Christianity In Film
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 12 окт 2021
- LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos everyday. bit.ly/2QA8RbN
Film critic Tyler Smith, director of the recent documentary Reel Redemption, joins us to discuss the depiction of Christianity within the world of film, as well the shared history between Hollywood and the church.
Watch the full episode here: bit.ly/2WScLnf
Watch full episodes of The Andrew Klavan Show here: bit.ly/3kHz06I
Become a Daily Wire member today - use discount code RUclips to get 15% off your membership! JOIN: utm.io/udjWz
To listen to this episode, subscribe to The Andrew Klavan Show on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2KM6HCG
Like this video? For more Andrew Klavan and Daily Wire content, subscribe to this channel ruclips.net/channel/UCyhE... the bell for notifications so you never miss a story!
#AndrewKlavan #Film #Christianity #Movies #Religion #DailyWire
"Biblical films don't sell."
"Thats because you're offending the people you're making the film for."
That simple quoteset from Klavan about sums it up. Hollywood loathes Christianity, they can't help but have that passive aggressive bias or insert distortion into the Scriptures.
@Fish Boy thanks forkilling nuance
i can't wait to see Mel Gibson's sequel to The Passion of the Christ
@Fish Boy beautiful film. Probably his most underrated.
They loath God.
I do not think Hollywood loathes christianity I think there is a small click of powerful producers that do not like christian films.
To the people who said The Revenant isn't a religious film because of the violence, are they aware of how violent and dark the Bible is?
Yes. I don’t know when Christian began to mean PG, G
I liked the Revenant but did I miss the religious subtext..? Can someone explain?
@@OrthoLou I haven’t thought much about it but for starters the main character basically came back from the dead
@@OrthoLou I recommend Bishop Barrons video on “The Revenant”! The christian themes revolve around the cycle of violence and the breakthrough of grace: At the end, the main character decides not to avenge his son. A key moment is where he finds the other indian whose family was killed but decided that justice is better left to the creator.
@@leonardocalderon3644 I'm not a fan of Barron, but some of his videos have decent insight when he's not delving into heresy. I'll check it out, thanks!
"Just because it's Christian doesn't mean it's good"--THANK YOU!!!
Some people be forgetting about Hacksaw Ridge! That movie is phenomenal.
I agree 💯! Actually many war movies have at least one character that has Christian values 💕 they’re usually my favorite oh and UNBROKEN 😃
The best all time Christian movie, was Sergeant York made in 1941 starring Gary Cooper and won an Academy Award for best picture , A true story of a Committed Christian who fought in World War 1 and single - handedly captured 131 German prisoners. Great movie!
Wasn't a christian movie.
@@JH-tc7wb what’s a Christian Movie?
@@JH-tc7wb Huh! Explain to me how Hacksaw Ridge wasn't a Christian movie?
Has anyone else seen the Chosen? I would say it's some of THE BEST Christian media done. They obviously have 5 more seasons to keep up doing the great things they've got going, but the first two seasons are free and AMAZING.
The Chosen is outstanding! Jonathan Roumey as Jesus is simpley the best ever!
+1,000,000,000,000,000,000
It is definitely the best Christian media.
It’s the best Christian media since Veggietales.
What about The Passion of the Christ?
im agnostic but if i had to lean into any religion it would be Christianity. idk why but hearing about it in a non preachy way it makes me happy.
Well you are always welcome if you choose to lean in :) Red Rocks church does a good job putting up online content if you get curious.
It is the most intellectually fun part of my life.
I’m usually in confusion when someone is against “preachiness” because one of the main things about being a Christian is to PREACH the gospel of Jesus Christ.
@@KlaustheViking because I don't like to be preached too. IE you gotta wash your truck clean your house. It pushes me away more because I'm not a child I know what I need to do.
@@gamejew123 Being preached to isn’t always about telling you what to do. It’s more about hearing the good news that you are saved from your sins and you’re offered the free gift of salvation.
Prince of Egypt is an amazing animated masterpiece. Stands alongside the best of Disney and Ghibli.
Otherwise: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a good movie with very clear christian themes and motifs.
I agree, the Prince of Egypt is in a class of it's own. One of these days I'll finish the video highlighting it's visual story telling - it's worth it every time I go back and re-watch it!
The Prince of Egypt isn’t as faithful to the biblical story as I would like, but there’s no denying its quality.
I also recommend the animated film The Secret of Kells.
@@Kelly-lp8hj The Joseph movie was still good I thought. Not as good as Prince of Egypt though, obviously.
@@WideMouth how is it unfaithful? Takes some liberties, sure, but I wouldn't say that it omits anything or changes the messages..
