'King of Kings' coming to DVD

Each Tuesday there are hundreds of new DVD titles released, translating to thousands each year. No commercial outlet could possibly carry every title, and certainly no single publication could provide reviews for all of them.

From time to time, however, a film of special merit is released that deserves to be singled out. And such is the case with Cecil B. DeMille's 1927 silent masterpiece "The King of Kings," to be released Dec. 7 in a two-disc set from the Criterion Collection ($39.95). (Not to be confused with the 1961 remake with Jeffrey Hunter, which is also on DVD.)

"One of the most difficult themes, the story of Christ's passion and death, is transferred to the screen with a solemnity and a convincing impressiveness that surpasses 'The Ten Commandments' or any other picture of its type ever made," wrote Betty Colfax in her 1927 review in the Evening Graphic, a New York tabloid.

And those words could still be used today in expounding the merits of this extraordinary film.

Although DeMille remade many of his silent movies during the sound era, his "King of Kings" is "the one film that DeMille would not remake, for he felt that he could not improve upon it," according to artist Arnold Friberg, who worked closely with DeMille in 1956 on his final film, "The Ten Commandments." (Friberg is perhaps most famous for his Book of Mormon paintings and "The Prayer at Valley Forge," which depicts George Washington kneeling in prayer beside his steed.)

Friberg said that as a boy his artistic style was strongly influenced by seeing DeMille's "The King of Kings" in a movie theater, as well as the illustrations of Gustav Dore in his family Bible. Later, while working for DeMille, Friberg learned that DeMille had also been inspired after seeing a Dore exhibit, and those illustrations strongly influenced the visual images for "The King of Kings."

"DeMille was a master at composition," said Friberg."Nobody else has ever come close to DeMille's work in capturing the life of Christ on film."

The Criterion release owes a debt to James V. D'Arc, curator at Brigham Young University -- which houses the immense Cecil B. DeMille collection in its archives. D'Arc was instrumental in Criterion including the original roadshow version of the film in this DVD release.

As soon as he heard about it, D'Arc contacted Criterion to offer BYU's vast resources from the DeMille Archives and to encourage them to seek out the 155-minute original print donated to the George Eastman House by the DeMille family.

As it turns out, the folks at Criterion were not even aware that the film had originally been 43 minutes longer.

DeMille himself had prepared the 122-minute version that went into general release in 1928, complete with a score arranged by Hugo Riesenfeld (to take advantage of the newly introduced technique of sound). And it is in this form that it has been seen for the past 76 years.

D'Arc had the rare opportunity of seeing the uncut roadshow version in 1991 at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival in Spain during a tribute to DeMille's silent work; the BYU Archives provided a great deal of material from the DeMille Collection for the Festival.

As someone who has greatly admired "The King of Kings" since first seeing it in a Salt Lake City theater in the early 1950s, I had the nagging question of whether the roadshow interpretation would really improve the film; longer is not always better.

Having now watched the DVD several times in its beautifully preserved longer rendition, I can without hesitation declare that it is not only the finest rendering of the Christ story that I have ever seen on film, but it is also one of the greatest films ever made.

What radiates from DeMille's telling is the Savior's love for mankind. In one of the most touching moments ever captured on film, a little girl carrying a doll with a broken leg seeks Jesus for help. His apostles gently try to usher her away until the Savior rebukes them and invites the girl to come to him.

She holds up her precious doll, and Jesus, with a twinkle in his eyes, ponders a solution. He scratches his forehead quizzically, then, using his carpentry skills, breaks a twig off a nearby tree branch and uses it to repair the doll's leg.

The look of joy on that little girl's face as her doll is restored to completeness conveys Christ's love for little children better than any words. And that is just one of many precious touches in the film.

The power of the crucifixion scene is like seeing a Dore print come to life. No film has ever captured this pivotal event of history as well as DeMille's "The King of Kings."

Another brilliant moment in the film has a Roman soldier tearing the mother of the unrepentant thief away from the base of her son's cross. She staggers blindly to the side of Mary, the mother of Christ, looks up at Christ on the cross, then into the face of Mary - - then turns and points, crying out, "That's my son up there." Mary embraces the sobbing mother as she too looks upward at her son.

There is a majesty to watching the life of Christ in powerful images without voice, especially when accompanied by the inspired score that Donald Sosin has created for the Criterion offering.

Because of D'Arc's efforts, we now have the opportunity to enjoy DeMille's finest film in the form he first fashioned it, as well as the shorter version, which has been shown continually in churches since 1931. (Both versions are on this set.)

In addition, we have the choice of three music sound tracks -- the original Riesenfeld rendering plus two newly commissioned scores that are excellent. There are also several extras from the archives of BYU and UCLA that help make this DVD set something to cherish.

The statement that Friberg uses as his byword also sums up what makes DeMille's "The King of Kings" the enduring classic that it is:

"Art is always best when serving a cause greater than the artist."

E-mail: VisUnita@msn.com

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