The Religious Film: Christianity and the Hagiopic

Lush, vaguely liturgical music floods the theater. A sonorous offscreen male voice slowly articulates the words, “And it was written…” or “In the year….” On the screen, clouds mysteriously separate, and a semi–transparent figure appears in the sky . . . This is the religious film.

Conventional films about religious heroes are instantly recognizable, and average filmgoers can easily identify the most common sounds and images and, more significantly, the values that most traditional films of this kind uphold: unquestioning faith, chastity, virtuous suffering, and the superiority of one religion over all others.

The 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, The Religious Film captures the glory, gore, and centrality of this important genre.

List of Figures.

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.

Pamela Grace teaches at Brooklyn College, CUNY.

"The book is well referenced and illustrated...the bibliography and overviews would be useful to anyone interested in this field of study. Pamela Grace is to be congratulated on this useful addition." ( Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, June 2010)