The King of Kings
Year: 1927
Studio: DeMille Pictures Corporation
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Cast: H.B. Warner, Dorothy Cumming, Ernest Torrence, Joseph Schildkraut, James Neill, Joseph Striker
Crew: Cecil B. DeMille (Director), Harold McLernon (Editor), Earl Luick (Costume Design), Cecil B. DeMille (Producer), Adrian (Costume Design), Anne Bauchens (Editor)
Runtime: 155 minutes
Release: Apr 19, 1927
IMDb: 6.50/10 by 58 users
Popularity: 3
Country: United States of America
Language: No Language
Budget: 1,265,284
Revenue: 2,641,687

As biblical epics go, this is probably the best in my book. Cecil B. de Mille has crafted a masterpiece of silent cinema depicting the tale of the Christ from the beginnings of his journey until the resurrection. Using partly scripted and actual verses from the bible, the intertitles are expertly spaced to offer support to the dialogue when required, but largely we are left to follow the story with the grand scale imagery doing the talking for it. The detail is meticulous - costumes, sets etc, as you would expect - but the use of light and shade, particularly at the end, is magnificent. The characterisations from HB Warner as Jesus; Joseph Schildkraut (Judas) and Jacqueline Logan as the courtesan Mary Magdalene, replete with zebra-driven chariot all contribute to a rich, extensive, cast whose facial expressions carry far more weight than any words might do. Long? Well it's not, actually - the enterprise flies by (I saw it beautifully accompanied by the Sosin 2004 score) and if you've any interest in the history of cinema (or Christianity) then this is a must watch.