Among later reviews, Leonard Maltin's home video guide awarded the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, and Geoff Andrew called it "one of the most interesting screen versions of the Gospels, adding that "some of the performances appear to lack depth, but one can't deny the effectiveness of Miklós Rózsa's fine score, and of Ray's simple but elegant visuals which achieve a stirring dramatic power untainted by pompous bombast." Musicians such as Grammy Award-winning Art Greenhaw have cited the movie as being an influence in their work and even their favorite film of all time. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, "King of Kings" holds an approval rating of 85% based on 20 reviews with an average rating of 6.41/10 The website's critical consensus reads: "With enough narrative depth to anchor the expected spectacle, "King of Kings" is a true blessing for fans of Biblical epics."