King of Kings (1961) ****:
Shot in glorious 70mm Technicolor, this reverent, mainly literal rendition of the life of The Christ boasts a stirring musical score by Miklos Rosza, some very powerful scenes, some interesting screenplay twists such as the Roman centurion, Lucius, the friendship between Barabbas and Judas, the extended interludes with Herod and an amazing amount of screen time devoted to the motivations of Barabbas. The miracle scenes are moving and artfully done as are the scenes between Jesus and John The Baptist. To modern sensibilities, you would think the literal readings, King James-ish dialogue and pictorial staging of key scenes would elicit guffaws but the tone of the film is so dignified and respectful that it all comes together very well. The cinematography is beautiful, the script is intelligent and literate, the acting is very good across the board except the casting choices range from the inspired (Hurd Hatfield as Pilate, Brigid Bazlen as Salome, Frank Thring as Herod Antipas) to the bewildering (Robert Ryan as The Baptist, Harry Guardino as Barabbas, Royal Dano as Peter). An amazing footnote is that even in an off Oscar year of 1961, this film couldn't manage a single nomination. I suppose the Academy was still suffering from Ben Hur-itis?