• Bible Films Blog

    Looking at film interpretations of the stories in the Bible - past, present and future, as well as preparation for a future work on Straub/Huillet's Moses und Aron and a few bits and pieces on biblical studies.


    Name:
    Matt Page

    Location:
    U.K.












    Tuesday, March 09, 2010

    The Bible: A History, Part 7

    Sunday saw the final entry in Channel 4's The Bible: A History, a series which has varied in quality, as well as in approach, but ended on a reasonably high note thanks to Robert Beckford's examination of the book of Revelation.

    Beckford has been 4's primary religious presenter over the last decade, charting his quest to revise the Pentecostal faith of his upbringing, and to propose instead a less literal reading of the Bible which nevertheless remains a book with an important message for today.

    As with other programmes in the series, this entry begins by looking at some of the traditional takes on the book, including William Blake and modern day fundamentalists. But it also looks at the sad tale of the Branch Dividians at Waco. I would have preferred a little more clarity as to the differences between the Dividians and the Pentecostal church which he visits, though it's there for those with an ear to hear. However, it also includes a compelling interview with one of the survivors of the Waco siege, who bizarrely still justifies some of what happened that day.

    Throughout the programme there's a good deal of discussion as to the enduring imagery of Revelation, both by people like Blake, but also in popular contemporary culture, but Beckford's quest is to move away from these images of death and destruction to find something that speaks to us today.

    As usual there are a range of interviewees to help him on his journey including a somewhat uncomfortably posed Mark Goodacre, Christopher Rowland and Martin Palmer who considers Beckford's quest a "fool's errand". Goodacre does a good job of putting the book in its historical context. Meanwhile Beckford has travelled to Patmos and is shown the traditional location given to John's vision by a Greek Orthodox priest. (Incidentally, priests from the Orthodox church have featured very prominently in this series, particularly given that there are so few Orthodox Christians in the UK).

    After Patmos it's on to America, and the Pilgrim Fathers intent on creating a place that reflected the end of Revelation, but who found themselves supposedly "battling Satan" in the Salem Witch Trials 70 years later. Prof. Paul Boyer provides the background and finds similar rhetoric in today's post-9/11 world. Beckford turns instead to the Brixton riots, the time when he could begin to realise that the Bible in general and Revelation in particular can be "profoundly political". There's a brief look at the Diggers Revolution and the Civil Rights Movement.

    And it's here that we meet arguably the programme's most compelling interviewee, Prof. James Coen (spelling undoubtedly wrong, but there was no caption). Coen, who was active in the 60s draws out the way that King and others harnessed the imagery of Revelation to bring about an end to injustice, and the battle between good and evil.

    Another group adopting the text in a similar way is those protesting about Climate Change and there's some footage taken from a Climate Change rally featuring horsemen of the apocalypse intercut with a discussion with school children as to whether such an approach is justifiable.

    Beckford's personal emphasis seems very much on the closing chapters of Revelation, and the inspired images found therein which link to the very start of the Bible and the Garden of Eden. It's this that is the focus of his closing monologue - a strong argument for a non-literal reading of the text which sides with the oppressed in the hope of creating a new Heaven and a new Earth.

    Like last weeks episode on Paul I find myself broadly in agreement with the arguments presented, although I would have liked to see the way the imagery of the Roman Empire relates to the images in Revelation drawn out a little more. But there was little here that stood out as being weak or irrelevant and it made a strong case for the enduring influence of the book today.

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    Monday, December 21, 2009

    The Bible: A History
    7 Part Channel 4 Series Featuring Gerry Adams

    Didn't have time to tag this onto Saturday's post about religious telly over the Christmas period, but Mark Goodacre mentioned this a couple of weeks ago so I've been meaning to post it ever since.

    Channel 4 is to screen a seven part series called The Bible: A History. Like their earlier series Christianity: A History, each episode will feature a public figure from a variety of backgrounds who will examine the history of a certain part of the Bible "from their own, very personal, perspective".

    As I mentioned in the title, the name grabbing all the headlines is Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams. Having been brought up in an era when his voice was not even permitted to broadcast, it seems extraordinary that he will now be fronting his own show looking at Jesus' message of forgiveness.

    Other names include Anne Widdecombe (who also featured in Christianity: A History), former BBC correspondent Rageh Omaar (Miracles of Jesus), Howard Jacobson (pictured above), Bettany Hughes and Robert Beckford. Mark Goodacre has been a series consultant and will appear in Beckford's episode on Revelation.

