Second Set of Jesus in Film Notes Now Online

Last year I ran a 5 week lent course on "Jesus in Film", and the notes from it are gradually being posted up at Movies Matter. The intention is that ultimately all four sets of notes will be posted, along with a spreadsheet containing a scene guide to 22 Jesus films (if you would like this, please contact me).

The first set of notes, are basically an introduction, looking firstly at why we should study Jesus in Film, dealing with a few of the more common objections, and ending with a few tips on film studies in general. This second set of notes does a whistle stop tour of 34 Jesus Films (although some are more "Christ Films"), from The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ (1905) to 2004's The Passion of the Christ.

Looking back there are a few more films I would like to add / will be adding at some point to these notes, most of which have been covered here. These include The Life of Christ, and The Death of Christ (both c.1900), two early Jesus of Nazareth films (1916 & 1928 - the latter of which I am still trying to source), I Beheld his Glory (1952), and the The Living Christ Series that it came from (see index for numerous blogs on this one), and in particular Golgotha (1935). But that would be about 40-45 films, which is perhaps a little to self indulgent to foist on people relatively new to the subject.

For what it's worth, the last two sets of notes, which cover the last 3 sessions, look at how Jesus films can enhance and challenge our understanding of scripture in general, and Jesus in particular. They also look at a couple of episodes from Jesus's life through the lens of a number of different films. Hopefully these will be posted soon, but Alan Thomas is also responsible for the Arts and Faith discussion forum, so he is a very busy man.