A History of Christianity Told in Movies
Submitted by lukeprog on Thu, 10/20/2005 - 09:29
Tags:
- Under Construction
Jesus (circa 4 B.C. to circa A.D. 30)
- From the Manger to the Cross (1912) - this Jesus film is one of the earliest full-length films, shot in Egypt and Palestine..
- The King of Kings (1927) - Demille's story of Jesus.
- The Robe (1953) - about a Roman tribune assigned to crucify Jesus.
- King of Kings (1961)
- Barabbas (1962) - the man released in place of Christ battles inner demons.
- The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) - Pasolini's take has the setting slightly more accurate than most.
- The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) - mostly significant for convincing Telly Savalas to shave his head.
- Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) - Andrew Lloyd Webber's disco musical on Jesus' life.
- Jesus of Nazareth (1977) - Zeffirelli's TV miniseries is among the longest and most complete telling.
- Jesus (1979) - the one bought by the boatload by missions organizations to use as an evangelism tool worldwide.
- The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) - Scorcese's "alternate" take on the life of Jesus.
- The Passion of the Christ (2004) - Gibson's bloody portrayl of Jesus' last hours on earth.
- Salome (1953) - John the Baptist preaches against Herod and Salome gets Herod to have him killed.
First Millenium (31-1094)
- The Sign of the Cross (1932) - Nero persecutes Christians.
- Quo Vadis (1951) - Nero persecutes Christians.
- Constantine and the Cross (1962) - Constantine I (272-337) legalizes and then legitamizes Christianity in the Roman Empire.
- Augustine of Hippo (1972) - St. Augustine (354-430) is considered Doctor of the Church by Catholics and a theological fountainhead of the Reformation's teachings on salvation and grace by Protestants.
- St. Patrick: The Irish Legend (2000) - TV movie about the patron saint of Ireland, who died in 493.
- Alfred the Great (1969) - Alfred (849-899) leads English Christians to victory over the Danes, then is torn between pursuing priesthood or battle.
- Boris I (1985) - the life of Christian Bulgarian ruler Boris I (852-889).
- Marketa Lazarová (1967) - as Christianity replaces paganism, a Czech clan falls afoul of the king.
Crusades Era (1095-1482)
- Becket (1964) - Henry II appoints his drinking buddy Becket (1115-1170) Archbishop of Canterbury.
- Kingdom of Heaven (2005) - seige of Jerusalem during the Crusades.
- Saladin and the Great Crusades (1963) - the Crusades from the Arab view, under ruler Saladin (1137-1193).
- Brother Son, Sister Moon (1972) - Zeffirelli's lovely portrait of Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226).
- The Name of the Rose (1986) - two monks struggle with religion and a murder mystery in the 1300s.
- The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) - Dreyer's minimalist portrayl of martyr Jeanne D'Arc (1412-1431).
- Joan of Arc (1948) - starring Ingrid Bergman.
- The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) - Michaelangelo (1475-1564) paints the Sistine Chapel under Pope Julius II.
- A Man For All Seasons (1966) - Thomas More (1478-1535) opposes Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic church.
Rise of Protestantism (1483-1800)
- Luther (1973) - Martin Luther (1483-1546), leader of the Protestant Reformation.
- Luther (2003)
- Under the Red Robe (1937) - Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642) oppresses Huguenots.
- Cromwell (1970) - the Puritan leader (1599-1658) is caught in a tangled web of religion and politics that will result in the British Civil War.
- The Scarlet Letter (1995) - adaptation of the great Hawthorne novel about Puritans and Quakers.
- The Abdication (1974) - Queen Christina (1626-1689) abdicates her throne to convert to Catholicism.
- The Mission (1986) - 18th century Jesuits defend an Indian tribe from Portugal's army.
Modern Era (1801-today)
- The Darwin Adventure (1972) - Darwin wrestles with Christianity over the origin of species. Includes the 1860 evolution debate at Oxford University Museum.
- The Song of Bernadette (1943) - a peasant girl inspires the faith of an 1858 rural French community.
- Shadowlands (1993) - the life of renowned Christian author C.S. Lewis (1898-1963).
- Diary of a Country Priest (1951) - a Catholic priest takes on his first parish.
- Amen. (2002) - a WWII SS officer, with the assistance of a Jesuit priest, tries to inform the pope about Jews being sent to concentration camps.
- The Cardinal (1963) - Preminger's look at the 20th century Catholic church.
- The Rapture (1991) - Hedonist becomes born-again and takes her faith to extremes.
- The Apostle (1997) - a modern preacher builds his own church.
- The Magdalene Sisters (2002) - Christian asylums torment innocent Irish women.
- The Gospel (2005) - a drama of turmoil in a modern church.
Author Comments:
Requested by bertie. Help appreciated. I've left out films that deal with Christianity only in part, including Intolerance, Ben-Hur, and others. I've also discarded films that are out of proper historical context, like Hail Mary and The Judas Project.
Man for All Seasons, A (1966) is the story of Sir Thomas More, who stood up to King Henry VIII when the King rejected the Roman Catholic Church to obtain a divorce and remarriage.
