), as well as a scene where Jesus visits John the Baptist in his dungeon during his imprisonment by Herod Antipas. Ray staged the scene in such a way that John the Baptist must crawl up an incline inside the dungeon, holding out his hand to reach for Jesus' hand: a vivid example of Ray's architectural sense of composition and visual drama (Ray had studied under Frank Lloyd Wright to become an architect). The Sermon on the Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch. ... Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was one of the most prominent and influential architects of the first half of the 20th century. ...

Nicholas Ray's direction balances spectacle with the human drama of Jesus's life. In the Sermon on the Mount sequence, Ray also conveys the central ethical-religious messages of Jesus' teachings. As such, the film can be seen as a model of the epic where grandeur serves to underscore the content. King of Kings is also memorable for the music score by Miklós Rózsa, a Hungarian emigre composer who composed the music for MGM's Ben-Hur (1959) and many other epic films. Miklós Rózsa (April 18, 1907 - July 23, 1995) was a Hungarian-American composer, best known for his film scores. ... Ben-Hur is a 1959 film directed by William Wyler, and is the most recent and most popular, live-action film version of Lew Wallaces novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880). ...

However, others have criticized it for showing a Jesus who was too "white bread" and a very subdued John the Baptist. The film was panned by critics and was the only one of MGM's religious epics to fail at the box office, but it has come to be regarded since as one of the finest cinematic versions of the life of Christ. A loaf of white bread White bread is bread made from wheat flour from which the bran and germ have been removed, in contrast to whole wheat bread made from whole wheat flour, in which these parts are retained and contribute a brownish color. ... MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ... k Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

Also, most films at the time did not show Jesus's face, preferring to do shots of his hands (as in Ben-Hur) or over-the-shoulder views. Jeffrey Hunter's youthful appearance (although he was 33 when cast) caused some to nick-name the film "I Was a Teenage Jesus," a parody from the Michael Landon film I Was a Teenage Werewolf. Jesus (8-2 BC/BCE — 29-36 AD/CE),[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity. ... Ben-Hur is a 1959 film directed by William Wyler, and is the most recent and most popular, live-action film version of Lew Wallaces novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880). ... Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (November 25, 1926 - May 27, 1969) was a film and television actor. ... Landons 14-year role as Little Joe on Bonanza helped earn him induction into the Western Performers Hall of Fame and gave him his first directoral experience. ... I Was a Teenage Werewolf is a 1957 horror film starring Michael Landon as a troubled teenager and Whit Bissell as the primary adult. ...

When the movie was released on DVD in 2003, it received a PG-13 rating for some violent content. The MPAA film rating system is a system used in the United States and territories and instituted by the Motion Picture Association of America to rate a movie based on its content. ...

Primary cast

• Jeffrey Hunter  : Jesus
• Siobhan McKenna  : Mary
• Robert Ryan  : John the Baptist
• Ron Randell  : Lucius
• Hurd Hatfield  : Pontius Pilate
• Viveca Lindfors  : Claudia
• Rita Gam  : Herodias
• Frank Thring  : Herod Antipas
• Royal Dano  : Peter
• Rip Torn  : Judas Iscariot
• Harry Guardino  : Barabbas
• Carmen Sevilla  : Mary Magdalene
• Brigid Bazlen  : Salomé
• Guy Rolfe  : Caiaphas
• Gregoire Aslan  : Herod the Great

Not credited at the time, Orson Welles did the voiceover of a narrative written by Ray Bradbury. Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (November 25, 1926 - May 27, 1969) was a film and television actor. ... Jesus (8-2 BC/BCE — 29-36 AD/CE),[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity. ... Siobhán McKenna ( May 24, 1923 - November 16, 1986), was a Irish stage and screen actress. ... Saint Mary and Saint Mary the Virgin both redirect here. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Failure of John the Baptist. ... Ron Randell was an Australian-born American film character actor. ... Hurd Hatfield (centre), with Donna Reed (left), Angela Lansbury (right) and George Sanders (background) Hurd Hatfield (December 7, 1917 – December 26, 1998) was an American actor. ... Ecce Homo (Behold the Man!), Antonio Ciseris depiction of Pontius Pilate presenting a scourged Jesus of Nazareth to the people of Jerusalem Pilate redirects here. ... Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors (December 29, 1920 - October 25, 1995) was a Swedish-American stage and film actress. ... Promotional photo taken in 1952 Rita Gam (born April 2, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American film and television actress and documentary film maker. ... Herodias (c. ... Frank Thring (May 11, 1926 - December 29, 1994) was an Australian actor. ... Herod Antipas (short for Antipatros) was an ancient leader (tetrarch, meaning ruler of a quarter) of Galilee and Perea. ... Royal Dano (born November 16, 1922; died May 15, 1994) was an American film and television character actor. ... Saint Peter, also known as Peter, Simon ben Jonah/BarJonah, Simon Peter, Cephas and Kepha — original name Simon or Simeon (Acts 15:14) — was one of the Twelve Apostles whom Jesus chose from among his original disciples. ... Rip Torn in Men in Black. ... Judas Iscariot (died April AD 29–33, Hebrew יהודה איש־קריות ) was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve original apostles of Jesus, and the one who is said to have betrayed him. ... Harry Guardino (December 23, 1925 – July 17, 1995) was an American television actor. ... Give us Barabbas!, from The Bible and its Story Taught by One Thousand Picture Lessons, 1910 In the Christian narrative of the Passion of Jesus, Barabbas, according to some texts Jesus bar-Abbas, (Aramaic Bar-abbâ, son of the father), was the insurrectionary whom Pontius Pilate freed at the Passover... Mary Magdalene is described, both in the canonical New Testament and in the New Testament apocrypha, as a devoted disciple of Jesus. ... Salomé, like Dismas, or the various names of the Three Magi, is a name given to a character in the Bible whose name is not given in the Bible itself. ... Guy Rolfe (born 27 December 1911-died 19 October 2003) was a British actor. ... Yehosef Bar Qayyafa (Hebrew יְהוֹסֵף בַּר קַיָּפָא), also known as Caiaphas (Greek καϊάφας) in the New Testament, was the Jewish high priest to whom Jesus was taken after his arrest in the garden of Gethsemane, and who played a part in Jesus trial before the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate. ... Gregoire Aslan is an Armenian actor who starred in The Devil at 4 OClock alongside Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy. ... Hordos הוֹרְדוֹס, also known as Herod I or Herod the Great, was a Roman client-king of Judaea (c. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Ray Bradbury in 1945. ...