    Channel 4's website for the programme includes an interview with Anne Widdecombe about the programme. There's also an article about the programme on the BBC website. There's nothing yet on the production company's website, Pioneer Productions.

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    Wednesday, December 24, 2008

    Christmas UK TV Preview 2008

    It's become almost a tradition here at the Bible Films Blog that I post a guide to the festive period's UK TV Bible film offerings (see Christmas '07 and '06, and Easter '08 and '07. Sadly, I'm a little later in posting this than I'd originally hoped. My Christmas holiday has started in fine form with three days spent sorting out my blocked drains (£1000+ in the end!) and then a day and a half in bed ill. Sadly two of the things I would have blogged have already been and gone (Monday's Who Really Killed Jesus? and Tuesday's Mary Magdalene Saint or Sinner?). Nevertheless there is some, including one film that I'm genuinely excited about seeing for the first time. As ever, I'm only covering the UK's five main channels, with perhaps the odd foray into some of the documentaries available on cable.Star of Bethlehem - 24th Dec. 17:30, BBC2
    Having temporarily ousted Channel 4 from the best religious TV programming slot this Easter (with The Passion), the BBC takes the battle onto 4's home turf - the demythologising Bible documentary. Offering "new evidence challenging the biblical story" this documentary will look at the astrological phenomena that may have lay behind the star of Bethlehem. Occasionally, the Beeb's website is frustratingly unjoined up about these things. The programme's blurb is totally unconnected to the front page linked detailed BBC magazine article and then there's precious little available on the BBC religion site. The Nativity Decoded - 25th Dec. 19:30, Channel 4
    Also known as Decoding the Nativity. No doubt some of the "new evidence" offered by the BBC documentary will also feature in this - a more extensive, two-hour look at the Nativity story. Given Rowan Williams's highly publicised comments last year on all this, it will be interesting to see what it actually has to say. Beckford is always interesting, and this is produced by Carbon who did a good enough job with Easter's Secrets of the 12 Disiciples. Channel 4 has also put together a decent microsite for this one, even if they don't appear to have decided what to call it yet.

    Also of interest is The Bible Unearthed - 8am on the History Channel. Even if this isn't an edited version of last month's The Bible's Buried Secrets the content is highly likely to be similar.The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - 26th Dec. 17:50, BBC1
    Anyone hoping for a Jesus film on anywhere over Christmas will have to make do with the story's best known allegory. I'm sure I don't really need to say too much more on this. Christian viewers at the time were either a - just glad to see it on the big screen, b - mortified by the alterations that were made, or c - unaware of said alterations and so enjoyed it along with everyone else. The Jesus allegory is weakened, but certainly very much present, but having seen it twice when it came out, and at least once more since, I can't imagine I'll be making this a priority. For an alternate Jesus allegory see Brandon Routh in Superman Returns - 29th December 20:30 BBC1.

    Elsewhere TCM offers up Ben Hur (3pm) and the History Channel puts on what seems to be a thirteen hour documentary on Rome: the Rise and Fall of an Empire. Programme starts at 10am. Constantine's on at 7pm, but no mention of Jesus.Secrets of the Jesus Tomb - 27th Dec. 11:00am - Channel 5
    Repeat of the Channel 5's above average documentary from their Secrets of the Cross series. I reviewed this and offered a few additional comments at the time. I believe the rest of the series aired earlier in the week.

    TCM will also be wheeling out Ben Hur at 09:15.The True Story: Herod the Great - 28th Dec. 11:00am, Channel 5
    Not much on Five's website other than a brief summary "...this film attempts to get to the bottom of the myth and separate fact from legend, combining expert analysis, computer graphics and dramatisations". I think this is the Atlantic productions film, But I've not seen it.

    Also on: National Geographic (8:00pm)Trial of the Knights Templar, Discovery Channel (4pm) Biblical Mysteries Explained.Androcles & the Lion - 29th Dec. 13:05, Channel 5
    Not only is there no direct Jesus film this Christmas, but he doesn't even get a cameo. Nevertheless I am greatly looking forward to seeing Androcles and the Lion. It's a film I've obviously heard of but never had the chance to see. Prior to Life of Brian, this was the leading satire of the sword and sandal epics movies, based on a George Bernard Shaw play and starring the King and Queen of Biblical epics Victor Mature and Jean Simmons. It was originally going to star Harpo Marx too, but sadly he dropped out. I'll probably post a few thoughts on this in the next month or so.

    And that's about all. Surprisingly it's Channel Five that offers the greatest selection, in what is generally a good year - although more for the documentary films than the dramas. Note for next year - the Diocese of London runs a similar service which might save me waiting to buy a TV mag next year.

