266 - The king of Kings
 

The Criterion Collection 266

The King of Kings (1927) is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. On widescreen televisions, black bars will appear on the left and right of the image to maintain the proper screen format. Certain intertitles were resized so that the entire text frame would be visible on all TV screens. This new high-definition digital transfer, encoded for optimal image quality onto a dual-layer DVD-9, was created on a Spirit Datacine by combining the best elements of two surviving 35mm archival prints, held by George Eastman House and the Cecil B. DeMille estate. The newly created 35mm internegative from UCLA’s original two-strip Technicolor nitrate print is the best surviving material for the color sequences, but despite digital restoration, severe fading and color imbalance remain. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, and scratches were removed using the MTI Digital Restoration System.