Lito - Svensk Konstindustri. A Swedish poster for the film I.N.R.I. by German director Robert Wiene (who also directed the 1920 silent horror film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari). The film, also titled Crown of Thorns, is based on the 1905 novel I.N.R.I.: a Prisoner's Story of the Cross, by Peter Rosegger. The film frames the Christ story in a contemporary setting by showing an anarchist jailed for an attempted assassination being told the Passion story by a prison chaplain. The biblical narrative unfolds in a fairly straightforward way, but suggests that Judas was a political dissident who hoped Jesus would lead a rebellion against the Romans. This became a common theme in later filmed adaptations of the Christ story, including Nicholas Ray’s King of Kings (1961) and Jesus Christ Superstar (1973). Major German actors of the twenties playing roles in the film included: Asta Nielsen as Mary Magdalene, Henny Porten as Mary, Grigori Chmara as Jesus, and Werner Krauss as Pontius Pilate.
The poster reflects the German Expressionist style of the film, in which sets, costumes, and gestures expose the inner psychological torment of the characters.