King of Kings

I confess (in a non-religious sense) that up till now I had never seen King of Kings, Nicholas Ray's (Rebel Without a Cause) 1961 Technicolor re-telling of the greatest story ever told, starring ethnographically impossible, blue-eyed American Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus. Shot at a time when a "cast of thousands" meant a cast of thousands (as opposed to the modern fishes and loaves multiplying of CGI-created multitudes), this sword and sandal epic is a biblically faithful, reverent (without being mawkish), and gorgeously lensed (70mm!) chronicle of the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Featuring one of composer Miklos Rozsa's most stirring and instantly recognizable scores, King of Kings also sports voiceover narration by Orson Welles (uncredited, as Welles asked to have his name removed), and fine supporting turns by Harry Guardino as Barabbas, Rip Torn as Judas, Royal Dano as Peter, and some sexy rug-cutting by Brigid Bazlen as Salome (which, unfortunately, leads to some head-cutting for John the Baptist, nicely portrayed by Robert Ryan). The new widescreen digital transfer for the disc is absolutely eye-popping, while the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is simply majestic. On the extras front, well, let's just say they don't exactly walk on water: three brief b&w production/premiere newsreels. Sure to be popular, and looking the best it's looked since its 1961 premiere, this is definitely recommended. (R. Pitman)