Netflix's Daredevil did a great job of preserving Matt Murdock's Catholicism. Amazing, unforgettable acting between Daredevil and The Punisher on being a vigilante. Killing vs. sparing life.
Season 3 in particular was amazing in that regard.
Except for the fact that he slept with women outside of marriage
Noah, Exodus and all new Christian stuff is horrible . Why ? Because they lose sight of scripture and go into their own ideology .
The best three christian movies that Portray Christ well and his message are these.
Ben Hurr- for the purpose of not showing a face to Christ. As making any image as Christ is BLASPHEMY. But the movie goes into the time me period of a man who struggles with his life and Christ comes always at the time most needed.
The Passion- for the sole purpose of showing the truth of what happened to our Lord. It was brutal and Christians need to remember what he went through for us.
And the last is
The Prince of Egypt.
Animation at its finest. Many things were off scripturally but the message was great and the interaction at the Burning Bush was probably the most authentic and spine chilling encounter with God to a man portrayed on film. That was done nearly to perfection based on scripture. From the voice of God being 3 in one, to the sound of his voice sounding like many waters. And the light not burning the tree. Awesome
Have to disagree on you on "making an image of Christ is Blasphemy" it is not.
I thought DreamWorks Joseph King of Dreams was good as well.
Excellent choices.
The Miracle maker , it's an animated movie .
@@travisspace7786 Yes Joseph King of Dreams is Great 👍
Does anybody remember Prince of Egypt or Joseph king of dreams.
Those are AMAZING movies - I particularly enjoy the Prince of Egypt, and am working on a video highlighting how amazingly well the visual story telling is in it. 10/10!
It was art
As others have mentioned. THE CHOSEN. Do yourself a favor. Even if you are not a believer, it will put you back into 1st century Judaea.
The best Christian series to date
I don't think I've ever been so moved by a show at all, or any Christian media since Passion of the Christ.
And yes, it depicts the time period almost perfectly.
@@OrthoLou
Its Historical Fiction at its best. By historical fiction I DO NOT mean the Gospels are fiction. They took the Gospels, added some back stories, other people.
@@stevenwiederholt7000 well...yeah, because they would have to in order to make it into a show lol.
It's not like what they've come up with contradicts what the Gospels say, so there's no harm. And the way they've developed them was on the basis of historical context and what the characters' occupations and such were.
@@stevenwiederholt7000 soooo it's a show?
The Shawshank Redemption is the most engaging film about the gospel that I have ever watched.
how so?
"get busy living or get busy dying"?
Cool hand Luke is a much better “Christian” prison movie
My top Religious films are
1. Flowers for St. Francis
2. Diary of a Country Priest
3. Andrei Rublev
4. Winter Light
5. The Seventh Seal
6. The Exorcist
7. The Passion of the Christ
8. Hacksaw Ridge
9. Silence
10. First Reformed
11. The Mission
12. A Serious Man
Unfathomably based. Also check out the 1928 “The Passion of Saint Joan of Arc”. A brilliant silent film that somehow feels modern. Also like your inclusion of the seventh seal as many Catholics seem too scared to grapple with that film
I consider very few Christian films to be slightly good, and so few to be masterpieces. Too often they portray Christians as near perfect with little to no struggle and what struggle they go through, the portrayal doesn't seem real. "God's Not Dead" had a what was close to a realistic portrayal of many people willing to "go along to get along" and others just being targeted because of their faith. But it all felt hollow like the message it was trying to present gave you a good feeling for a little while, then left you soon after.
God's actions in many of these films seem too "in your face" and "over the top". Like God makes everything He does so obvious that it would be impossible to ignore, as if He is trying to pull you back to him by force or shout at you to get back to Him. Some of the films are done well enough that it isn't an "in your face" and "over the top" way, that it makes it feel like God is trying to gently lead you back to Him.
I can barely watch most of these Christian films. It just seems more about having that one feel-good moment instead of an impression that can last a lifetime.
I agree with the "lack of struggle." Think of how much the story of "War Room" would have been improved by the couple losing the big house at the end but happier now that their marriage was healed. It seemed to display a lack of consequences for his actions. Yeah, he was fired, but they still get to stay in the big expensive house.
I'm going to give a shout out for The Exorcist as a Christian movie, certainly the script which was written by William Peter Blatty. A few years later Blatty would write and direct a follow up to that movie called The Ninth Configuration which is a strange, mind blowing film with deep Christian ethical questions and motifs. Not many people have heard of this film but I do heartily recommend it. Be warned; it's strange, funny, off the wall, scary and violent all in one go.
I was surprised by the depth and respect that they incorporated into season one of Daredevil.
