I.N.R.I. (1923) | Directed by Robert Wiene - Full Movie

By the director of Cabinet of Dr.Caligari, this is the Passion embedded in a contemporary story. An anarchist jailed for an attempted assassination is told the Passion story by the prison chaplain, who seeks to convince him that it is better to sacrifice ones own life than take the life of ones enemy. The framing story, taken from a novel, is believed to have been intended to give the Biblical story an anti-Bolshevist propaganda function. In any case, it was added without the knowledge of the actors in the Passion story, who included some of the major stars of the period Asta Nielsen as Mary Magdalene, Henny Porten as Mary, Grigori Chmara as Jesus, and Werner Krauss as Pontius Pilate.

I.N.R.I. is a 1923 German silent religious epic film directed by Robert Wiene and starring Gregori Chmara, Henny Porten, and Asta Nielsen. The film is a retelling of the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It was based on a 1905 novel by Peter Rosegger. It was reissued in 1933 in the United States with an added music track and narration as Crown of Thorns.

The film uses a framing device set in modern Russia. The film is generally conventional in its treatment of the story except for the character of Judas Iscariot. Judas is portrayed as a social revolutionary who wants Jesus to become the leader of a Jewish uprising against the Roman army of occupation. Judas' eventual betrayal of Jesus comes from political disillusionment rather than money. The Judas role was very important to the film as it was conceived by Wiene, because it linked the biblical story to the framing story. However, the modern scenes provoked opposition from the censors, and the film was generally shown without them. It premiered in Berlin on Christmas Day 1925.

Directed by: Robert Wiene
Written by: Peter Rosegger (novel), Robert Wiene
Produced by: Hans Neumann, Hans von Wolzogen
Starring: Gregori Chmara, Henny Porten, Asta Nielsen, Werner Krauss
Cinematography: Axel Graatkjær, Reimar Kuntze, Ludwig Lippert
Music by: Willy Schmidt-Gentner
Production company: Neumann-Filmproduktion
Distributed by: Bayerische Film
Release date: 25 December 1923
Country: Germany
Languages: Silent, German intertitles