WE NEED YOUR HELP!

We have started a Patreon page with the hopes that some of our followers would be willing to donate to keep DVDBeaver alive. We are a small niche, so your generosity is vital to our existence.

To those that are unfamiliar, Patreon is a secure/verified third-party service where users can agree to a monthly donation via credit card or PayPal by clicking the button below.

 


 

Search DVDBeaver

S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

directed by Cecil B. DeMille
USA 1927

The King of Kings is the Greatest Story Ever Told as only Cecil B. DeMille could tell it. In 1927, working with the biggest budget in the history of Hollywood, DeMille spun the life and Passion of Christ into one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Featuring text drawn directly from the Bible, a cast of thousands, and a cinematic bag of tricks that could belong to none other than Hollywood’s greatest showman, The King of Kings is at once spectacular and deeply reverent—part Gospel, part Technicolor epic. Arguably one of the best-loved films ever made in a 112-minute general release version and the rarely seen 155-minute cut that premiered at the grand opening of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

  Posters

Theatrical Release: April 19th, 1927- USA

Reviews                                                                                      More Reviews                                                                        DVD Reviews

 

Comparison:

Criterion (2-disc) - Region 0- NTSC vs. Lobster Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray

1) Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Lobster Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT

 

Box Cover

 

 

 

    

   

Distribution Criterion Collection - Spine # 266 - Region 0 - NTSC Lobster Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime 2:37:25  1:55:35.291  +  2:40:23.125
Video 1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 6.20 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s 

Short version (1928):

1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 21,749,480,916 bytes

Feature: 19,538,313,216 bytes

Video Bitrate: 17.98 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Long Version (1927)

1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 46,118,584,956 bytes

Feature: 34,301,411,328 bytes

Video Bitrate: 25.02 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

1927

Bitrate:  Blu-ray

Short Version

Bitrate: Blu-ray Long version

Audio Silent (Dolby Digital 1.0 mono) 

Short version (1928)

Hugo Riesenfeld: LPCM Audio 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Christian Elliot: LPCM Audio 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit

 

Long Version (1927)

LPCM Audio 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Dolby Digital Audio 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps

Subtitles Intertitles are in original English Intertitles are in original English
Features

Release Information:
Studio: Criterion Collection

Aspect Ratio:
Original aspect Ratio 1.33:1

Edition Details:

• New, restored digital transfers of both versions of The King of Kings: DeMille’s 155-minute roadshow version and his subsequent 112-minute general release
• New Dolby Digital 5.1 scores by composers Donald Sosin (1927 version) and Timothy J. Tikker (1931 version), plus the original score for the 1931 release by Hugo Riesenfeld
• Behind-the-scenes footage from the making of The King of Kings
• Cast portraits by photographer W.M. Mortensen
• Production and costume sketches by renowned artist Dan Sayre Groesbeck
• Stills gallery of rare production and publicity photos
• Original illustrated program and press book featuring photographs from the film’s gala premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and studio correspondence from DeMille
• Original theatrical trailers
• Plus: a booklet featuring a 1927 essay by DeMille, an excerpt from Robert S. Birchard’s new book Cecil B. DeMille’s Hollywood, production notes, and a new essay by film critic Peter Matthews

DVD Release Date: December 7th, 2004

Double Keep Case
Chapters: 27 for 1927 - 23 for 1928

Release Information:
Studio:
Lobster Films

 

Short version (1928):

1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 21,749,480,916 bytes

Feature: 19,538,313,216 bytes

Video Bitrate: 17.98 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Long Version (1927)

1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 46,118,584,956 bytes

Feature: 34,301,411,328 bytes

Video Bitrate: 25.02 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• Set Visit (7:46)
• Making of (7:49)
• Making of 2 (13:25)
• Premiere in Germany (5:59)
Technicolor (14:41 - French with English subtitles)
• Negative A / Negative B (3:05)
• Pathe Week on Broadway (4:16)
• Around the Film (10:12)
• Portrait Gallery (4:14)
• King of Kings in Theatres (2:03)
• Hand Coloring onto Film (3:32 - French with English subtitles)
• Two Versions For One Film (text screens)

3 DVDs of the two presentations

32-page booklet (French)


Blu-ray Release Date:
December 11th, 2017
Two Transparent (thick) Blu-ray cases inside cardboard
box case

Chapters 12 + 18

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

UPDATE: Lobster Films (January 2019): This Blu-ray package lives up to the numerous accolades it has received. The shorter 1928 version is on a single-layered disc and starts with the following: "The short version of THE KING OF KINGS is based on the 1928 sound version edit, the most commonly distributed around the world. The camera negatives of The King Of Kings have long decomposed. Beside the authentic titles, the images are taken from the 2017 digital restoration, mostly based on Cecil B. De Mille's personal silent nitrate tinted print, preserved in the George Eastman Museum (GEM) collections. It also includes an ensemble of Technicolor negatives and prints from the UCLA Film & Television Archive and the David Pierce film collection, and whatever survives of the black and white preservation elements struck by GEM in the 1950s and Modern Sound Pictures (Keith Smith) in the 1970s.