YES! I loved that one 🙌
Masterpiece that one.
Just rewatched the show recently and thought the same thing! It was so awesome that they didn't just gloss over it or tone it down. The show came out before my reversion, and I think I enjoyed it even more now.
The entire show is actually incredibly respectful of his beliefs. Season 2 probably has the least to do with his religious side, but even that is still steeped in exploring his values which you can't seperate from his faith. There's an entire conversation in that season between Daredevil and the Punisher where they debate the fundamentally Christian ideas about the value of human life and the nature of true and effective justice. Season 3 is entirely about a man's crisis of faith, his dark night of the soul, and how he overcomes his demons and reconstructs and rediscovers his faith, his identity and his values again. As someone who has undergone (and in some ways still undergoing) a similar process for much of my life, his character arc in season 3 was incredibly cathartic. THAT is how you do "Christian" content well. It's probably one of my favorite shows. I just with they kept the neo-noir aesthetic from the first two seasons instead of going with the suspense thriller vibe for the third season (which I still thought was really good). Beyond that, the only negative thing I can say about it is that they probably didn't need a couple filler episodes, they shouldn't have killed off a particular character, and that I kinda wish that the show didn't depend on people seeing the (good but not great) Defenders miniseries to understand the hows and whys of how season 3 starts. Hopefully people can find physical copies. Otherwise, they're going to Disney+ to watch it instead of Netflix. I'm not one to tell anyone how to spend their money. I respect anyone's decision to not fund the Mouse (and I don't care if anyone chooses to do so either), that show alone is well worth a watch regardless of how you watch it.
MR.KLAVAN, Thank you for your Christian stance.
Midnight Mass starts out promising, but the ultimate message of the movie is some Buddhist adjacent, New Age stuff which is not the Christian ethos.
Sorry Buddhist are more based than you.
@@12halo3 nope
@@frankie3010 no u
... ...New Age stuff which is not the Christian ethos, which is why Klavan's friends who think they understand Klavan's faith (but don't) think he will like it.
I actually really enjoyed Midnight Mass right up until the ending. I think overall it is worth the watch because it is so well made and well acted and I think Flannagan's attempt to examine our deep desire for forgiveness, redemption, community, and a higher power is sincere and for the most part well handled. But...
*SPOILER below*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*SPOILER*
The show kinda tosses all the nuance away a minute from midnight by having a monologue by a character who's been a devout Catholic the whole time, suddenly waxing poetic about pantheism in way that supposed to be really profound, but feels so much like the musings of a college undergrad after taking one semester of philosophy and religious studies while smoking pot.
"Like, we are all totally connected. We are all made of the same star dust. God isn't a being, God is everything. God is the universe man" *takes hit from a bong*.
I liked Risen. Anyone else?
Could've been a little better; I personally feel it falters once the apostles are introduced (Jesus' portrayal and a huggie hippe also wasn't the greatest), but overall a pretty damn good film.
The first act that played out like a noir detective film, and the third act with the big finish were strong. And I always thought that the ascension would be impossible to show on film, but they managed to pull it off in a very interesting way.
I enjoyed it also.
I loved it!
As other have said .... YUP. The Chosen. Watch it Klavan. Doesn't get better than that.
"The Chosen" really is good!
Excellent show. Got my husband to watch when I was watching the second season, and he then persuaded me to go back to season one so he could watch it in full. Very well done and uplifting. ❤️❤️
@7:25 Theologically the movie "Noah" was horrible. It was BAD theology. There are other movies with big scenes (like Thor) that I would go see as a Christian, but the graphics in Noah can't make up for the terrible theology.
I think it's quite interesting and in its weird interpretation actually remarkably faithful to existing sources - the Book of Enoch most notably.
@@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat the book of Enoch is primarily rejected as not being Holy Scripture by the Jews and The Orthodox Christians that took the Septuigent Old Testament with their books. Ethiopian Rite of Christianity is the only major rite that uses it in part, besides the small rival Gnostic cults. Paul referenced it, but it was heresy text for the Jews post Macabee.
Most consider it religious spin-off literature like Dante or Milton or the Jewish Golum and Lilith, intended to be a commentary on 500BC politics.
It makes sense an atheist movie director would choose Enoch as it is very adaptable to the comic book style of modern blockbusters. It is much more conflict oriented and it has lots of cool comic monsters.
They, of course, embellished even Enoch to make commentary on modern politics and causes that the young costar and their focus groups are interest in.
In the original story Gen Ch6, Noah has no interaction at all with the line of Cain. There is no mention of his interaction with Nephelium...but they are mentioned as a rogue abomination to The Creator's plan.
Cain to Tubal-Cain are mentioned as vengeful warriors, city builders and metal smith's in Ch 4.
