The Religious Film
Christianity and the Hagiopic
New Approaches to Film Genre
1. Edition April 2009
192 Pages, Hardcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Short Description
Religious Film is a welcome introduction to this complex and iconic genre of film. Pamela Grace provides historical, cultural and critical background for religious films from the silent era through today, and explores the genre in its many guises -- as spectacle, as musical, and as controversy. From The Gospel According to Matthew to Jesus Christ Superstar, from The Passion of Joan of Arc to The Last Temptation of Christ and Jesus of Montreal, Religious Film captures the glory, gore, and centrality of this important genre.
From The Gospel According to Matthew to Jesus Christ Superstar, from The Passion of Joan of Arc to The Last Temptation of Christ and Jesus of Montreal, The Religious Film captures the glory, gore, and centrality of this important genre.
* A short, accessible introduction to religious film, exploring the genre as spectacle, as musical, and as controversy
* Examines the historical, cultural and critical background for religious films from the silent era through to the present day
* Introduces the complexities and characteristics of this iconic genre of film, including common sounds and images, and the values that most traditional films of this kind uphold
Acknowledgments.
1. Introduction: The Religious Film and the Hagiopic.
2. Historical Overview.
3. Critical Overview.
4. King of Kings (1961): Spectacle and Anti-Spectacle.
5. The Song of Bernadette (1943): The Religious Comfort Film.
6. Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) and Jesus Christ Superstar (2000): The Religious Musical.
7. The Gospel According to Matthew (1964) and Jesus of Montreal (1989): The Alternative Hagiopic.
8. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999): Transcendence and Exploitation.
9. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and The Passion of the Christ (2004): The Sacrificial Hagiopic.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Index.
