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Introduction to "100 Bible Films" by Matthew Page - Coggle…
Introduction to "100 Bible Films" by Matthew Page
Cinema is the most popular art form on the planet, and no shortage of filmmakers have been inspired by the most impactful piece of literature of all time: the Bible.
A Brief History of the Bible on Film
Filmmakers have taken many different approaches to adapting biblical stories.
The golden age of biblical films was from 1909 to 1911, with most of them coming from Europe.
After WWII, the biblical epic genre was born.
These films remained relatively conservative until the 1970s, when films such as
Jesus Christ Superstar
took a more radical approach.
Despite the relatively small number of biblical films in the 1990s, the success of Mel Gibson's
The Passion of the Christ
(2004) revitalized the biblical genre.
These films ranged from big-budget blockbusters like
Noah
(2013) to small, church-funded short films on YouTube.
Diversity in Approaches
Filmmakers have adapted the bible in uncountable ways.
There have been verbatim recreations of biblical stories, modern adaptions of biblical stories, small but significant textual illusions, and more.
Page seeks to find out: How can Bible films inform our understanding of cinema?
Since the Bible has impacted cultures around the world, its stories have been adapted from numerous different cultural perspectives.
While one may assume that a study of biblical films may be a narrow focus, the Bible has been adapted into over 800 movies across an array of genres, including: the biblical epic, musicals, comedies, sci-fi, horror, and avant-garde.
Questions of Race
As the epicenter of Christianity shifted from the middle east to Europe, interpretations of the text began to emphasize white-skinned Europeans
As such, most Biblical films feature white actors playing middle-eastern, African, or Asian characters.
More recent films have made a point to cast historically authentic actors
Antisemitism
Despite the fact that the gospel make it clear the Romans were responsible for Jesus's crucifixion, adaptions of the Gospel have reinforced stereotypes of Jewish people and the blaming of the Jews for Jesus's death.
Adaption: Moving Beyond "Faithfulness to the Text"
For Christian filmmakers, faithfulness to the Bible is often the primary criterion when considering a "good" Biblical film. This idea is problematic for several reasons:
1) It downplays the stylistic differences between different forms of medai.
2) It ignores the nuances created by the criterion. In the case of the Bible, history and myth are already widely contested, most Biblical genres are unfamiliar to modern audiences, Bible verses often have many different interpretations, etc.
3) The desire to be textually accurate competes with the artist's need to be engaging, entertaining, interesting, or successful.
4) Biblical stories often do not contain the same narrative devices or character depth of modern media.
Adaption: Image, Sound, Emotion, and Meaning
How should adaptions be assessed, if not accuracy to source material? Frequently: Does the film capture the "spirit" of the narrative?
Biblical films can prompt their audiences to examine the original texts in new and different ways.
Films should also be evaluated by their artistic merit. Do they feature aesthetically pleasing cinematography, framing the conveys meaning, editing that emphasizes key moments, emotionally impactful audio, etc.?
Finally, films should also be judged by their entertainment value.
Intertextuality
Adaptions are inherently intertextual.
Many biblical films have used other texts as intermediaries when adapting biblical stories.
From this viewpoint, we can appreciate the wide range of works that have inspired Bible films.
Filmmakers, Readers, and Viewers
It is remarkable how dissimilar Bible films are. They are linked by little more than source, and that source is not one story but a multitude of separate yet related narratives.
These stories are tied together by how they explore what it means to be human.
These stories are not only worth exploring and dissecting, but also celebrating and glorifying.
The Selection
He made sure to include films that adapt "major" Biblical stories (the life of Jesus, Moses and the exodus, David and Goliath, Noah's Ark, etc.) while also prioritizing films that feature well-developed female characters.
He also considered the reasons why the filmmakers made the film.
Page prioritized including films from a wide range of countries/cultures, genres, popularity, critical/commercial success, philosophical/theological perspectives, etc.
This book focuses on dramatic films based on stories and/or characters from the Bible.