4K scan performed in 2016 at Film Preservation Services (GEM) and Lobster Films. Restoration work carried out in Lobster Films laboratories in 2017. Original music recording of the Hugo Riesenfeld score restored in 2017 at LE Diapason laboratory. "

The 1927, longer, version is on a dual-layered disc with a higher bitrate and starts with a text screen stating: "The camera negative of THE KING OF KINGS has long decomposed. This digital restoration is mostly based on Cecil B. De Mille's personal nitrate tinted print with hand coloring, preserved in the George Eastman Museum (GEM) collections. It includes as well an ensemble of Technicolor elements, parts of the original nitrate printing negative, from the UCLA Film & Television Archive and the David Pierce film collection, and whatever survives of the black and white preservation elements struck by GEM in the 1950s and Modern Sound Pictures (Keith Smith) in the 1970s. The original music by Hugo Riesenfeld composed for the shortened version has been extended, adapted and conducted by Robert Israel in 2017.

4K scan performed in 2016 at Film Preservation Services (GEM) and Lobster Films. Restoration work carried out in Lobster Films laboratories in 2017."

The scores (Hugo Riesenfeld or Christian Elliot) are lossless (linear PCM)  for the short version as well as for the 2.0 channel LPCM channel track on the 1927 version with a lossy 5.1 option. There are optional French subtitles for the English language intertitles. These Blu-rays are Region FREE.

Extras are all on the 1927 version disc and are mostly silent with a couple in French with optional English subtitles. There are lost of archival images and it they are very good in dealing with DeMille, the restoration, the color process etc. There are 2 DVDs of the two versions and a 30-page booklet in French with photos.

Although majority sepia tints the lesser-seen longer version has the two color sequences. This is pure gold. If you are unfamiliar with Silent Era films - you can dive headfirst into this... beware: you may get obsessed!

Gary Tooze

 

***

ON THE DVD: The 1927 version is presented here in an excellent transfer despite some fairly significant damage to the original elements. Black and White scenes show some impressive detail. On occasion whites look a little blown out, but for the most part contrast is as perfect as a film of this age is going to look. Colour scenes are heavily damaged and exhibit some major flicker. These portions within the 1927 version still have much better contrast than the 1928 version. The score sounds very good with a wide range of fidelity (it should as it is a brand new recording). It is presented as a Dolby Digital 2.0 track, not a DD 5.1 mix as stated on the Criterion website. Extras on disc one are very informative, but are mostly text and image based, except for the trailers.

The 1928 version is of much lower quality and represents a different film experience altogether.

Some scenes in the 1927 that are colour are presented in B&W in the 1928. Quite a few scenes do not share the same frames, making matching screen capture nearly impossible. The B&W scenes in the later version sometimes look sharper and more detailed than their 1927 colour counterpart. The original 1928 Riesenfeld score sounds thin and has some hiss while being fairly limited in range. It is presented in Dolby Digital 1.0 and compliments the film nicely. The alternate 2004 pipe organ score (DD 2.0 not 5.1) sounds very clean but I still preferred the original mono score for this version of the film.

Extras on disc two include 13:30 min of behind the scenes silent footage, stills and more image/text based extras including costume sketches and portrait stills.

Overall this set is very highly recommended and to have the longer 1927 version of the film in such a high quality transfer represents a real revelation for fans of this or any silent film.out of

Mark Balson

 


DVD Menus

1927 version - LEFT - 1928 version - RIGHT

 

 

Lobster Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

 

Blu-ray 2

 

 


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

1) Criterion - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Lobster Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

NOTE: some frames simply do not exist in the 1928 shorter version!

 

1) Criterion (1928 - short version) - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Criterion (1927 - long version) - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Lobster Films (1928 - short version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - THIRD

4) Lobster Films (1927 - long version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) Criterion (1928 - short version) - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Criterion (1927 - long version) - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Lobster Films (1928 - short version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - THIRD

4) Lobster Films (1927 - long version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


 

1) Criterion (1928 - short version) - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Criterion (1927 - long version) - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Lobster Films (1928 - short version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - THIRD

4) Lobster Films (1927 - long version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) Criterion (1928 - short version) - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Criterion (1927 - long version) - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Lobster Films (1928 - short version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - THIRD

4) Lobster Films (1927 - long version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 

 

1) Criterion (1928 - short version) - Region 0 - NTSC - TOP

2) Criterion (1927 - long version) - Region 0 - NTSC - SECOND

3) Lobster Films (1927 - long version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM

 


1) Lobster Films (1928 - short version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Lobster Films (1927 - long version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM


1) Lobster Films (1928 - short version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Lobster Films (1927 - long version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM


1) Lobster Films (1928 - short version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Lobster Films (1927 - long version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM


1) Lobster Films (1928 - short version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Lobster Films (1927 - long version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM


 
More Captures from the Lobster Films (1928 - short version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray
 

More Captures from the Lobster Films (1927 - long version) - Region FREE - Blu-ray

 

 

Box Cover

 

 

 

    

   

Distribution Criterion Collection - Spine # 266 - Region 0 - NTSC Lobster Films - Region FREE - Blu-ray


Hit Counter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive:

 CLICK PayPal logo to donate!

Gary Tooze