One of the side topics in the discussion on The Passion deals with if there are any good biblical films. The comments in that discussion say yes to Pasolini, and I included The Prince of Egypt. No doubt some will include TPotC. (I don't but I can see that some would). Anyone else have films to include here?

Well, Monty Python's Life of Brian and Jesus of Montreal did make my all-time top ten, if they count.

Actually, I think Life of Brian SHOULD count, as it is very much a parody of the Bible-movie genre, or perhaps a parody of OTHER things done WITHIN the Bible-movie format; at any rate, it's certainly a specimen of this genre, and a brilliant one, at that -- in some ways, it is much more informed and much truer to the spirit of its source texts than a lot of other Bible films (though of course, in other ways it is very much NOT true to the texts).

I liked Jesus of Montreal a great deal. Prince of Egypt was wonderful. I also liked the made-for-TV Peter and Paul. Jesus of Nazareth was one of my favorite movies growing up.

Yeah, I'm one of the Passion pundits as well.

Odd--I haven't seen any of the Turner made-for-TV biblical movies. And since I know Jeremy Sisto, I couldn't bring myself to watch his Jesus...


Peter--broken link?

Jason Bortz wrote:
: I also liked the made-for-TV Peter and Paul.

Oh, yes, absolutely! Especially since it's the only film I can think of based on Acts that also makes use of the historical information in the epistles.

: Odd--I haven't seen any of the Turner made-for-TV biblical movies.

My favorites are Joseph and Moses -- the two that co-star Ben Kingsley.

Really? You know Sisto? I just saw him for the first time, watching Thirteen. Cool. How do you know him? Is he a good actor? (Hard to judge from his mellow role in Thirteen.)

I met him because he was my roomie at the condo in Sundance when they flew me there in '96. He's married to Marisa Ryan, a good friend of mine--he was there for the (scandalous) release of Don's Plum, the DiCaprio movie he sued to keep from being released nationwide.

He is good, in a Jeff Bridges kind of way--and he sounds identical to Bridges, something he had fun with in White Squall--but he's not really a character actor.

I watched about 10 minutes of his Jesus and said 'Yup. That's Jeremy' and turned it off.

QUOTE

He is good, in a Jeff Bridges kind of way--and he sounds identical to Bridges, something he had fun with in White Squall--but he's not really a character actor.

I can see that, sure. Though I'd say he is Bridges' dark flipside by reason of his work in Six feet Under and Clueless.

I can go with Life of Brian as biblical (and good), but Jesus of Montreal, while part Jesus movie, is more Christ-figure movie. And much of the Jesus part of it seems more like what the Jesus Seminar would do telling the Jesus story. (not a bad thing, but not the same a Bible)

Actually, I think it is a great blend of biblical and non-biblical story telling, but I still really couldn't call it a bible film.

Darrel Manson wrote:
: Jesus of Montreal, while part Jesus movie, is more Christ-figure movie.
: And much of the Jesus part of it seems more like what the Jesus Seminar
: would do telling the Jesus story.

I dunno, given that Arcand's Jesus is so apocalyptic, while the Seminar's is not, that's open to debate.

: Actually, I think it is a great blend of biblical and non-biblical story telling,
: but I still really couldn't call it a bible film.

Yeah, I agree.

I thought The Miracle Maker was quite effective.

QUOTE

I thought The Miracle Maker was quite effective.

Ah, I forgot about this one. The claymation Jesus movie, right, with Jesus voiced by Ralph Fiennes? I liked it.

Ron's Top Quasi Bible Films

1. The Passion of the Christ
2. The Miracle Maker
3. The Last Temptation of Christ
4. Cotton Patch Gospel
5. Godspell
6. Jesus of Nazareth
7. The Gospel According To Saint Matthew
8. Prince of Egypt
9. The Life of Brian
10. Jesus of Montreal
11. The Ten Commandments (Heston)
12. Jesus Christ Superstar

Wonder when Matt Page is going to weigh in?....

I'm a fan of Barrabas, starring Anthony Quinn--It's next up in my Netflix Queue!

It's not exactly Biblical (the scriptures and other records don't tell us what happened to Barrabas after Good Friday), but it is based on the historic character. It's certainly cheesy in spots, but Quinn's performance is phenomenal.

