This 33 minute take on the life and passion of Christ by Alice Guy came out 3 years after the 45 minute film on the same subject by Lucien Nonguet and Ferdinand Zecca. It is not stencil coloured and the quality of the video I saw is slightly worse than the other one. However, it is, in my opinion, a better paced than the other one (although each scene is noticeably shorter due to the overall shorter length) and a bit better and more realistically acted. There are differences between the two films in scenes chosen to be filmed. This film also has a bit more in depth look into the Via Dolorosa, reminiscent of the Stations of the Cross in church. It does not share as much of the trick photography, special effects or camera panning as the 1903 film but it is completely satisfactory as is for something out of 1906! One thing I noticed is that in the scene at Golgotha instead of two other large crosses that historically were on either side of Christ's cross with villains crucified, in the film there are two small crosses with no one on them - seems just for the decoration.
Overall, I think the two films, although different in details details, are on par and both are definitely worth watching, if not for the story for some people, than definitely for brilliant filmmaking of the very beginning of the 20th century. It is also interesting to note that even a century ago (and much more so in the middle ages) people invested huge time and effort into religious works of art. This is particularly true for the architecturally beautiful and artistically rich medieval cathedrals and churches, wonderful ornamented hand-written and hand-bound books (which were mostly bibles before book-printing came along), paintings and frescoes that were mostly on religious subjects before the age of Renaissance. I guess the story of the Tower of Babylon was still taken seriously and art was dedicated to and for the glory of God. And so, interestingly, huge efforts were also put in those very early films on religious subjects, being so much longer in length than almost any other film of the time.
Overall, I think the two films, although different in details details, are on par and both are definitely worth watching, if not for the story for some people, than definitely for brilliant filmmaking of the very beginning of the 20th century. It is also interesting to note that even a century ago (and much more so in the middle ages) people invested huge time and effort into religious works of art. This is particularly true for the architecturally beautiful and artistically rich medieval cathedrals and churches, wonderful ornamented hand-written and hand-bound books (which were mostly bibles before book-printing came along), paintings and frescoes that were mostly on religious subjects before the age of Renaissance. I guess the story of the Tower of Babylon was still taken seriously and art was dedicated to and for the glory of God. And so, interestingly, huge efforts were also put in those very early films on religious subjects, being so much longer in length than almost any other film of the time.