The King of Kings (1927)
Drama, History • 2h 35m
Overview
The King of Kings is the Greatest Story Ever Told as only Cecil B. DeMille could tell it. In 1927, working with one of the biggest budgets in Hollywood history, DeMille spun the life and Passion of Christ into a silent-era blockbuster. Featuring text drawn directly from the Bible, a cast of thousands, and the great showman’s singular cinematic bag of tricks, The King of Kings is at once spectacular and deeply reverent—part Gospel, part Technicolor epic.
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Cast: H.B. Warner, Dorothy Cumming, Ernest Torrence, Joseph Schildkraut, James Neill, Joseph Striker, Robert Edeson, Sidney D'Albrook, Jacqueline Logan, Charles Belcher, Victor Varconi, Montagu Love, William Boyd, Julia Faye, May Robson, Sidney Franklin, John George, Rex Ingram, Ruth Miller, Ayn Rand, Sally Rand, Mark Strong, David Imboden, Clayton Packard, Robert Ellsworth, Charles Requa, John T. Prince, Rudolph Schildkraut, Sam De Grasse, Casson Ferguson, Majel Coleman, Michael D. Moore, Theodore Kosloff, George Siegmann, Josephine Norman, Kenneth Thomson, Alan Brooks, Viola Louie, Muriel McCormac, Clarence Burton, James Pier Mason, Dot Farley, Hector V. Sarno, Leon Holmes, Otto Lederer, Bryant Washburn, Lionel Belmore, Monte Collins Sr., Lucio Flamma, Sôjin Kamiyama, André Cheron, Willy Castello, Noble Johnson, Jim Farley, Winifred Greenwood
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Kino Lorber Blu-ray with Photoplay 4K restoration
Kino Lorber Blu-ray with Carl Davis score
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Kino Lorber Blu-ray with Photoplay 4K restoration
Kino Lorber Blu-ray with Carl Davis score
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Germany Plaion Media Blu-ray is marginally better than Kino Lorber which suffers a little dark crush: https://slow.pics/c/BME05Jlw
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Germany Plaion Media Blu-ray is marginally better than Kino Lorber which suffers a little dark crush: https://slow.pics/c/BME05Jlw
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Director: Harry O. Hoyt
Upcoming Flicker Alley Blu-ray Focus on Clara Bow according to their calendar
Director: Harry O. Hoyt
Upcoming Flicker Alley Blu-ray Focus on Clara Bow according to their calendar
Director: Herbert Brenon
Upcoming Flicker Alley Blu-ray Focus on Clara Bow according to their calendar
Director: Herbert Brenon
Upcoming Flicker Alley Blu-ray Focus on Clara Bow according to their calendar
Director: James P. Hogan
Flicker Alley Blu-ray Focus on Clara Bow according to their calendar
Director: James P. Hogan
Flicker Alley Blu-ray Focus on Clara Bow according to their calendar
Director: Lewis Milestone
Director: Lewis Milestone
Director: Raoul Walsh
Director: Raoul Walsh
Kino Lorber Edison: The Invention of the Movies DVD or Flicker Alley Landmarks of Early Film DVD
Kino Lorber Edison: The Invention of the Movies DVD or Flicker Alley Landmarks of Early Film DVD
Kino Lorber Edison: The Invention of the Movies DVD or Flicker Alley Landmarks of Early Film DVD
Kino Lorber Edison: The Invention of the Movies DVD or Flicker Alley Landmarks of Early Film DVD
Directors: Lois Weber & Phillips Smalley
No comparison available, three options:
Kino Lorber Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers Blu-ray
Flicker Alley Early Women Filmmakers: An International Anthology Blu-ray
Directors: Lois Weber & Phillips Smalley
No comparison available, three options:
Kino Lorber Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers Blu-ray
Flicker Alley Early Women Filmmakers: An International Anthology Blu-ray
Flicker Alley or BFI Chaplin at Keystone DVD
Flicker Alley or BFI Chaplin at Keystone DVD restoration conflation of two 35mm nitrate prints held by the BFI, see silentera
Flicker Alley or BFI Chaplin at Keystone DVD
Flicker Alley or BFI Chaplin at Keystone DVD restoration conflation of two 35mm nitrate prints held by the BFI, see silentera
More Drama on Blu-ray
Director: Orson Welles
MoC 4K Blu-ray and Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray are similar
Director: Orson Welles
MoC 4K Blu-ray and Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray are similar
Director: Jean Renoir
The Criterion 4K Blu-ray has marginally better detail and grain structure than ESC 4K Blu-ray
The ESC France 4K Blu-ray is an SDR grade erroneously presented in HDR, but if your player can force the HDR into SDR it looks very good.
Director: Jean Renoir
The Criterion 4K Blu-ray has marginally better detail and grain structure than ESC 4K Blu-ray
The ESC France 4K Blu-ray is an SDR grade erroneously presented in HDR, but if your player can force the HDR into SDR it looks very good.
Director: Robert Wise
Disney 4K Blu-ray, see caps https://slow.pics/c/hE3HUCdj
Disney 4K Atmos is great, a reference quality track. It's a very slight remix (music seems to be from a better source), but it's completely seamless and faithful to the original, better fidelity than anything since the 1994 30th Anniversary Edition LaserDisc.
All DVDs (and 2010 Blu-ray) sound far worse than the 4K Blu-ray/LaserDisc and have various missing sound cues.
Director: Robert Wise
Disney 4K Blu-ray, see caps https://slow.pics/c/hE3HUCdj
Disney 4K Atmos is great, a reference quality track. It's a very slight remix (music seems to be from a better source), but it's completely seamless and faithful to the original, better fidelity than anything since the 1994 30th Anniversary Edition LaserDisc.
