Jesus vs. Barabbas: The Epic Showdown!

A later entry in the 1950s-60s surge of Bible epics, KING OF KINGS is not necessarily a "great movie", but it is certainly an interesting one, even more so than some of the great Bible movies.  Produced by MGM, who had had a mega-hit with BEN-HUR only two years before, it was directed by Nicholas Ray, who had previously directed James Dean in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955), arguably the most famous of his three performances.  KING OF KINGS was not very well-received when released in 1961, in part because it was another in a string of recent Bible movies including the highly-acclaimed BEN-HUR (which the marketing imitated without subtlety), QUO VADIS (1951) and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956), but mostly due to its untraversed perspective on the life of Jesus Christ.
However, that's ultimately what makes it so uniquely interesting; we all know the Jesus story so well and have seen it so many times over, but KING OF KINGS tells it from the vantage point of contemporary politics in Jesus' world.  It's still the Jesus story, it still has a Nativity, miracle working, the Sermon on the Mount, the Last Supper and the Passion, but they're presented as elements woven throughout a main story about Judas Iscariot (Rip Torn) and his conflict between Jesus (Jeffery Hunter), the Messiah of Peace, and the world's interpretation of a Messiah, a warlord to vanquish the much despised Romans, possibly Barabbus (the murder released instead of Jesus in the Bible account) (Harry Guardino); while a secondary story involves the story of John the Baptist (Robert Ryan), Jesus' brotherhood to him, and this intertwined with elements of Herod Antipas' (Frank Thring) placement in the context of the story.

Jeffery Hunter as Jesus of Nazareth

Today, the film has a more positive reputation, largely due to its emphasized interest and pathos in areas of the story that are often overlooked, such as a surprisingly touching moment when Jesus visits John the Baptist in Herod's dungeon and they share a moment of comfort before John's impending beheading.  Like most Bible epics, it has some cornball moments and it isn't always as well-focused in its editing as it ought to be, but for those open to a modernist approach, and yet a faithful one, it offers an thoughtful and serviceable cinematic experience.

KING OF KINGS (1961)
2 1/2 out of 4
Directed by: Nicholas Ray
Starring: Jeffery Hunter, Rip Torn, Harry Guardino, Robert Ryan, Frank Thring, Brigid Bazlen
PG-13 for some violent content.