King of Kings surprised critics as a profound, affecting story of Christ—personal, moving, even idiosyncratic, with many singular Ray touches. (Some have noted that the Savior's red cloak recalls James Dean's windbreaker in Rebel Without a Cause.) Made in Spain for producer Samuel Bronston and seemingly destined to be an anonymous superproduction, full of widescreen spectacle and little feeling, King of Kings is instead a simple, deeply felt, and intelligent epic. Reflecting Ray's liberal politics, it focuses less on a Sunday-school rendition of the Passion of Christ than on the Judaean revolt against Roman oppression, and makes marked parallels between the Romans and Nazis. Ray was determined to avoid the visual traditions and clichés of “the greatest story ever told,” presenting it as if it were happening before us for the first time. The film was an obvious influence on Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ.
—James Quandt

Print note: Some reels of this print are faded.