Film / King of Kings

King of Kings is a 1961 Biblical epic about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, directed by Nicholas Ray and distributed by MGM.

One of the first Hollywood films since the silent era to avert depicting Jesus as The Faceless or The Ghost out of piety, it stars Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus — and Rip Torn as Judas Iscariot, whose role is somewhat beefed up. Philip Yordan wrote the screenplay, while the narration was written by an uncredited Ray Bradbury and spoken by an uncredited Orson Welles. The music score was composed by Miklos Rozsa.

Not to be confused with The King of Kings, a 1927 version of the story directed by Cecil B. DeMille.

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Tropes found in King of Kings include:

• Adaptational Heroism:
  • The film portrays Caiaphas as an Anti-Villain. Biblically The Fundamentalist, the Chief priest's conflict with Jesus over ideology and tradition is largely downplayed aside from his obvious contempt for Jesus’s association with tax-collectors and prostitutes and the charge of blasphemy his court charged Jesus with. Here, the focus is on Caiaphas opposing Jesus because he fears the man will stir insurrection that would motivate Pilate and the Romans to increase persecution of the Jews. Although he understands Jesus is a man of peace, he will convict him as a Necessarily Evil for the protection of his people. It is when Judas frames Jesus as working with Barabbas that he finally acts to arrest him. At the same time he clearly doesn't like Jesus either.
  • Most of Judas' negative traits from the Gospels are cut such as his habit of stealing from the common purse and the thirty pieces of silver he was paid, to go with his depiction as a Well-Intentioned Extremist.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Pontius Pilate in the Gospels was fairly convinced that Jesus didn't deserve death and tries to find a way to avoid it before washing his hands of the whole mess. Here he's much more antagonistic towards Jesus and orders him flogged as a way to get him to confess rather than as a lesser punishment to avoid crucifixion.
• Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: In the Gospels, Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas are stated to have been antagonistic prior to Jesus's trial, here they seem to be on perfectly cordial terms.
• Adapted Out:
  • The Holy Family’s sojourn in Egypt is skipped over.
  • Several incidents from Jesus’ career are cut such as the wedding at Cana and the healing of Peter’s mother in law.
  • Of Jesus's trials only his first hearing before Pilate and his hearing before Herod Antipas are depicted with the trial before Caiaphas and his second trial before Pilate occurring off-screen.
• Artistic License – History:
  • Herod the Great’s successor Herod Archelaus is skipped to go straight to his other son Herod Antipas.
  • Pontius Pilate is stated to be Tiberius’s son-in-law. Historically Tiberius had no daughters, only two sons one of whom died in infancy.
  • The film conflates two incidents Pilate had with the Jews, the the standards with Caesar’s image and the placement of golden shields on Herod’s palace into Pilate placing golden plaques with Caesar’s image outside the Temple.
• Ascended Extra:
  • The film has an extensive subplot of Barabbas being a Foil for Jesus - a fiery would-be liberator from Roman rule as opposed to a peaceful spiritual savior. Judas is also portrayed as Barabbas's close friend, and they even get into a battle with Pilate's soldiers early in the film. When Judas meets Jesus, he thinks he can help them overthrow the Romans through force. When this doesn't work out Judas betrays Jesus to the priests. Judas and Barabbas being friends was a device used in several subsequent adaptations.
  • The Roman centurion at the crucifixion also gets this treatment. He is given the name Lucius, and he keeps popping up in various points of Jesus's life, like being in charge of the massacre of Bethlehem, and acting as Jesus's defense attorney during his trial before Pilate. But he doesn't age much if at all.
  • Pontius Pilate and his wife only appear in the Passion narratives, but here they have a larger presence showing their reactions to news of Jesus with Claudia attending the Sermon on the Mount.
• Animal Motif: In the climax to Salome's dance, she runs straight to the throne, her skirt spread out like wings. This shot is shared by a giant bird cage, which receives a close-up. Surrounding the throne are a series of pillars, resembling bars. In her next and final scene, she is timid and docile, like a caged bird.