All DVDs (and 2010 Blu-ray) sound far worse than the 4K Blu-ray/LaserDisc and have various missing sound cues.
Director: Akira Kurosawa
BFI 4K Blu-ray has excellent master and grade, no DNR and tasteful HDR
Restored original mono mix: Toho Japan 4K Blu-ray
Unrestored original mono: 2014 BFI Blu-ray
BFI 4K Blu-ray has OG Perspecta (in 5.1 container) and a stereo downmix of it; no original mono.
The unrestored track on BFI's earlier release appears to be an almost entirely unmanipulated transfer of the original mix. It suffers from a distracting low-frequency hum. The 4K restoration comes with a restored track, which appears to be the same transfer, but which appears to be cleaned up with a moderate amount of noise reduction and some EQ, nicely opening up the high-end, and which is likely to be preferable to most listeners. All earlier releases sound poor.
Perspecta isn't a discrete surround format, instead only relying on manipulating volume and panning of the mono track across L/C/R channels, based on embedded control tones. As such, even the Perspecta track is technically just the mono mix, though the omission of the proper mono on BFI's 4K is still unfortunate.
Director: Akira Kurosawa
BFI 4K Blu-ray has excellent master and grade, no DNR and tasteful HDR
Restored original mono mix: Toho Japan 4K Blu-ray
Unrestored original mono: 2014 BFI Blu-ray
BFI 4K Blu-ray has OG Perspecta (in 5.1 container) and a stereo downmix of it; no original mono.
The unrestored track on BFI's earlier release appears to be an almost entirely unmanipulated transfer of the original mix. It suffers from a distracting low-frequency hum. The 4K restoration comes with a restored track, which appears to be the same transfer, but which appears to be cleaned up with a moderate amount of noise reduction and some EQ, nicely opening up the high-end, and which is likely to be preferable to most listeners. All earlier releases sound poor.
Perspecta isn't a discrete surround format, instead only relying on manipulating volume and panning of the mono track across L/C/R channels, based on embedded control tones. As such, even the Perspecta track is technically just the mono mix, though the omission of the proper mono on BFI's 4K is still unfortunate.
Director: Vincent Ward
Director: Vincent Ward
Director: Sidney Lumet
2026 Criterion 4K Blu-ray
2011 Criterion Blu-ray is the best. Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has heavily filtered audio
Director: Sidney Lumet
2026 Criterion 4K Blu-ray
2011 Criterion Blu-ray is the best. Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray has heavily filtered audio
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray > US Paramount 4K Blu-ray for the US Cut.
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray, is significantly better than the US Paramount 4K Blu-ray (even with FEL Baked in and Dolby Vision), with more grain retention and detail
SDR Comparisons: International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray vs US Paramount 4K Blu-ray: https://slow.pics/c/TEPHtKjl
HDR Comparisons: International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray vs US Paramount 4K Blu-ray: https://slow.pics/c/hIFe11Hx
Comparisons in SDR using L8 Trim from CM v4.0 (both UHDs can use CM v4.0): Remux vs USA UHD: https://slow.pics/c/mkrhVtpl
The International Cut, which contains alternate, more violent shots in the final act, hasn't been released on home video to date.
International Cut contains alternate, more violent shots in the final act.
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray > US Paramount 4K Blu-ray for the US Cut.
International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray, is significantly better than the US Paramount 4K Blu-ray (even with FEL Baked in and Dolby Vision), with more grain retention and detail
SDR Comparisons: International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray vs US Paramount 4K Blu-ray: https://slow.pics/c/TEPHtKjl
HDR Comparisons: International Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray vs US Paramount 4K Blu-ray: https://slow.pics/c/hIFe11Hx
Comparisons in SDR using L8 Trim from CM v4.0 (both UHDs can use CM v4.0): Remux vs USA UHD: https://slow.pics/c/mkrhVtpl
The International Cut, which contains alternate, more violent shots in the final act, hasn't been released on home video to date.
International Cut contains alternate, more violent shots in the final act.
Director: John Ford
Director: John Ford
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Kino Lorber 4k resto
The audio on the Kino Lorber Blu-ray comes from a better source than the various DVDs and the previous HD version on streaming. This audio is relatively untampered with, and is likely the best available source as no laserdisc was ever issued.
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
Kino Lorber 4k resto
The audio on the Kino Lorber Blu-ray comes from a better source than the various DVDs and the previous HD version on streaming. This audio is relatively untampered with, and is likely the best available source as no laserdisc was ever issued.
Director: John Woo
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
Director: John Woo
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
International Cut: US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray
Original Hong Kong Cut (2 parts): US Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray or Hong Kong Blu-rays?
Edit History
12/4/2025
Format
Added
1080p Blu-ray
Added
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly Release
Added
Flicker Alley BD
Added
Flicker Alley BD
Best Video Release
Added
Flicker Alley BD (encoded by FiM) has much better encoding than Lobster BD, see DVDBeaver caps
Added
Flicker Alley BD (encoded by FiM) has much better encoding than Lobster BD, see DVDBeaver caps
Blu-ray.com
Added
https://www.blu-ray.com/The-King-of-Kings/147401/#Releases
Added
https://www.blu-ray.com/The-King-of-Kings/147401/#Releases
DVDBeaver
Added
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews7/king_of_kings_blu-ray.htm
Added
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews7/king_of_kings_blu-ray.htm






