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    Saturday, May 17, 2008

    Secrets of the 12 Disiciples

    I've been meaning to make a few comments on Secrets of the 12 Disciples ever since it broadcast on Easter Sunday when, unfortunately, the last quarter of an hour clashed with the final instalment of The Passion. Robert Beckford has become something of a Channel 4 regular these days fronting documentaries every Christmas and Easter for a number of years how. And it appears he has a growing following. Back in 2006 his programme about the Jesus film genre The Passion: Faith, Films and Fury gained around 900,000 viewers in the UK, but this latest effort reportedly pulled in 1.45 million.

    One of the strengths of Beckford's previous programmes is their sense of narrative, but Secrets opts for a slightly different approach. Rather than telling one overarching story, or moving towards a particular conclusion, Secrets is more of compilation of smaller pieces, examining the fate of the original twelve disciples. In a way it acts as a compendium of stories around the margins of orthodox Christianity, many of which have enjoyed some sense of prominence.

    First to the plate is a look at the disciples known as Simon, James and Jude (also known as Thaddeus). Beckford notes how these three disciples share their names with three of Jesus's four brothers (the other being Joseph), and contends that perhaps they were the same people. Here Beckford is revisiting his previous work in The Secret Family of Jesus and touches on the recent Jesus Tomb controversy - both of which relied heavily on James Tabor. Noting how it's initially James that heads up the church in Jerusalem, Beckford speculates that originally the brothers of Jesus were far more prominent in early Christianity, but later got moved to the sidelines by a church that based its legitimacy in its leaders' succession from Peter.

    This is then followed by a closer look at Peter himself. Beckford notes how heavily the early Roman church relied on the idea that Peter had been the first Bishop of Rome, and that he was buried in Rome itself. But his efforts at testing the legitimacy of this claim are somewhat foiled by Vatican staff, though he does manage to find a tomb in Palestine that also claims to have been that of Peter.The next two sections look at Thomas and James son of Zebedee - both of whom are purported to have gone abroad as missionaries. Thomas is, of course, linked to India, but Beckford finds evidence that suggests that when the established churches sent missionaries to India they try to suppress the Thomasian version of Christianity they found was already there. In contrast Beckford questions the ancient tradition linking James and the shrine at Santiago de Compostela in Spain which, incidentally, features in Buñuel's film The Milky Way.

    The film's presentation of John son of Zebedeeis slightly different again and considers his corpus of writings. The traditional view - that John wrote a gospel, Revelation and three epistles - has been questioned many times over the centuries, going right back to at least the third century. Beckford briefly explains the textual difficulties with the "traditional" view before examining some of the more extreme interpretations of Revelation.

    However, no survey of the disciples, and particularly not one which challenges traditional views, would be complete without considering Judas. Surprisingly, though, Beckford doesn't go into the recent 'Gospel of Judas' controversy. Instead he finds that the greek word for "betray" should really have been translated "hand over". In other words, perhaps Judas may not have been a traitor: if Jesus's death was necessary then perhaps Jesus actually asked Judas to hand him over. Hence even though 'The Gospel of Judas' isn't discussed, the programme ultimately comes to similar conclusions.

    The Judas section is of special relevance to this blog as it also features footage from four different Jesus films. Silent films are usually in the public domain so are popular targets for use in such documentaries. So it's no surprise to find something from The Life of Christ (1898) / The Death of Christ (c.1900). Also in the public domain is The Living Bible series, which also makes an appearance. But the other two I find myself unable to name. One of which looks like it is from the Golgotha era and features Judas receiving his 30 pieces of silver (see below) not in some temple backroom, but in a large open hall. Unless this scene is from Golgotha and I've just forgotten it, I'm at a loss as to what it might be, and I'm totally at a loss for what the other film is. I did write to the programme's producers, but they were struggling to locate the staff who sourced the clips. If they ever get back to me I'll be sure to post the details.The final section of the film looked at whether there would have been any female disciples. There was some discussion of Mary Magdalene of course, but far more interesting to me, at least, was discussion of Thecla "apostle and protomartyr among women" (sorry no ref.). Having served under a female church leader for about 13 years now, I've done a lot of research into women in leadership and I was astounded that I'd never really heard of her. I can only imagine that as the sources I looked at came at the issue from a evangelical-ish perspective, their perceived opponents would be unlikely to be swayed by such extra-biblical examples. But then perhaps I just wasn't paying enough attention. After all, it's from the 2nd century work 'Acts of Paul and Thecla' that we get the description of Paul as being "of a small stature with meeting eyebrows, bald [or shaved] head, bow-legged, strongly built, hollow-eyed, with a large crooked nose". On the other hand, the film makers point is precisely that women such as Thecla have been marginalised. Indeed at times this appears to havehas been a deliberate act. In Thecla's case Beckford visits a fresco of her and Paul where someone has scratched off her eyes and her right hand. We can see just enough of her hand to tell that it was in the traditional pose signifying that the person in question was a teacher. Yet again there's a whiff of conspiracy in the air.