• Battering Ram: The Zealots build one from sawed-off planks and a wagon to break through the Gates of the Fortress of Antonia.
• Bible Times: Naturally, as it's about Jesus.
• The Cameo: Several figures such as Nicodemus, Simon of Cyrene, Veronica, and Joseph of Arimathea are only briefly glimpsed.
• Composite Character: This is probably the first major Jesus film to combine Mary Magdelene with the Adultress Jesus saves from stoning.
• Conflicting Loyalty: Judas is torn between his commitment to the Revolt and Jesus. The film implies that Jesus understands this, and it quotes from the Gospel of John where Jesus tells Judas, "Do it quickly", implying that Jesus wants Judas to betray him.
• Darker and Edgier: Apart from being an epic deconstruction of the Gospels, this was later rated PG-13 for its violent content and is perhaps the edgiest Biblical epic of its period.
• Deconstruction: More than other Biblical films that came before (and after, see The Greatest Story Ever Told), Ray's film actually is the first to portray Jesus within the historical context of the Jewish Revolts. His ministry is framed in entirely political terms by the Roman authorities and the zealots and Jesus himself sees his ministry as Take a Third Option between the violence of the revolt and the Roman occupation.
• Defensive Feint Trap: Barabbas' rebel army attacks the Roman Fortress Antonia. Killing a few soldiers in the area, they make a makeshift-battering ram and break through the gates to storm the interior space. Things going swell...until they find the interior is heavily guarded and defended. The Romans entrap and crush the rebels.
• Depth of Field: Several scenes of the film feature a shared shot of two characters: one in extreme close-up & one in the background. Somewhat different from a Rack Focus because both figures are in focus.
• Didn't Think This Through:
  • Antipas persuades Salome to dance for him, promising her anything in return by his word as a King. Her wish is the head of John the Baptist, someone he does not want dead by his hands.
  • Barabbas thought he could turn the crowds at Passover into an army to storm the Fortress, crush the Romans, and lead them back to Jesus. The Fortress is successfully defended, and the army is crushed.
  • Judas believed Barabbas would follow his plan to stand by Jesus at Passover as a peaceful symbolic display of power against the Romans. Barabbas instead starts a revolt to the Roman Fortress that gets his followers massacred. Further, Judas betrays Jesus on the belief that the threatened Messiah will then use his powers to destroy the Romans. Jesus allows himself to be arrested, tortured, and crucified.
• Dirty Old Man: Herod Antipas is way too interested in his stepdaughter Salome to the point Herodias call him on it.
• Driven to Suicide: Judas as always, kills himself over the guilt of betraying Jesus. Barabbas finds his body hanging from a tree.
• Epic Film: With a poster◊ of the "huge towering letters" kind later parodied by the posters of Monty Python's Life of Brian.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Herod does not want to kill John the Baptist and only does so when Salome publicly pressures him into doing so.
• Faint in Shock: When the Guilt-ridden Judas sees the cross constructed for Jesus' crucifixion, he does this.
• Graceful Loser: Although he cries out in anger over his crushed revolt, Barabbas surrenders by dropping his sword to Lucius.
• Heir-In-Law: Pilate hopes being married to Caesar's daughter makes him a likely successor.
• Historical Domain Character: Pompey the Great has a cameo in the beginning, when the Jews are conquered by the Romans.
• I'll Pretend I Didn't Hear That: Visiting the family in Nazareth for tax registration, Lucius discovers the boy Jesus was born in Bethelehem at the time of the Infant Massacre he executed 12 years ago. He decides to ignore this survivor.
• Intermission: Part One ends with Barabbas planning to attack the Roman Fortress.
• Klingon Promotion: When Herod the Great is too old and sickly to sit on his throne, his son Herod Antipas claims it. Herod the Great crawls at his feet, but he kicks him away, killing him.
• Kneel Before Zod: Herodias demands John the Baptist to do this after he insults her.
• La Résistance: The underground movement of Barabbas. They actually start an uprising in Jerusalem after Jesus has entered it, but it's swiftly put down by the Romans. Barabbas is captured in the fighting, and this leads to the scene in the Gospels where he is set free in place of Jesus.
• The Mentor: John the Baptist (played by Robert Ryan).