One of the things I found especially interesting about Barrabas was the way it suggested that Nero and his men might not have been entirely wrong -- it might be that some Christians WERE fanning the flames when Rome burned, to hasten the apocalypse. This theory is endorsed by some historians, but I don't think most people are even aware of it, so it was interesting to see the film bring it up -- even though it exonerates the Christians by showing only Barabbas, a wanna-be who doesn't actually have any ties to the church, spreading the fire.

Is the film's title really spelled "Barrabas"? That's a mistake you could never make if you knew the first thing about Hebrew (which is all I do know, but it's enough to avoid that mistake). The name, of course, is Bar-abbas, essentially "son of the father."

QUOTE

Is the film's title really spelled \"Barrabas\"? That's a mistake you could never make if you knew the first thing about Hebrew (which is all I do know, but it's enough to avoid that mistake). The name, of course, is Bar-abbas, essentially \"son of the father.\"

Yes, that's how it's spelled. (Son of the father? Doesn't that make everyone a "bar-abbas"?)

I'm sure they used the name in most published editions in the Bible, and I may have mispelled it. I still recommend it highly.

: Wonder when Matt Page is going to weigh in?....

Hi well I've been away, since Tuesday so haven't been online (Fortunately nothing Major has happen in the world of Bible films :wink: )

The Prince of Egypt is Ok but I prefer the Turner Moses. I agree Jesus of Montreal is a Christ film rather than a Jesus film, but I'd also agree that its way too apocalyptic for the Jesus Sem. I watched it again last night (as I'm seeing both Barbarian Invasions and TPotC this wek it was the perfect pre-viewing film). Given what I hear about other of Arcand's films and the relationship between the satirizing of various aspects of Western society and the last words of Daniel in the re-contextualising of Mark 13 I'm surprisied at quite how apocalyptic it is.

Life of Brian - as great as it is, is it really a biblical theme. I'd put it on a par with Barabbas (which is how the IMDB spells it FWIW), The Robe etc, which aren't really bible films in my book.


Other favourites for me...

Son of Man (yes Peter I know its not technically a film) leaves me in awe of it every time. The sermon on the mount is brilliant.

Pasolini's Matthew is good too, tho' I must confess that personally I find it just a bit too rough in places.

The Ten Commandments yes I know there's lots you can criticise it for, but at the end of the day its still an awesome acheivement, and the most well known bible film. DeMille was the master of this type of film, he was at the top of his game for this one, at the high point of the Biblical Epic. (I suppose we could question whether this is a Moses film or a lawgiver film tho' given the cold war propoganda deMille turns this into).

JeremiahI've not seen as many of the Turner bible movies as I'd like to, but this one stands out for me for some reason. Perhaps its cos I find the book so boring and because this brought it to life?

Miracle MakerOne of the many gripes I have with how tPotC is being plugged is how little hype was given to this far more rounded production. OK so its done with Plasticine, and its a mite too kidsy, but seriously.

Jesus (Young) Jason I can't believe you know the guy and haven't seen it. Most of this I like, but we could have done without as much goofing around (just cutting one water splashing scene and replacing it with a bit more teaching would have done), and more time and gravitas in the passion sequences. Really these were way to brief, and goes to show that lots of red make up doesn't necessarily make a compelling crucifixion

Moses und Aron This is as far as my writing on Moses films has got. Its just on such a different level to the other films I feel a bit intimidated. Schoenberg's libretto is very challenging and deep beyond every other biblical film made, and Straub's direction is hard to get your head around., but I like what little I understand of it and hpe that repeated viewings and more research will help me pick it up a bit more.

Moses the LawgiverOk its cheap, but it takes the bible at face value rather that starting from a point of God said it so it must be OK. I need to re-watch it really. Its starkness is actually part of its attraction to me.


Otherwise...
I really want to see more of the Turner films, and particularly want to see the African Genesis film, and Peter and Paul.

Matt

Has anyone here mentioned Peter and Paul? Anthony Hopkins plays Paul and Robert Foxworth plays Peter. That is a great look at Acts.

QUOTE

QUOTE Is the film's title really spelled \"Barrabas\"? That's a mistake you could never make if you knew the first thing about Hebrew (which is all I do know, but it's enough to avoid that mistake). The name, of course, is Bar-abbas, essentially \"son of the father.\" Yes, that's how it's spelled. (Son of the father? Doesn't that make everyone a "bar-abbas"?) I'm sure they used the name in most published editions in the Bible, and I may have mispelled it. I still recommend it highly.