    This can all feel rather like Beckford is trying to attack the church, and in particular the Roman Catholicism. These days there's (rightly) a strong emphasis on church unity, such that many outside the Roman church perceive an attack on them as one on all Christians. At the same time, though, today's Catholic church is very different from that in the periods that Beckford is examining, and many of those in the protestant tradition tend to forget that this very tradition only came into existence because of objections over very similar issues.

    At the heart of Beckford's philosophy is an ideology that is suspicious of power, particularly in the church. In his essay 'Find the Power' he explains
    We need to be suspicious in the best sense of the word. This means that we approach a biblical passage believing that there are hidden power-dynamics at work within the text that we need to decode. To find the hidden power dynamics the reader has to 'read against the text', that is to consider who gains and who loses from the particular way that a passage is presented an understood.1
    Once this is understood it becomes clear why Beckford approaches these subjects as he does. "Jesus aims to empower the 'little people' of his day" and this seems totally out of keeping with the power and dominance of the church over much of the last 2000 years.2So Beckford is significantly different from the array of other documentarians trying to knock the church, not least because of his repeated claims that he is a Christian and that all of this is personally meaningful for him. Essentially, he's trying to reform the church, rather than damage it, whilst at the same time trying to engage and challenge those who have rejected traditional Christianity precisely because of issues such as these.

    It's fitting, then, that the film's final section moves away from such conspiracy-esque theories to look at what it means to be a disciple today. Having travelled all over the Mediterranean region, Beckford now finds himself on the streets of inner city Leeds meeting workers from the Joanna Project. These women, he insists, show us what it means to be a disciple of Jesus today. Their work with prostitutes is what faith is all about - reaching out to ordinary people rather than trying to build an empire. It's an inspiring conclusion and perhaps the strongest part of the film.

    It's hard to know where Beckford will go next. Having revisited so many of these issues over the last few years it's difficult to see what's left for him to explore. Nevertheless he does seem to have the knack of finding new material, and, clearly, there is very much still an audience for it.

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    1 - 'Find the Power', Robert Beckford, pp. 42-43 from "Reading the Bible", Howard Ingham et al. (eds.) SCM Press (2006).
    2 - 'Find the Power', Robert Beckford, pp. 42-43 from "Reading the Bible", Howard Ingham et al. (eds.) SCM Press (2006).

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    Wednesday, March 26, 2008

    Easter 2008 TV Offerings

    Usually, I like to highlight in advance some of the TV offerings that will be shown over Christmas (2006, 2007) and Easter (2007). Unfortunately this year I didn't quite have time, which is a shame as there was really quite a lot. Had I run a piece like this a few years ago I would have had almost nothing to report. This year, however, there was almost an unprecedented amount, including a number of Jesus films.

    Obviously, top billing went to BBC1's The Passion, but there were at least 3 other major Jesus films shown over the Easter period. ITV got the ball rolling showing Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) on Good Friday, and Channels 4 and 5 followed suit with Easter Monday broadcasts of The Passion of the Christ and Ben Hur respectively (pictured). I also happened to noticed Huston's The Bible crop up on one of the cable channels as well.

    But there was also more in the documentary department, with Robert Beckford back on Channel 4 with his look at the Secrets of the 12 Disciples and BBC2's festive offering re-examined the Shroud of Turin. Both programmes are currently available to view online, and I should be writing some thoughts on Secrets of the 12 Disciples in the next few days. Incidentally the shroud has it's own blog. Who knew?