• Ms. Fanservice: Salome, whose famous dance is shown in its entirety.
• Named by the Adaptation: Lucius the centurion, who is unnamed in the Gospels (the figure who says "Truly this man was the son of God!")
• Noodle Incident: Caiaphas mentions meeting Jesus and John the Baptist offscreen.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome:
  • A number of Jesus' miracles are only talked about, reported to Pilate by Lucius.
  • A subverted moment because it was not awesome: Caiaphas' Trial and Pilate's Public Trial of Jesus ("Behold The Man!", "Give Us, Barabbas!" and "Crucify Him!") are also offscreen.
• Older Than They Look: When it first came out, the film was dubbed "I Was a Teenage Jesus" because of Jeffrey Hunter's youthful looks, though he was actually 33 years old; ironically, the traditional age of Jesus when he died.
• One-Steve Limit: Mary Magdalene is only referred to by her surname likely to reduce confusion with Jesus' mother.
• Pretty Boy: As a result of Jeffrey Hunter's casting, Jesus is quite easy on the eyes.
• Rule of Symbolism: When Jesus appears to his disciples on a beach after the resurrection, he's only presented through voiceover and a shadow - which merges with a fishing net to form a giant cross.
• Separated by the Wall: Jesus looks through a window at John the Baptist in his prison cell. John climbs up the wall to the window to grasp Jesus' hand. This is momentarily, as John falls back down.
• Shown Their Work: The film's opening section is a highly accurate portrayal of the Roman Occupation of Judaea and the political tensions that came there. So much so that Martin Scorsese likened it to a 'newsreel'.
• Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!:
  • Barabbas views Jesus and Judas as this. He initially agrees to Judas' idea to handle the Passover his way (Judas wants a peaceful but symbolically strong assembly to crown Jesus their King), but behind his back, Barabbas declares Judas a dreamer and a fool.
  • Caiaphas dismisses Nicodemus's admiration for Jesus's teaching by noting that the Romans would destroy him and his followers if they saw him as a threat regardless of his peaceful teaching.
• Sword and Sandal: Through the battle scenes, not mentioned in the Gospels which include a clash between Roman forces and Jewish rebels on the road and Barabbas's futile assault on the Fortress Antonia.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: John the Baptist gives this one to Herodias:
  Herodias: It were better to cut his vicious tongue from its roots.
  John the Baptist: Woman, is not your cup of abominations full enough?
  Herodias: How dare you say that to my face? Get down on your knees and beg my forgiveness!
  John the Baptist: You, woman? Who has given herself to the captains of Assyria? To the young men of Egypt? Who has deserted her first husband's bed, to live in incestuous lust with his brother?
• Tragic Villain: Judas Iscariot (as played by Rip Torn) is very sympathetically depicted as a man having Conflicting Loyalty between Jesus' ministry and the underground movement led by Barabbas. The film also implies that Jesus understood this, and condoned and even ordered Judas' betrayal at the Last Supper, uttering the much-debated line from the Gospel of John: "What you must do, do quickly."
• Villainous Breakdown: This appears to be what happens to Salome in her final scene. Feisty and uninhibited in her previous scenes, she is finally portrayed as demure and child-like, gazing at a birdcage with little interest in Herod's confrontation with Jesus (except for her attention to Herod breaking a clay vase, which is temporary). It seems something traumatic happened to her in the time between her dance and her present appearance, probably something to do with John's execution.
• The Voice:
  • Satan is heard, but not seen, tempting Jesus in the wilderness. Voiced (according to the IMDb) by an uncredited Ray Milland.
  • As mentioned, an uncredited Orson Welles serves as Narrator for the film.
• Wham Line:
  Jesus: [knowing the time to go to Jerusalem (and his fate) is now, hiding the truth from his mother] The chair will have to wait.
  Mary: The chair will never be mended.
  [Jesus is stunned]
• Widescreen Shot: Filmed in Super Technirama 70, meaning many of the Depth of Field shots suffer in Pan and Scan.
• Worthy Opponent: Lucius respects Barabbas. However, this view cools considerably when Barabbas gets acquitted instead of Jesus.
• Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: Barabbas views himself as a freedom fighter but the Romans view him as a dangerous outlaw.

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