Which is the Best Book About Jesus Films / Bible Movies?

There are so many books that discuss Jesus movies or cinema and the Bible, that it's hard to decide which is the best. I have over 30 books on those subjects specifically and many many more where Bible films form a substantial part of the publication. There is a bewildering choice for those looking to buy one. Which will work best for you?

Full disclosure though, I'm biased, because I've written my own book on the subject: 100 Bible Films.

Yet, that doesn't disqualify me as much as some might think. Reading and regularly using so many of these books has given me a lot of time to really figure out what goes in to making a really good book on the subject and then finding a publisher that was able to fulfil that vision. I channelled all I've learnt from 20 years pouring over those 60+ books (and many, many more!) into writing "100 Bible Films". I looked at what made these books good or bad: how interesting, accessible, useful, academic, credible or helpful were they.

So instead of pretending to be objective on this question I'm going to explain some of the things I focused on when trying to write what I thought would make the best book I could produce on the subject of the Bible on Film.

Affordable
Many of the books in this field are, sadly, very expensive, even in 2nd hand or electronic format. This isn't a criticism. It's a niche area so Academic publishers often have to charge high prices to recoup their costs. Nevertheless, where there's a book in this field that I don't have, it's nearly always due to its price. 

Well researched
I've been researching and writing about Cinema and the Bible for over 20 years now and writing this book for about 15 of them. As a film critic I've sought to write about each film in its own context, typically looking at other relevant works by the director, but I've also run various kinds of teaching on the Bible over the years as well.

Peer Reviewed
The hallmark of quality for any book these days is peer review - a process whereby an independent expert in the field examines the book to see whether is it well-researched, coherent, etc. While this book is produced by the BFI a lot of the production has been done by Bloomsbury Academic who have given it a thorough peer review. And the finished product is far stronger as a result of the the changes that were suggested at this stage. I'm really grateful for the academics who gave their detailed analysis and helped me make the book even better.

Accessible
While "100 Bible Films" passes the test for academic rigour, I've also sought to make it accessible for those outside of universities. The 100 films format makes it easy to dip into, and just read about a specific film. Because film lovers and Bible fans are rarely experts in both fields I've tried not to assume too much, or resort to too many technical terms or acronyms.

While I'm talking about accessibility, I should also mention that the book is also available electronically, which means it should be compatible with assistive technology like screen readers or refreshable braille displays. There isn't an audio-book version, yet... but if this is a genuine accessibility requirement for you, please contact me (email, Twitter) and I'll see what can be done.

Student-friendly

"100 Bible Films" is particularly good for students for two reasons. Firstly, because the price works for those on limited budgets – I've been there trying to stretch a limited budget to pay for text books. Secondly though, because word limits are so tight, I really had to boil down the content to the good stuff. It was a painstaking process, going through sentence by sentence trying to make the contents as lean as possible. A positive consequence of this, though, is that if you're a student trying to include quotes in essays or exams you can do that without blowing your word count or giving yourself too many words to recall in an exam.

World Focus
The Bible's influence is so widespread that it has permeated into cultures worldwide. As a result there are Bible films from across the world. I've really sought to bring out the international nature of the subject and move the focus from 'Hollywood'. There are films by filmmakers from 6 continents. Hollywood still accounts for roughly half the films, but over 20 countries are represented.

Full History 
Too many film books these days focus too greatly on recent film history and short-change the silent era. While many of the other books in this field do give the silent era decent consideration, 19 of the 100 films are from that first thirty years of cinema history. There's a slight bias to newer films but I've sought to stress the obvious importance of that first quarter of film history. Moreover, I cover each of the 14 decades from the birth of cinema to today.

Beautiful
The BFI were my first choice of publisher, in part because they have such a strong track record of creating books that are beautiful as well as from top authors in their fields, but also because they have an archive of photos which we've been able to draw on. And the team that helped me pick out an image for each film, and that designed and laid-out the book have done an amazing job. I'm very fortunate to have worked with them.

Expertise in both Film and the Bible
Over the last 20 years I've been paid both to work in & speak to churches and to write as a film critic. I'm not a film scholar who dabbles in the Bible, or a theologian who appreciates film, I have knowledge and expertise in both.

BFI published
It really is an honour to write for the British Film Institute. For decades they have encouraged a deeper understanding and fuelled readers’ passion for film with their books. They're a highly respected institution, and their good reputation across the UK cinema scene is well deserved. Hopefully that offers some reassurance!

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So there it is. Yes, this is a pitch, but I really hope you can catch the heart of what I've tried to do with "100 Bible Films". 

If you're interested you can already order a copy.

If not, that's fine!
There are a lot of other great books on the subject. This post is not to denigrate them – I've learnt loads from reading them and would recommend most of those in the above picture barring one or two.