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    Saturday, December 22, 2007

    Christmas UK TV Preview 2007

    It's time for my usual Christmas/Easter round up of TV programmes / films over the holiday season that might be of interest (see 2006's). As ever, I'm only covering the 5 main UK channels, so apologies to any readers from the rest of the world. That said, I believe the History Channel, is showing The Passion – Religion and the Movies).Liverpool Nativity - 23rd Dec. 10:45pm - BBC1
    Following on from Last Year's Manchester Passion, the Liverpool Nativity relocates the story of Mary and Joseph to modern day Liverpool and accompanies it with various songs written by the city's famous pop acts. I've already made several posts on this, and will post a review shortly.Dr. Who - 25th Dec. 6:50pm - BBC1.
    As I mentioned back in July, Dr. Who has taken a rather Christological turn in recent outings and this Christmas special episode looks like it is going to go one step further. As you can see from the above photo the Doctor, will not only be joined by Kylie Minogue, but also two angelic looking robots. There was a story on this in yesterday's The Times which described the scene as the Doctor "ascending through the ship’s decks, carried by a pair of robotic angels". Sadly, it was also quite depressing to see "Christian Voice" yet again used as a spokesgroup for Christians.

    Hidden Story of Jesus - 25th Dec. 8:30pm – Ch. 4
    Documentary with Robert Beckford which attempts to unravel the mystery of why there are so many versions of the Christ story across the world and asks which is the real one, and where this leaves the Christian story and his own belief in Jesus. Channel 4 has a microsite for this one, which is made particularly relevant now that films such as The Aquarian Gospel are currently in production.The Secret Life of Brian - 31st Dec 8:00 pm - Channel 4
    Channel 4 are repeating the evening they devoted to Life of Brian last year, which is great news for those of us who, somewhat inexplicably, missed it last year. The evening kicks off with this documentary looking at the controversy surrounding the film. I hope they show the complete footage of the TV debate between two of the Python's and a bishop and another religious representative. I don't think it will, but hopefully there will be some interesting footage that I've not seen before.

    Monty Python's Life of Brian - 31st Dec. 9:00 pm - Channel 4
    (All posts on this film)
    A film that needs no introduction, but it is part of an evening on the Pythons. The evening continues after this film with the documentary What the Pythons Did Next.

    What the Pythons Did Next - 31st Dec. 10:45 pm - Channel 4
    Documentary, looking at what the Pythons did after Life of Brian. I seem to recall that this was considered to be the lesser of the two documentaries as, of course, everyone knows what the Pythons did next, but I imagine it will still be worth it to see some good clips.

    Samson and Delilah - 1st Jan. 12:45pm - Channel 5
    A tradition seems to be starting of showing an Old Testament Epic film at some point over Christmas. Last year it was Solomon and Sheba, this year it's the turn of DeMile's Samson and DelilahBruce Almighty - 2nd Jan. 8:30pm - BBC1
    A surprisingly deep film considering it stars Jim Carrey, managing to look at a host of issues from unanswered prayer to theodicy. Morgan Freeman's performance as God steals the show and there is at least one brief audio-visual reference to DeMille's The Ten Commandments.

    Summary
    Whilst there are a few good programmes to watch out for, it's a bit of a shame that quite a bit of this post was just a cut and paste job from last year! In other words there are various programmes (both that I've mentioned and that I haven't that were re-hashes of things from last year). That said there is a good deal of Bible related content again this year, with much of if (Liverpool Nativity, Hidden Story of Jesus, Dr. Who) fresh and creative, as well as a couple of classic Bible Films thrown in for good measure.

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    Thursday, December 21, 2006

    Christmas Bible Related Films and Programmes on UK TV

    One thing I like to do at Christmas and Easter is have a look through the TV listings and see what programmes/films of interest will be showing over the festive period. I thought, then, that I'd post some of the highlights on terrestrial TV over here. Apologies to readers outside the UK, but I can't really work my way through the listings for every country. (I did note, however, that in the US Jesus of Nazareth is showing on the History Channel, as well as The Passion – Religion and the Movies).

    Bruce Almighty - 21st Dec. 8pm - BBC1
    A surprisingly deep film considering it stars Jim Carrey, managing to look at a host of issues from unanswered prayer to theodicy. Morgan Freeman's performance as God steals the show and there is at least one brief audio-visual reference to DeMille's The Ten Commandments.

    God Gave Rock and Roll to You - 23rd Dec. 6:30pm – Ch4
    Documentary with Robert Beckford looking at the relationship between music and religion. I guess this is the music equivalent of The Passion: Films, Faith and Fury. Interestingly, that programme was originally scheduled for Christmas last year, but got moved to Easter as because that was a more religious time, which suggests something has changed at Channel 4.

    The Lost Gospel of Judas – 23rd Dec. 8:30pm – Ch4
    Documentary looking at the lost gospel of Judas, and trying to determine whether it is real or fake.

