You can't help but love this movie, for the story, the acting, the effects, the drama, the Biblical quotes. It all comes together so well to tell the story, and does it much better than the Jeffrey Hunter version (which I nevertheless like). In many silent movies, the actors seem to over play their roles to convey the message, but in this movie they are spot on; how could a person over play a scene when he/she first sees a person walking, talking, eating who had been killed three days ago before their very eyes. These actors act in a way that mirrors how normal people would behave when witnessing the miracles and actions reported in the Bible. They are convincing. Make no mistake, this movie is a Christian story; it takes the story of Jesus literally and portrays it. No doubts, no cut-aways, no shadows; its the story of Jesus as told in the Bible put in film. Warner is great in his role, he really does a great job of portraying a believable, accurate Jesus that is majestic, moving, noble, loving, generous, and forgiving as well as Godly. A remarkable performance that seems to have been forgotten merely because it is a silent movie. The music fits the action very well, and the text inserts do not detract from telling the story. I wish they would show this movie more often, I think it would develop a following as it is a truly remarkable movie that takes on the impossible task of portraying the life of Christ as told in the Bible, without gimmicks and without ducking the hard questions, like the Resurrection, and very nearly accomplishes the task. The whole cast is to be lauded for their performances, and of course DeMille does a magnificent job as director, I can hardly wait to see the movie again.
Review of The King of Kings
