Killing Jesus Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Killing Jesus Blu-ray Movie Review

The greatest story ever told, told decently.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 4, 2015

It may not qualify as coming out of the mouths of babes, given the fact that my son is moving up on his 17th birthday, but when he saw me opening up Killing Jesus, he joked, “I heard that was fantastic—from Bill O’Reilly.” The Fox News pundit has created something of a cottage industry with his Killing series, but it’s notable that O’Reilly seemingly has run out of people who were actually murdered, at least as evidenced by his recently announced upcoming tome, Killing Reagan. (Truth be told, O’Reilly had already begun expanding the Killing universe beyond murder victims with Killing Patton, with O’Reilly’s thesis in that book implying but never outright alleging a certain subterfuge in the great General’s death. As the son of a battalion commander working under Patton during World War II, a son who grew up hearing anecdotes about Old George, including about the Jeep crash which ultimately took Patton's life, my personal opinion is that O’Reilly’s claims are largely a bunch of hooey.) O’Reilly is certainly not one to shy away from self-promotion, or even (as some would probably state) self-aggrandizement, as in his now somewhat infamous statement during an interview that he was divinely inspired (by the actual Holy Ghost, no less) when writing Killing Jesus (one has to wonder if co-author Martin Dugard was included in this miraculous event). O’Reilly is also not shy about talking about his own deeply rooted Catholicism (something that evidently Dugard shares), and indeed O’Reilly has been at the forefront of the so-called “culture wars,” going on nightly tears about such perceived problems like the “war on Christmas," elements which on their face might suggest an "old school," resolutely scriptural, approach toward this iconic subject. (For what it’s worth, and interestingly if tangentially, I once had occasion in my hometown of Portland to work with a news personality who had worked with and actually dated O’Reilly during his brief tenure here at the ABC affiliate. She claimed he was a diehard liberal or she would have never gone out with him, and that his whole Fox persona is an act. I joked that maybe he had been acting with her for "amorous" reasons.) With so many famous cinematic depictions of Jesus’ life, not to mention his crucifixion (King of Kings, The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Passion of the Christ, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Jesus Film, Jesus Christ Superstar, Son of God), one might wonder exactly what Killing Jesus hoped to bring to the figurative table. Handsome if occasionally silly (in the best Biblical film tradition, actually), Killing Jesus offers a CliffsNotes overview of this “greatest story ever told,” and should appeal at least to the faithful, in a broadcast version of “preaching to the choir.”

The book version of Killing Jesus made a little news scripturally speaking by linking the identity of Mary Magdalene with that of the sinful woman in the Gospel of Luke (something the made for television film repeats), but what’s perhaps most provocative here, especially given O’Reilly’s conservative bona fides and his strict Catholic upbringing, is how human Jesus (Haaz Sleiman) is in this version. Whole scale miracles attributed to Jesus are either bypassed completely or only alluded to, while such fallible traits as seeming pretty confused by what’s going on tend to crop up on Jesus’ face with rather surprising regularity. What’s even odder about this formulation is that when hints of the Divine do spill into the story, they’re at least at times rather unusual. In an early moment, the Christ child reaches out and takes a talisman from what I presume is one of the three wise men in a sequence which is oddly referential (as opposed to reverential) to the way the Dalai Lama is chosen or perhaps more appropriately discovered (i.e., selecting knick knacks that have some kind of totemic power, as if that selection in and of itself offers proof of deity, albeit reincarnated in the Dalai Lama’s case).

Killing Jesus actually begins with Herod (Kelsey Grammer, not exactly understated) and then tends to anchor itself rather completely in the swirling political climate of the region, something that may remind some of the similar plot tactics offered up in King of Kings. Interestingly, though, Judas (Joe Doyle) doesn’t have quite the anarchist tendencies as the Rip Torn formulation in the 1961 film. The telefilm continues to explore the contentious relationship between the Roman authorities and Jewish patriarchs, a choice which gives the outing a bit of an unusual flavor but which perhaps strips a lot of the "passion" from the Christ.

As might be expected given the imprimatur of Ridley Scott as one of several Executive Producers, Killing Jesus is quite handsome from a physical production standpoint (it was lensed in Morocco, a suitable stand in for Jerusalem and surrounding areas). The telefilm tends to tread a kind of middle ground between the outsized epics of yore, where thousands of extras are magically able to hear Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (as so brilliantly parodied in Monty Python's Life of Brian), and bargain basement Christian themed outings like The Book of Esther, where a “cast of tens” is sometimes overstating things. What that means is that while epochal moments like Jesus’ sentencing before the “crowds” may not offer expected throngs, more intimate settings (like a rather nicely done Last Supper) ring with surprising authenticity.

Killing Jesus Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Killing Jesus is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is for the most part an immaculate presentation, one with bristling amounts of fine detail in close-ups, and a general precision and sharpness in the visuals which should please all but the most persnickety videophiles. Quite refreshingly, there isn't a lot of color grading going on, and so the palette pops quite naturally, and the out of doors sequences often look stunning, with superb depth of field. The (minimal) CGI is a bit less convincing and relatively soft looking. There are some fairly bad issues with banding (pay attention toward the end of the film as things segue to the actually kind of cool "art show" featuring multicultural depictions of Jesus), but otherwise this is a solid, very appealing looking transfer.

Killing Jesus Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Killing Jesus features a decently immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, one which supports a rather nice, ethnically tinged score by Trevor Morris, as well as occasional use of discrete channelization in placement of sound effects. Dialogue is very cleanly and clearly presented but is infrequently directional. Fidelity is top notch and dynamic range reasonably wide in this problem free audio presentation.

Killing Jesus Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• National Geographic Promotional Shorts: (1080p; 38:29)

  What It's Like to Play Jesus

  Getting into Character with Haaz Sleiman

  Stephen Moyer on Playing Pontius Pilate

  Kelsey Grammer on Playing King Herod

  Stephanie Leonidas on Playing Salome

  Abhin Galeya on Playing John the Baptist

  Eoin Macken on Playing Antipas

  Joe Doyle on Playing Judas

  John Rhys Davies on Playing Annas

  Emmanuelle Chriqui on Playing Herodia

  Killing Jesus: The Costumes

  The Women's Costumes

  Killing Jesus: The Make-Up

  Killing Jesus: Behind the Production

  Filming in Morocco

  The Director: Chris Menaul

  The Power Struggle of the Time

  Behind the Scenes: Killing Jesus

• Killing Jesus Trailer (1080p; 1:47)

Killing Jesus Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As rote and straightforward as much of Killing Jesus is, there are at least a couple of surprises along the way, at least if one takes Bill O'Reilly's well documented tendencies into consideration. The roiling sociopolitical emphasis gives this made for television film most of its interest, but that in and of itself tends to suck energy away from the Passion aspect, leaving this Jesus more like a befuddled everyday man with exceptional leadership skills. That "mostly human" element is the other major surprise of this outing, as I for one expected Killing Jesus to emphasize the divine aspect. Neither the best nor the worst film about Jesus ever made, Killing Jesus is visually quite handsome and features some good performances, but it's ultimately not very affecting, something that again may strike some as unexpected, given how O'Reilly often wears his religious heart on his sleeve on his telecasts. Technical merits are generally very strong for those considering a purchase.