    The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - 24th Dec. 11:25 am
    The animated version of the film which I was obsessed by as a kid (having discovered it on holiday). It's not as flashy as the recent feature film, nor as faithful as the BBC TV version from the late 80s, but it still holds up quite well, although the US accents are a bit strange for a story set in 40s Britain.

    CS Lewis: Beyond Narnia - 24th Dec. 11:50am
    Documentary-drama looking at the life of the great writer. It's written by Norman Stone who wrote and directed the 1985 version of Shadowlands

    Solomon and Sheba - 24th Dec. 12:45pm
    Yul Brynner stars as King Solomon, a role he took on after the untimely death of original star Tyronne Power who can still be seen in some of the distant shots. The story is based, of course, on 1 Kings 10:1-13, and so director King Vidor and his writer add plenty of padding to make those thirteen verses stretch for the 135 minutes run time. Solomon and Sheba was one of the first films to use Super Technirama 70. There's an interesting article at the Widescreen Museum discussing this and Disney's Sleeping Beauty.

    Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat - 24th Dec. 3:15pm
    Donny Osmond takes the title role in this fairly terrible rendition of Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice's musical. It's as tacky as you like even starring Joan Collins and Christopher Biggins to turn up the camp factor.

    The Secret Family of Jesus - 25th Dec. 8:00pm
    Another documentary featuring Robert Beckford about the most talked about religious issue this year – that raised by the Da Vinci Code. It's somewhat sensationally advertised, but surely with a 2 hours runtime it will bring more balance than the book and the film, and hopefully it will reflect the scholarly consensus.

    The Magic of Jesus - 26th Dec. 12:40am
    Dirty Tricks magicans Barry and Stuart reproduce some of Jesus's miracles. Hardly new territory (magicians have claimed to be able to do various miracles for years), but if they manage to get killed and rise from the dead I'll be seriously impressed.

    The Secret Life of Brian - 1st Jan 8:00 pm
    Channel 4 are devoting an entire evening to the Pythons. The evening kicks off with this documentary looking at the controversy surrounding the film. I hope they show the complete footage of the TV debate between two of the Python's and a bishop and another religious representative. I don't think it will, but hopefully there will be some interesting footage that I've not seen before.

    Monty Python's Life of Brian - 1st Jan 9:00 pm
    A film that needs no introduction, but it is part of an evening on the Pythons. The evening continues after this film with the documentary "What the Pythons Did Next".

    Honourable Mentions
    There's so much religious-related TV this year that I can't discuss everything, so here are a few more programmes of lesser relevance.

    23rd, 9:25 am ITV1 - The Way we Worshipped Christmas Special
    23rd, 11:40 pm Ch4 - Nuns on the Run (Film)
    24th, 3:15 pm BBC2 – A Nuns Story (Film)
    24th, 7:35 pm Ch4 – AFI 100 Years, 100 Cheers
    25th/1st Jan 9:30 pm BBC1 – Vicar of Dibley
    28th, 10:50pm BBC1 – Film 2006: Films of the Year

    I'm fairly impressed with this list of programmes / films. Last year there was next to nothing. This time there are a number of interesting documentaries, a couple of Christian related films, and one proper golden-era biblical epic, albeit based on a story that would be unknown to many outside of the church and biblical studies departments. (It almost makes me wonder if it was a coincidence!). It's interesting to see Channel 4 leading the way as well. 10 years ago the majority of religious programming would have been on the BBC, but now their offerings are unimaginative low budget affairs whilst Channel 4 is producing new, engaging documentaries that should attract a far wider audience. It will be interesting to see how they do in terms of quality and ratings.

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    Wednesday, December 20, 2006

    The Passion: Religion and the Movies


    A couple of my friends from the US have tipped me off that there is a documentary playing on the History Channel called The Passion: Religion and the Movies. It turns out that it's a rebranding of the Channel 4 documentary I was involved in The Passion: Films, Faith and Fury. In addition to my main review of that documentary I posted a few other items about the film prior to its initial broadcast here, here and here (before I had seen it).

    There's a review of the US version of the film at Catholic Online. I understand it played twice on the 17th December, and is due to play again on the 2nd January (although I'm not entirely confident that that is still the case). Does anyone know who presented this documentary in the US version as these things often change as they cross the Atlantic? Over here it was presented by Birmingham University's Dr Robert Beckford.

    A warm welcome to anyone who has found me through this programme.

