The Kiss of Judas (1908) User Reviews

The artist is so much in evidence that the meaning of the drama is obscured

[deickemeyer · 7 August 2014]

Unquestionably the betrayal and arrest of Jesus is one of the most difficult subjects in all history to reproduce on the stage, and when the Pathes announced that they proposed to reproduce it in a motion picture there was great curiosity to see how they would handle the subject and how successful they would be. The film has been a part of the programs of the past week and so far as the art of the subject is concerned nothing is left to be desired. The art is perfect, but perhaps the fact that the art is perfect detracts in some degree from the pathos of the tragedy. The first scene is where Jesus is washing his disciples' feet. The picture of Jesus is excellent, but it fails to convince, to grip the heart with that power which is essential to make a picture truly appeal to those who see it. The next scene shows the Last Supper, during which Jesus announces that some one of those sitting at the table will betray him. The anxious look upon the faces of the twelve is excellently reproduced. The next scene is the bargain with the rabbis for the thirty pieces of silver and the arrangement of the sign by which Judas was to make known which was Jesus. Then comes the arrest, and finally the remorse and death of Judas. These scenes have been reproduced with as close fidelity to fact as is possible now, and the only one which seems to be the least out of place is the death of Judas and the exhibition of the suspended body. Perhaps it is necessary to complete the picture, but it would seem better to let that be suggested rather than actually seen. The staging is admirable and the action of the characters is beyond question a work of art, but there is not the pathos which should attach to this most emotional of all dramas. The characters fail to arouse the feeling that here is a tragedy which changed the whole of human history. The artist is so much in evidence that the meaning of the drama is obscured, and unless one is sufficiently trained to look under the surface he will fail to realize the real power of this drama. The admiration which will be aroused for the art of the actor will, in a degree, overshadow what the actor is interpreting. Messrs. Lambert and Sully, from the Comedy Francais, acted the principal parts, and the finished work of these artists is powerfully shown throughout the drama. Photographically the film is perfect and it runs so steadily that one scarcely sees a quiver during the time the scenes are on the screen. - The Moving Picture World, April 10, 1909