Dream Double Bill # 12 'King of Kings' and 'The Gospel According to St. Matthew'

This week's double bill is timed to coincide with Easter Sunday. In my opinion two of the greatest films about Jesus; ‘King of Kings’ (1961) directed by Nicholas Ray and ‘The Gospel According to St. Matthew’ / ‘Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo’ (1964) directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini.

According to Nicholas Ray’s biography; ‘An American Journey’ by Bernard Eisenshitz ‘King of Kings’ was originally to be titled ‘Son of Man’, and how they registered the title with the MPAA as Cecil B DeMille had not registered the title in the 1920’s when he made ‘The King of Kings’.
For me ‘King of Kings’ is a great epic and everything an epic should be. I enjoyed the voice over by Orson Welles (written by Ray Bradbury), the music and of course the imagery, particularly the scene where the crucifix is raised and the camera follows.