    Edit: The entire film can now be seen on YouTube

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    Tuesday, April 18, 2006

    "The Passion: Films Faith and Fury" - Comments

    I've been away over Easter, and so haven't had the opportunity to discuss the Channel 4 documentary on Bible Films The Passion: Films Faith and Fury, which I mentioned previously here, here and here before it was broadcast (and before I had seen it).

    The marketing for the film (including quite an interesting TV ad) suggested that the film would primarily be concerned with the relationship between film-makers and the church over the last 100 years and this was certainly the main thrust of the documentary. After a brief introduction, presenter Robert Beckford took us back to the start of the film industry and charted the relationship between these two bodies across the last century.

    One of the biggest strengths of the film was how it skilfully wove together an overview of the history of the main biblical films with the confrontation that accompanied them to give the programme a strong narrative arc which was far more engaging than that of other similar documentaries such as The Bible According to Hollywood which plod far more formulaically from epic to epic, without having much fresh information to impart.

    Another of the strengths of the documentary was the impressive range of interviewees. The marketing had focussed on just four of them: Martin Scorsese, Willem Dafoe, Terry Gilliam and Robert Powell. In fact though there were somewhere in the region of 30 interviewees, from 4 main camps, directors, actors, film critics and Christians. Obviously there is a good deal of overlap here, but from memory the list included the following:

    Directors
    Martin Scorsese
    Terry Gilliam
    Franco Zefferelli
    Norman Jewison
    George Stevens' Son

    Actors
    Willem Dafoe
    Robert Powell
    Brian Deacon
    Enrique Irazaquoi
    Brian Blessed
    Larry Marshall (Simon Zealotes in Jesus Christ Superstar)

    Film Critics
    Mark Kermode
    Rich Cline (Radio 5)
    Kenneth Turan (LA Times)
    Peter Malone (author "Movie Christs and Anti-Christs")
    W. Barnes Tatum (author "Jesus at the Movies")
    ...Plus at least a couple of others from US dailies...and me

    Church Representatives
    Ted Baehr (Movie Guide)
    Bob Waliszewski (Focus on the Family)
    ...plus a number of others from newer and more traditional churches

    There are quite a few I've not been able to recall, and won't be able to dig out exacat numbers and all names until I get the chance to watch this again. However, the interview snippets certainly added to the structure of the film, and many of the comment were insightful and helped develop the narrative, rather than simply having a handful of celebs repeating the same inane comments in order to make the show more appealing, as is often the case with programmes like this.

    Another strength of the documentary was Robert Beckford whose presence alone gives the film theological credibility and cultural relevance at the same time, and is an ideal choice for a film seeking to weld those two aspects together. He also seemed to represent the middle ground between those Christians on the one hand that are now seeking just to do their own thing, and film industry potentially leaving bible films alone for the foreseeable future, and his pleas for Hollywood to keep making them were a particularly effective way to end the film. That said, whilst I share his concern that Hollywood might leave the bible to the Evangelicals to get on with filming, there have been a number of films commissioned since then, and I suspect that The Passion of the Christ will have made Hollywood realise that their is money to be made here again. The real plea needs to be to film-makers who are primarily making films for the sake of art, rather than profit. It was also a shame that Christian film critics seeking to take a more dialogical approach with the cinema (such as the Faith and Film Critics' Circle) didn't really feature in the discussion towards the end of the programme.

    There were a few surprises as well. I for one, was amazed to hear about an Indian Jesus film called Dayasagar which was unknown to me previously (picture right). It fulfils a similar role in India to that of the Jesus film, although from the brief few snippets we were shown it was obvious that it is much more relevant to Indian culture than Jesus. If anyone has seen, or knows where I can hold of a copy I'd be very pleased to find out.

    Finally, I should comment on my parts. There were two brief shots of me - a sound-bite on Intolerance (1916) and another on The Ten Commandments (1956). I was greatly relieved not to have mumbled, been heretical, ugly, excluded at the last minute, said something foolish or quoted out of context, and fairly pleased at what I said. I was surprised at the bits they used though. I didn't remember saying much about Intolerance and thought that they would have plenty of other material for The Ten Commandments. I also recognised part of the script as being similar to an article I wrote back in 2004. Given that the publication I wrote the article for never used it, it was nice to see the work I put into it bearing fruit.

    Overall then it was well worth watching, and I was very happy to have been part of it. If you live in the UK, and missed it, you'll be pleased to know there is a repeat showing at 1:40 am on Saturday Morning (22nd April).

    Edit: You can now see just my excerpts from this film on YouTube.

