AKC 9 General – Autumn Term 2008 – The Good Book: the Bible and its Impact
01/12/08
9. SCREENING SALVATION: THE BIBLE AND FILM
REVD TIMOTHY DITCHFIELD, COLLEGE CHAPLAIN, KINGS COLLEGE LONDON
A. THE BIBLE & FILM
“a representation of universal human values, of the truths of human experience, of insights that help us to understand better the
complexity of human life and human society” A Eichenberger: Approaches to film criticism, in New image of religious film. Ed. J R
May
Possible ways of analysing films that have a Biblical content:
Narrative – plot etc
Aesthetic – use of music, art, camera angles etc
Sociological – issues and cultural context of a film
Intertextual – cf approaches to Bible
B. JESUS FILMS
“while Jasper did not doubt that biblical stories and theological themes can be found in modern cinema, and not least in its many
“Christ-figures”, he questioned whether these allusions and resonances amounted to much more than narrative traits, borrowings that
both repeated and occluded their prototypes, neutralising the story of Christ through its secular representations” Gerard Loughlin (p1)
in Cinéma Divinité. Religion theology and the Bible in Film. Edited by Christianson, Francis and Telford. SCM Press 2005
1. Looking at Jesus
i. Biblical epic/narrative – e.g. The Greatest story ever told, Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.
ii. extra Biblical films – clearly having Jesus as a focus but holding very lightly to the Bible - e.g. Jesus of Montreal, the Last
Temptation, Monty Python’s life of Brian?
2. Looking for Jesus
Non-Biblical films that have a Christ-like figure in them – e.g. The Matrix, Robin Hood, The Shawshank Redemption, Spiderman,
Edward Scissorhands, ET!
C. THE PROBLEMS OF PORTRAYING JESUS
1. Choice of actor is fraught with danger
“No-one but the director spoke to H B Warner when he was in costume, unless it was absolutely necessary. He was veiled or
transported in a closed car when he went between the set and his dressing room or, when we were on location, his tent, where he took
his meals alone” (Marsh and Ortiz – quoting autobiography of Cecil B de Mille).
2. Is Jesus the character a typical leading man?
3. Is it possible to present the human and the divine at the same time?
“The greatest constraint on the Hollywood Christ narrative is its requirement at least formally to accept Christ’s divinity” Biblical
epics. Sacred narratives in Hollywood Cinema Babington and Evans 1993)
4. The ever present threat of controversy
D. FILMS LOOKING AT JESUS
1. From the Manger to the Cross/The life and passion of Jesus Chris (1912)
Directed by Sidney Olcott
Scenario by Gene Gauntier
Robert Henderson-Bland (Jesus), Mary (Gene Gauntier), Alice Hollister (Mary Magdalene), Samuel Morgan (Pilate)
2. King of Kings (1927)
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Scenario by Jeanie MacPherson
H. B. Warner (Jesus), Dorothy Cumming (Mary), Ernest Torrence (Peter), Joseph Schildkraut (Judas)
“probably most people have been told the story of Jesus of Nazareth through the Kings of Kings than any other single work, except
the Bible itself” (Marsh and Ortiz – quoting autobiography of Cecil B de Mille).
3. King of Kings (1961)
Directed by Nicholas Ray
Screenplay by Phillip Yordan
Jeffrey Hunter (Jesus), Siobhan McKenna (Mary), Hurd Hatfield (Pilate), Ron Randell (Lucius)
4. Il Vangelo secondo Matteo/the Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)
Directed by Pier Paulo Pasolini
“A disconcerting and scandalous novelty, because no-one expected a Christ like that, because no-one had read Matthew’s account”
Pasolini
5. The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
Directed by George Stevens
Screenplay by James Lee Barrett, Henry Denker, et al
Max Von Sydow (Jesus), Charleton Heston (John the Baptist)
6. Jesus Christ, Superstar (1973)
Directed by Norman Jewison
Screenplay by Norman Jewison, Melvyn Bragg, from the musical by Tim Rice & Andrew Lloyd Webber
Ted Neeley (Jesus Christ), Carl Anderson (Judas Iscariot), Yvonne Elliman (Mary Magdalene)
7. Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli
Screenplay by Anthony Burgess, et al
Robert Powell (Jesus), Anne Bancroft (Mary Magdelene), Ernest Borgnine (The Centurion)
8. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Screenplay by Paul Schrader, based on a novel by Nikos Kazantzakis
William Dafoe (Jesus), Harvey Keitel (Judas) Barbara Hershey (Mary Magdalene)
“...to make the life of Jesus immediate and accessible to people who haven’t really thought about God in a long time” Martin
Scorsese
9. Jésus de Montréal/Jesus of Montreal (1989)
Written & Directed by Denys Arcand
Lothaire Bluteau (Daniel), Catherine Wikening (Mireille), Johanne-Marie Tremblay (Constance)
10. The Passion of the Christ (2004)
Directed by Mel Gibson
Screenplay by Mel Gibson and Benedict Fitzgerald James Caviezel (Jesus), Maia Morgenstern (Mary), Monica Bellucci (Mary
Magdelene), Mattia Sbragia (Caiaphas)
E. FILMS LOOKING FOR JESUS
1. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Directed by Michael Curtiz & William Keighley
Screenplay by Norman Reilly Raine & Seton I. Miller
Errol Flynn (Robin Hood), Olivia de Havilland (Maid Marian), Basil Rathbone (Sir Guy of Gisbourne), Claude Rains (Prince John)
2. ET: the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Directed by Steven Spielberg, Screenplay by Melissa Mathison
Henry Thomas (Elliott), Dee Wallace (Mary), Robert MacNaughton (Michael), Drew Barrymore (Gertie)
3. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Written & Directed by Tim Burton
Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands), Winona Ryder (Kim), Dianne Wiest (Peg)
4. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Directed & Screenplay by Frank Darabont,
From a short story "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" Stephen King
Tim Robbins (Andy Dufresne), Morgan Freeman (Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding), Bob Gunton (Warden Norton)
5. The Matrix (1999)
Written & Directed by Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski
Keanu Reeves (Neo), Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus), Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity), Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith)
6. Spiderman 2 (2004)
Directed by Sam Raimi, Written by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko
Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man/Peter Parker), Kirsten Dunst (Mary Jane Watson), James Franco (Harry Osborn), Alfred Molina (Doc
Ock/Dr. Otto Octavius)
FURTHER READING
Cinéma Divinité. Religion theology and the Bible in Film. Edited by Christianson, Francis and Telford. SCM Press 2005
Explorations in theology and film. Edited March and Ortiz. Blackwell 1997
The Gospel according to Hollywood. Greg Garrett. Westminster John Knox Press 2007
Holy Superheroes. Greg Garrett WJK Press 2008 (revised edition)
USEFUL WEBSITES
http://www.imdb.com/ (definitive film information and review website)
http://www.flickerings.com/2004/films/jesusmovies/index.htm (very good reviews of Jesus films, from a Christian perspective)
Full details about the AKC course, copies of the handouts, and the Discussion Board can be found on the AKC website:
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/akc. If you have any queries please contact the AKC Course Administrator (ext 2333 or email dean@kcl.ac.uk).
The AKC Examination will take place on Friday 27 March 2009 between 14.30 and 16.30.
Please REGISTER FOR THE COURSE using the online form on the website. You will need to register for the exam separately,
information will be provided next semester.