Henry VIII created the Anglican church as a result.
Why do you categorize The Mission, a movie about Jesuits, under Protestantism?
Black Robe (1991) is about 17th century Jesuit priests converting the natives of Quebec to Christianity.
Thanks for your recommendations. I placed The Mission under the time period I spuriously labeled "Protestantism" (perhaps better would be "the rise of Protestantism") because the movie takes place during the years I outlined for that time period header.
Some of these might qualify:
Quo Vadis (1951) - Nero suppresses Christianity with lions and such
King of Kings (1927) - DeMille version
Sign of the Cross (1932) - DeMille version of Nero
From the Manger to the Cross (1912) - Usual story, suprisingly high quality for an early feature
Man for All Seasons (1966) - Thomas More opposes Henry VIII's break with the church
Cardinal (1963) - Preminger's study of the early 20th century Catholic church
Gospel (2005) - Drama about the business side of a modern church
55 Days at Peking (1963) - The Boxers massacre Christian missionaries and converts for corrupting Chinese culture
Apostle (1997) - Modern story of a fugitive preacher who builds a church from the ground up
Becket (1964) - Henry II appoints his crony Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury
Rapture (1991) - Hedonist becomes born-again and takes her faith to extremes
Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) - Michaelangelo paints the Sistine Chapel under Pope Julius II
Eurotrip (2004) - Kids party across Europe and one accidentally gets elected Pope
Song of Bernadette (1943) - Simple peasant girl inspires the faith of an 1858 rural French community
Hail Mary! (1985) - Modern retelling of the Virgin Mary story
Elephant (1989) - Catholics walk and gun down Protestants
Wow. Uh... thanks.
I haven't seen 55 Days at Peking. Is Christianity really very much present in the plot and dialogue of the movie? The IMDB plot summary doesn't mention religion, that's why I ask.
I don't think I'll include movies like Hail Mary or The Judas Project because they exist entirely outside the proper historical setting. Jesus Christ Superstar and The Last Temptation of Christ are complete fantasy, but exist in the proper historical setting. I'm still debating whether or not I should include Life of Brian.
I suppose 55 Days at Peking wasn't about Christianity. It was about a rebellion which was about Christianity. You might say the same about Cromwell.
Hey! I go away for lunch and when I get back you've nearly got the thing finished - well, not quite, but a very good start.
I'll be back later with some suggestions.
How about Amen.?
Good enough. Thanks!
Here are some suggestions for "Cultural Dominance":
- Boris I (1985) - Bulgaria
- Marketa Lazarova (1967) - Czechoslovakia
- St Patrick - The Irish Legend (2000, TV) - Ireland
- Alfred the Great (1969) - England
Um, have you abandoned that period?
Great finds, thanks! I wasn't finding anything, so I merged the period with the previous one and had forgotten to change the dates.
El Naser Salah el Dine (1963) - The Crusades seen from the Islamic point of view.
The Darwin Adventure (1972) - A story equally important, I suggest, to science and Christianity. Includes the famous confrontation between Thomas Huxley and Samuel Wilberforce.
First Millenium:
Agostino d'Ippona (1972) - Augustine of Hippo, one of the Church Fathers. (I know I said do the freeware list first, but Augustine is a major figure.
Thanks. The freeware list is going to take me a long time, anyway.
I've been looking for a movie involving Thomas Aquinas, but darned if I can find one.
San Paolo (2000) - Saint Paul. Conspicuously absent from your first millenium, though he does appear in Quo Vadis?.
This list looks pretty respectable now. Good job.
Not that it's history, but I was wondering if you've read The Da Vinci Code or seen the movie, and/or have any comments.
Neither read nor seen it, but heard about many of the purported facts of the novel/movie that were blatantly false, etc.
I have neither read nor seen it either, but I am kinda baffled by the response to it which you cited, when Dan Brown clearly writes on his web site: "The documents, rituals, organization, artwork, and architecture in the novel all exist. The 'FACT' page makes no statement whatsoever about any of the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters. Interpreting those ideas is left to the reader."
So he's clearly not claiming the theories to be factual, but I would be curious to know if some people would go even further and say that some of the documents, rituals, artwork, or architecture were not factual.
I've read the novel. It's an interesting read - on the face of it it's a 'follow the string of clues' story - reminded me a lot of the third Indiana Jones movie, about the Holy Grail, although it's a much more sophisticated interpretation of the whole Grail legend. The recent Nicholas Cage movie National Treasure does something similar with U.S. history (though, again, in a less sophisticated way). As for the religious aspect of TDC, it's interesting, but very thin as historical evidence I would think. But that's not surprising. I mean, if what it claims were true then the evidence would be thin. But that doesn't really count much as evidence either.
The Magdalene Sisters (2002) might be an interesting addition to this list if you think it fits what you are trying to accomplish.
Seen it, and it's perfect for the list. Thanks!
Jon Stewart for President! Jon Stewart or President! (check out the Larry King clip especially)