I attempt to watch movies covering the entirety of human history in (sort of) chronological order.
Showing posts with label Life of Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life of Christ. Show all posts
Saturday, February 9, 2013
The Miracle Maker (2000)
The Miracle Maker (2000) is the creepiest movie about Jesus. It is very well done claymation, which puts it far, far into the Uncanny Valley. It also has 2D segments which look sort of cheap by comparison. There are a few scary moments, but it's otherwise appropriate for children. The conflate Mary Magdalene and the possessed guy into one person, making her crazy instead of a prostitute. Also, there are several segments featuring Tamar, the girl that Jesus brought back from the recently dead. I feel like I've said everything I can about the story of Jesus at this point. I could watch more movies about him, but I feel like I need to move on.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Jesus of Montreal (1989)
I cheated a bit with this one. It's set in 1980s Montreal. But, I needed a break from all the sand. An actor is hired to update a Passion Play, because attendance has been dropping off. H gathers together a misfit crew of actors, and then put on a very successful show. Eventually, the man playing Jesus becomes a modern day Jesus through a series of tragic events. The movie does show several scenes of their play, which is why I've decided to include it. Altogether it's a pretty good movie with an unfortunate soundtrack.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Now that we are finished with regular Jesus, it is time for his gritty reboot. I actually enjoyed The Last Temptation of Christ, although it started to drag during the last temptation part. I found Willem Dafoe's Jesus to be a lot more likable than most of the other portrayals. Visually, it has some very striking moments. Also, as an added bonus, nobody uses a fake English accent and everyone acts like a real person.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Jesus (1979)
Behold! For I have found the worst Jesus movie ever made! Jesus is available for free on the Internet in every language ever. It's a word for word adaptation of the Book of Luke. The actors don't even act it out so much as they just sort of recite it. Also, Jesus apparently had access to a blow dryer. It might be good to watch if you are trying to memorize the Book of Luke, otherwise you can skip it.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
Jesus of Nazareth is six hours long. I broke it up into two viewings, but you might want to make it three. It is very thorough, and actually very good. So far it's my favorite Jesus movie. It covers everything from before conception to after the Resurrection. The acting is very well done. The characters (even Jesus!) behave like real people. The costumes manage to be both historical and interesting. At this point I would suggest that if you are trying to watch your way through history and only want to watch one Jesus movie, watch this one if you have the attention span for it.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Godspell (1973)
Of all the movies I've watched about Jesus, Godspell is by far the stupidist. I guess if you really like watching hobo-clowns act out parables you should watch it, but otherwise it has nothing to reccomend it.
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) is the harrowing tale of a Manson family style cult who drags a man out into the desert and crucifies him. Seriously, watch it, the guy playing Jesus never gets back on the bus at the end. That does explain why he seems so stressed.....
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
The Greatest Story Ever Told is another very long, very thorough account of the life of Jesus. Unlike King of Kings it doesn't try to spice things up with any unnecessary sub-plots. As usual, I had to break it up into two sittings. Jesus was once again completely devoid of personality. It also contains a very scene-ruining cameo by John Wayne. The movie does, however contain some beautiful shots of the American southwest.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
King of Kings (1961)
Although King of Kings deals with the same subject as the 1928 film of the same name, it is not intended to be a remake. It thoroughly covers the events of Jesus' life from begining to end. It also added a subplot about Barabbas being a Jewish freedom fighter, make him the 'Prince of War' and Jesus the 'Prince of Peace'. Although it does explain why the Jews were so keen on releasing Barabbas, it doesn't help the movie much. It's very long and I had to watch it in two sittings, also Jesus is pretty devoid of personality.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
The Kings of Kings (1928)
First a bit of housekeeping, I am now leaving Rome behind and traveling backwards slightly to Jesus. I'm actually going to watch several of these movies because there is a lot of them, and it's a very culturally significant topic. I started with The King of Kings. I watched the 1928 cut, although there is a longer 1927 version. It is a long, Cecil B. DeMille silent movie. I found the beginning to be pretty entertaining, as it starts out with Mary Magdalene at her whoreiest. But by the time they got to the last supper I was starting to get kind of bored. Surprisingly a few scenes at the end are in 2-strip technicolor, which creates a neat effect.
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