Sorry for my tone. After Peter spelled it that way as well as you (and PTC being such a stickler for detail, dontchaknow) I thought the nonstandard spelling was actually in the film title -- and while it would be fairly inexplicable in that context, I certainly wouldn't want to give anyone grief for such a small thing a discussion thread. :?

The point you make about everyone being a bar-abbas has been made before, especially since allegorically we are all in Barabbas's place, i.e., we who were rightly condemned get to go free while Jesus dies in our stead. I haven't seen the film, but I'd be at least mildly surprised if that angle wasn't at least implicitly there.

QUOTE

:  I agree Jesus of Montreal is a Christ film rather than a Jesus film, but I'd also agree that its way too apocalyptic for the Jesus Sem. I watched it again last night (as I'm seeing both Barbarian Invasions and TPotC this wek it was the perfect pre-viewing film). Given what I hear about other of Arcand's films and the relationship between the satirizing of various aspects of Western society and the last words of Daniel in the re-contextualising of Mark 13 I'm surprisied at quite how apocalyptic it is.

To clarify my position, Jesus of Montreal certainly has a apocalyptic nature, but the Passion Play that Daniel puts on is a bit more in line with Jesus Seminar findings.

Oops sorry - that was obvious and shouldn't have needed clarification. Sorry

FWIW one of the things I liked about the play when I first saw it was the way the liberties taken with the text allowed most Christians to find themselves in the middle of the two camps. Being able to sympathise with the artists for the way their work is stopped by a corrupt diocese, but also with the church for a group going far beyond where they should have, to the point that you can sympathiise with their position as well.

I tend to swing on the understnading of the resurrection scene first time I thought the 5-10 year gap was a bit strange, then I read Tatum's chapter on it and he basically says that the play says that Jesus didn't rise and that someone else was mistaken for him. But then when I saw it sometime after that I didn't thinkit was anything like as clear as Tatum said and maybe even questionned it again. And now after watching it last night I'm more thinking that they do question the resurrection.

Matt

MattPage wrote:
: Moses und Aron

Is this actually available on video, then? (I also wouldn't mind finding Dudley Moore's Wholly Moses some day, though I'm sure it'll be just awful.)

: Moses the LawgiverOk its cheap, but it takes the bible at face value
: rather that starting from a point of God said it so it must be OK. I need to
: re-watch it really. Its starkness is actually part of its attraction to me.

Is the full mini-series available anywhere? I have only seen the shorter movie version.

MattPage wrote:
: I really want to see more of the Turner films, and particularly want to
: see the African Genesis film, and Peter and Paul.

Immediately below that, (M)Leary wrote:
: Has anyone here mentioned Peter and Paul?

Uh, yup. And I seconded Jason's nomination of that film on the previous page.

Oh. Thanks.

I cried during that much more than during The Passion of the Christ. And we all know that is the sign of a good film.

: MattPage wrote:
:: Moses und Aron

: Is this actually available on video, then?

Um ish. I got a copy from the Arnold schoenberg archive in Vienna, but I had to ask them very nicely altho' it wasn't expensive. Also the subtitles version is too worn to be copied anymore so I had to make do with reading an english translation of the libretto at the same time. (Not that hard to do given that there's not that much happening on screen, but still you can maybe see that this is where I got stuck)


: (I also wouldn't mind finding Dudley Moore's Wholly Moses some day, though I'm sure it'll be just awful.)
It is, but if you're interested it comes up on ebay fairly regularly over here (I knew not of ebay when I purchased a cheap betamax version and had to pay to have it converted)>


[quote]: Moses the LawgiverOk its cheap, but it takes the bible at face value
: rather that starting from a point of God said it so it must be OK. I need to
: re-watch it really. Its starkness is actually part of its attraction to me.

Is the full mini-series available anywhere? I have only seen the shorter movie version. [/quote]

Yep, I've only seen the film too, but occasionally that comes up on ebay too

Matt

I just saw b-a-r-a-b-b-a-s again last night, and it's a wonderful "mixed bag." There's a log of hokey 50s Bible-movie aesthetic elements, but the productions values are actually relatively high. The broad view of God's grace, the portrayal of Peter, and, of course, Jack Palance (!) were quiet enjoyable. Quinn certainly was a great, great actor.

I've just finished rewatching Jesus of Nazareth (over the course of several nights). It holds up quite well, despite some flaws. I'll be posting my review in a couple of weeks. Tomorrow night, The Gospel According to St. Matthew.

