"The book is written with two goals in mind. The first is to give film viewers some background and context for evaluating what they see on screen, By and large. Hollywood is not conversant with theological issues; occasionally, movies reveal an appalling ignorance about religion. More often, however, the approach movies take is simply flat-footed and unsophisticated. Giving readers the tools they need to interpret and critique cinematic portrayals of sanctity is one goal of this book.".
Movies are often examined for subtext and dramatizations of social and psychological issues as well as current movements. Studies of well-known Catholic directors, such as Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford, have made the search for Catholic themes a reputable field of examination. Through a Catholic Lens continues the search for these themes and examines the Catholic undercurrents by studying nineteen film directors from around the world. Although these directors may or may not be practicing Catholics, their Catholic background can be found in their writing and directing. Each chapter, written by a different contributor, analyzes one film of each director for its Catholic motifs. With the recent increase of cinema studies, this collection will be of interest to students and academics as well as cinema buffs.
This book offers a history of films with Biblical, spiritual, and supernatural themes. This volume follows the evolution of one of the Hollywood's longest running thematic concerns. From the silent era to the present, Sacred Profanity: Spirituality at the Movies examines the rich diversity of films with spiritual themes—films that reflect our own fascination with the divine and supernatural, while evoking the specific times in which they were created. From Birth of a Nation to Angels and Demons, Sacred Profanity discusses over 180 films with an insightful, movie lover's approach. Coverage encompasses Biblical stories like King of Kings; films about spiritual characters, such as The Nun's Story; foreign masterpieces like The Seventh Seal; movies that incorporate spiritual symbolism, such as Taxi Driver and Cool Hand Luke; horrifying visions of the Satanic like The Exorcist, and controversial works like The Last Temptation of Christ. The book also looks at the history of Hollywood's attempt to maintain moral order through censorship, as well as the growing influence of filmmakers' own spiritual beliefs on the movies we see.
This monograph explores the way that the profile and the critical functions of the holy fool have developed in European cinema, allowing this traditional figure to capture the imagination of new generations in an age of religious pluralism and secularization. Alina Birzache traces the cultural origins of the figure of the holy fool across a variety of European traditions. In so doing, she examines the critical functions of the holy fool as well as how filmmakers have used the figure to respond to and critique aspects of the modern world. Using a comparative approach, this study for the first time offers a comprehensive explanation of the enduring appeal of this protean and fascinating cinematic character. Birzache examines the trope of holy foolishness in Soviet and post-Soviet cinema, French cinema, and Danish cinema, corresponding broadly to and permitting analysis of the three main orientations in European Christianity: Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant. This study will be of keen interest to scholars of religion and film, European cinema, and comparative religion.
Cover -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of Figures -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: Film, Religion, and the Desarrollismo Period -- 1 Lighting Sainthood in the Time of Technocracy -- 2 Praying for Development in Post-Vatican II Comedies -- 3 Gender and Modernization in Nun Films -- 4 Narratives of Suspicion: Religion in the Nuevo Cine Español -- Conclusion: Spanish Cinema at the Intersection of Religion and Politics -- Notes -- Filmography -- Works Cited -- Index
From The Gospel According to Matthew to Jesus ChristSuperstar, from The Passion of Joan of Arc to TheLast Temptation of Christ and Jesus of Montreal, TheReligious Film captures the glory, gore, and centrality of thisimportant genre. A short, accessible introduction to religious film, exploringthe genre as spectacle, as musical, and as controversy Examines the historical, cultural and critical background forreligious films from the silent era through to the presentday Introduces the complexities and characteristics of this iconicgenre of film, including common sounds and images, and the valuesthat most traditional films of this kind uphold
The portrayal of clergy, saints, missionaries, monks, and other spiritual leaders dates back to the very beginnings of motion pictures and television. Over the years, filmmakers have portrayed religious figures as heroes and villains, sinners and saints, and nearly everything in between. Through their works, filmmakers have influenced how society viewed these religious figures and, by extension, religion itself. This work details over 900 films and television series made from the 1890s through 2003 in which a religious figure plays a prominent or recurring role, or in which a character poses as a religious figure. For each motion picture, full filmographic data are provided--including title, studio, running time, year of release, director, producer, writer, and cast--along with a synopsis focusing on the role of the religious figure. Television series are covered in a separate section. For each show, the entry includes the title under which the show was commonly known; the original broadcast network; the years the show ran, running time, and cast; and a brief discussion of the religious character's role in the overall series. Extensively indexed.
