There is SO much involved with this film; when it was made (it was an epic event, for how long it was), it broke ALL the rules for "public society" at the time, it attempted to turn a very involved novel into an 'unheard of' 12 minute visual (subtitled) story.
This film is an EPIC representation and a MILESTONE for everything we know as movies now; for when it was made. This film is why the ambitious, later, took on Shakespeare, The 10 commandments; and more.
I'm not sure what some think, or expect, from this era of film. For its time it is truly a masterpiece (not as an 'assumed expert' but as a true fan of film)