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    Tuesday, April 11, 2006

    More on "The Passion: Films, Faith & Fury"

    I've been searching keenly for a bit more information on Saturday's Channel 4 programme The Passion: Films, Faith and Fury, which I feature in briefly (at least that's what I've been told). When I discussed it last month there was only a small amount of information available. It was also unclear whether Christopher Eccleston or Robert Beckford would be fronting the programme.

    Anyway information is gradually seeping out, and although I've not seen it myself, it apparently has been advertised on TV. It seems clear now that it will be Beckford and not Ecclestone, as I suspected all along. I'm really not sure where the Eccleston association came from, and I suppose it's still possible that he might feature (although I suspect that would be included in the publicity).

    The biggest slice of information available so far (away from this site) is now on Channel 4 Sales' Programming and Schedules site

    With the success of films such as The Passion of the Christ and The Chronicles of Narnia , and the imminent release of the movie version of The Da Vinci Code , the century-old relationship between Hollywood and the church is being thrust back into the spotlight. In a special two-hour Easter documentary Dr. Robert Beckford examines the complex connections between the two very different worlds and interviews some of the key players who have found themselves at the centre of controversy, including Martin Scorsese, Willem Dafoe, Terry Gilliam and Robert Powell. The documentary charts the rise of cinema and its uneasy relationship with the church, from the early filmed passion plays of the 1890s to Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and The Chronicles of Narnia , via The Ten Commandments and The Exorcist , and by way of Jesus Christ Superstar and The Life of Brian .

    It is a complex courtship that has moved from control through animosity to a new realisation by studios that there is a huge, and previously untapped, audience to be catered for. The film also includes interviews with leading theologians and Christian figures and asks who really controls the imagery of the bible: the church or the entertainment industry? Prod/ Dir: Rory Wheeler; Exec Prods: Danny Fenton, Jes Wilkins; Prod Co: Zig Zag
    Sadly the programme is up against the latest instalment of Doctor Who?, which also won't be starring Eccleston, and starts quarter of an hour later at 7:15. That said, I suspect my bit will probably be towards the start, so you never know your luck!

    One thing I am glad about though is that the interviews were recorded months ago, rather than this week. I'm currently sporting 8 stitches in a gash across my forehead from a rugby match on Saturday.

    The Passion: Films, Faith and Fury, will be airing from 7 to 9pm on 15th April on Channel 4.

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    Tuesday, March 28, 2006

    The Passion: Films, Faith and Fury

    This Easter, I'm due to be appearing as one of the interviewees on Channel 4's Bible films programme The Passion: Films, Faith and Fury. It's hosted by Dr. Robert Beckford (pictured right), who I met at this summer's Greenbelt Festival. The programme is showing on Easter Eve (15th April 2006) between 7pm and 9pm.

    Information about it has just gone up at Channel 4's website, although you have to scroll down quite a bit to get the information on the film, so here's what it says:
    The Passion will document how Hollywood and the television industry have dealt with the thorniest of subject matter: the Bible. Taking each decade in turn, the film explores the changing dynamic between the church, and the film and television industries. From the passion plays of the silent era to the blood and suffering of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and onto the supernatural world of Revelations. With interviews from the producers, directors and stars of the films as well as leading religious figures the film investigates how the political climate has often changed the portrayal of the Bible in films. The presenter lead programme (Christopher Eccleston TBC) asks what do these films and programmes tell us about our evolving views of Christianity?
    I note that this says Christopher Ecclestone is involved as well / instead. I got an email from Dr. Beckford in January saying he was about to do the voiceover, so I assume he's still involved. I won't get to see it until it airs so I guess I'll have to wait until then to find out. I'm also not entirely sure how much I'll be involved. They have interviewed Martin Scorsese, Willem Dafoe, Terry Gilliam, Robert Powell, Brian Blessed, W. Barnes Tatum and Peter Malone, so I don't imagine I'll get much of a look in, but they have told me that I am in it, so who knows. I also don't know what I'll be saying. They interviewed me for about an hour, but I imagine they'll only use 10 seconds worth, so goodness knows what it will be.

    Regardless of my personal involvement, it looks like being an interesting programme. The team that put it together were well researched, and its probably the longest broadcasted programme on this subject. I do remember catching the end of one about 10-15 years ago with Barry Norman (which was the first time I heard of Jesus of Montreal), but I believe that was only an hour. There is also a documentary called The Bible According to Hollywood available at Amazon, with very mixed reviews. I'm hoping The Passion: Films, Faith and Fury will be the pick of the bunch.

    The Passion: Films, Faith and Fury, will be airing at 7pm on 15th April on Channel 4.

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