King of Kings (1961) on Netflix
In Roman Judea, Jesus is born in a Bethlehem stable, and his family flees Herod's order to kill newborn boys. Thirty years on, he preaches and gathers apostles.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.0/1010,143 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes80%
Trailer
Plot summary
Pompey's legions sack Jerusalem and he carries the Torah scroll from the Holy of Holies. Rebellions against Rome follow; the Romans crucify the rebel leaders and set Herod the Great on Judea's throne. Joseph and Mary reach Bethlehem for the census and take shelter in a stable, where Jesus is born. Magi come to worship the child, and Herod orders the centurion Lucius to kill every newborn boy; the family escapes to Egypt. Herod dies and Herod Antipas takes power. In Nazareth, Jesus at twelve works beside Joseph when Lucius arrives asking that the boy's birth be registered. Years later rebels under Barabbas and Judas fail to ambush the governor Pilate. John the Baptist preaches at the Jordan, and Jesus comes to be baptized.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about King of Kings (1961)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- John Farrow quit the Jesus project over creative differences, saying producer Samuel Bronston wanted him to "whitewash the Jewish leaders, and lay blame entirely on the Romans" for Jesus's trial.
- Screenwriter Philip Yordan registered the title King of Kings with the Motion Picture Association of America after discovering Cecil B. DeMille had never registered it for his 1927 Jesus film.
- The Second Temple set at the Sevilla studios was blown down in a hurricane; Samuel Bronston surveyed the site and had it rebuilt in three months.
- Director Nicholas Ray and writer Philip Yordan stopped speaking to each other during the reshoots and communicated only through walkie-talkies.
- Agnes Moorehead coached Jeffrey Hunter on playing Jesus, advising him to lower his voice's pitch to sound more commanding; Hunter recalled extras knelt and crossed themselves as he passed.
- The Sermon on the Mount scene used 81 individual Super Technirama camera set-ups, took three weeks to shoot, and gathered 7,000 extras from 24 villages around Madrid.
- Horse trainer Arthur Resse was killed in a car accident that also injured Harry Guardino, who played Barabbas, as the two drove from a location outside Aranjuez.
- Alec Guinness met with Bronston about playing Jesus, and Nicholas Ray considered Peter Cushing, Tom Fleming, Christopher Plummer and Max von Sydow before Jeffrey Hunter was cast.
