KING OF KINGS

One of the most politically charged of all Biblical films, Nicholas Ray's "King of Kings" was almost universally condemned at the time of its release, (wags dubbing it "I Was a Teenage Jesus"), it's now rightfully come to be regarded as one of the most intelligent and least sentimental of all
Biblical epics. Jeffrey Hunter makes for a highly photogenic Jesus, heading a remarkably good cast that includes Siobhan McKenna as his mother, Hurd Hatfield as Pilate, Viveca Lindfors as Claudia, Harry Guardino as Barabbas, Robert Ryan as John the Baptist, Rip Torn as Judas and Ron Randell as the centurion Lucius.

While sticking to traditional stories of the New Testament, Philip Yordan's excellent screenplay then largely abandons the usual Biblical pieties in favour of more modern, colloquial speech while three Directors of Photography, (Manuel Berenguer, Milton Krasner and Franz Planer), ensure it's consistently good to look at. It's also surprisingly blood-thirsty, something else that might not have gone down too well with Christian groups and audiences at the time; however, both as a genre piece and as a crucial part of Ray's canon, it really shouldn't be missed.