[quote="Ron"]Ron's Top Quasi Bible Films

1. The Passion of the Christ
2. The Miracle Maker
3. The Last Temptation of Christ
4. Cotton Patch Gospel
5. Godspell
6. Jesus of Nazareth
7. The Gospel According To Saint Matthew
8. Prince of Egypt
9. The Life of Brian
10. Jesus of Montreal
11. The Ten Commandments (Heston)
12. Jesus Christ Superstar

I can't believe you haven't seen Joesph with Ben Kingsley and Paul Mercucio. It's a 2-part epic done by the Living Bible people, I think. Is this not a well known Bible film? It should be. I remember being so suprised by how much I enjoyed it! There's a scene with Potiphar (Kingsley) and his wife after she accuses Joesph (Mercucio) of attempted rape and has him thrown in prison which every actor should study as an example of understanding status. He's a minor character in the story but his presence dominates the film. I've never seen Moses but I'm interested now that I hear Kingsley's in it. Can it be found on video?

I think that the Joseph film with Kingsly and Mercurtio is one of the Turner series. I really enjoyed all the Turner Bible films that I saw: Joseph, Abraham, and Jacob. Great production and acting and very true to the Old Testemant texts.

Yeah Joseph is part of that same series.

You should be able to get Moses on video from Amazon - in fact as I'm feeling nice today here's the link

Matt

SDG--

Is this Gospel...Matthew the same as the Visual Bible series'?

I'd be interested to hear your take on Marchiano's performance.

Jason,

No, it's the Pasolini film made in the 1960s. Shot in Madera, Italy, where Gibson's film was made. The story goes that Pasolini was stuck in his hotel room owing to some large procession or other congestion-maker (was it a papal visit?) and pulled a Gideon Bible from a nightstand. He decided to make a film based on his reading of Matthew.

No, I haven't seen it yet.

Adam wrote:
: I can't believe you haven't seen Joesph with Ben Kingsley and Paul
: Mercucio. It's a 2-part epic done by the Living Bible people, I think.

Not quite -- the only "Living Bible" I'm aware of is the paraphrase that Kenneth whatshisname put out in the early '70s (the one that translated "you son of a perverse, rebellious woman" as "you son of a bitch" until people protested and later editions said "you fool" -- I believe my parents still have a copy of the original version -- but I digress).

Joseph was produced as part of a series of TV movies that began as an Italian thing and very quickly went international. Some, but not all, of these films were shown on the Turner network -- and it's possible the series isn't finished yet. The films (with links to my comments):

1. Genesis: Creation & The Flood (1994, dir. Ermanno Olmi)
2. Abraham (1994, dir. Joseph Sargent)
3. Jacob (1994, dir. Peter Hall)
4. Joseph (1995, dir. Roger Young)
5. Moses (1996, dir. Roger Young)
6. Samson and Delilah (1996, dir. Nicolas Roeg)
7. David (1997, dir. Robert Markowitz)
8. Solomon (1997, dir. Roger Young)
9. Jeremiah (1998, dir. Harry Winer)
10. Esther (1999, dir. Raffaele Mertes)
11. Jesus (1999, dir. Roger Young)

Films #2-7 were shown on the Turner network and were thus released on Warner Home Video, possibly under their Christian "Warner Alliance" label, but only on VHS. (Oddly enough, the existing set available at Amazon.com only has films #2,4,5,7.) I do not know if Films #1,8-10 were ever shown on North American TV, though I do know Genesis played at the local Cinematheque when they had an Olmanni retrospective a while back, and all four of them are available in a DVD boxed set. Film #11 was, of course, shown on CBS and is also available on video.

All of these films except for Genesis were produced by Lorenzo Minoli, and when I interviewed him in 1999, he said they were looking at doing films on Saint Paul and the Book of Revelation, too. But that was five years ago and nothing like that shows up on his IMDB page -- however, Roger Young, who directed so many of these films (and most of their better ones), apparently did direct a film for Italian TV called Saint Paul in 2000, and like a couple of his other "Bible Collection" movies, it co-stars former Police Academy vet G.W. Bailey, this time as Barnabas.

FWIW, for my money, Joseph and Moses are easily the two best entries in this series, and I don't think it's an accident that they both star Ben Kingsley.

Thanks Peter and mattpage. I think I meant to write the visual Bible series instead of the Living Bible, but I appear to be wrong in any case. So I'm definately interested now in checking out Moses and might just keep my eye open for other Robert Young movies around.