The line of Seth, Ch5, doesn't mention ANY interactions with their marked fallen cousins.
Noah builds his ark, his last direct ancestor(grandpa) dies of very old age, they are sealed in by God, then the flood begins. After over a year, Noah has to cut a window to see out.
They just floated above the Earth for many months in the hands of God....they could have been on a spaceship for all Noah can see, till he cut the window.
That's a good Outer Limits screenplay, but hard to flesh out a 2 hr popcorn spectacle.
Bad theology =/= bad movie. As a film on its artistic merits, which should be the basis of whether or not something is a good or bad film, I'd say it was a good movie. Not great, but I think it was good. I will have to agree that it had some wonky theology. I was more weirded out by the fact the film made the Nephilim the good guys.
Martin Scorsese's "Silence" is the most deeply Christian masterpiece of cinema.
You know it's weird that the best Christian movies are the ones that are not talked about. I really enjoyed Silence, but no one talks about it and it's been around for so many years.
@@petite2276
Yeah, it's a travesty.
Terrence Malick's "Tree of Life" is another one, albeit slightly more renowned.
I think "The Iron Giant" is low-key a Gospel message, because thematically it's entirely about all sentient beings with an awareness of their existence and curiousity for their origin and what lie beyond, possess the autonomously agented volition to choose righteousness (and Salvation) - graciously and stalwartly exampling the golden rule despite enduring persecution to easily sway you against it (love your enemies). I find that resilience to be heavily Chrisrian in root and principle. Similarly, "Gattaca" as well. They carry a deep message of transcendence by decision, which is the opposite of the oppressive "born this way" excuses of the deciever and his propagandist minions on earth who vie for succumbed idleness in defeat and indulged wickedness as inevitable, then package those things with a shinny platituded bow and call them "truth" and "virtue".
Terrence Malick is in my top 10 directors of all time. Love all his movies. Haven't seen the extended cut of The Tree of Life yet, but the theatrical of that was great.
The Chosen anyone?
For years now, I've wanted to see someone make a film showcasing the dark sickness of sin. Maybe the first act will show how fun and pleasurable sin is, but later we'll see its destructiveness. We'll be shown how truly ugly it is. This film would, necessarily, have an R rating, as it would deal with mature content.
This idea came to me watching He Got Game, starring Denzel Washington. There is a fantastic scene in that movie which does an incredible job deglamorizing the fast life. It is quite disturbing and has stuck with me to this day.
You need to pray so God may work things out and get that film idea to the right people. It would be absolutely fantastic and would really make an impact on people in a great way. I'll pray for it to happen, this movie needs to exist.
@@thesapphire_standard7534 thank you for that. I thought I was the only one who thought that was a good idea. Haha
@@christopherdale1745 Agreed! It needs to be made.
The vast majority of people watch films for entertainment. They are not always the best medium to explore morality or sin.
@@bighands69 agreed. There's no reason it couldn't be entertaining. I've seen plenty of great films which contained a powerful message and also entertained the hell outta me.
Let's go Brandon !
Silence by Martin Scorsese - this movie rocked me to my core and has truly made an impact on my faith. I highly recommend to all
Absolutely, one of favorite religious films in recent memory (along with some of those mentioned in the interview). I was hoping they'd mention it too!
I might be the only one out there that came to Christ through "The Last Temptation of Christ". It finally pointed out the reality that the crucifixion was actually necessary, unavoidable and the ultimate act of love from The Creator to the created. It perplexed me in a way that I couldn't get out of my mind. The actual Gospel did the rest. As goofy (putting it nicely) as that portrayal of Jesus was, he always knew what lay before him. That idea of the Jesus is an actual person not some ethereal being finally conveyed The Incarnation and what it really, really means.
I had a rather different experience with The Last Temptation. I felt that it was not only blasphemous, but it was an objectively bad movie. The casting was schizophrenic, the cinematography was jarring and unpleasant, and the script, I felt, was banal and uninspired; particularly lifting the Devil's temptation of Christ in the desert straight from Darth Vader's "Luke, Join Me" pitch from the Empire Strikes Back. I was very disappointed in Martin Scorsese as a filmmaker. I'm glad at least that this film had a positive effect on someone.
@@lanerussell7958 as a filmmaker he likely did lift it, but, to be fair,, the screenwriters for Empire lifted that whole discussion from.the temptation described in Mark.
As trinitarians, it seems a hollow offer. Jesus the human face of the Almighty Triune God is offered all of creation (at least the world) by the fallen angel that the Triune God had created in the first place, just as God had created that very devil, before its free will became perverse and destructive.
However Empire borrowed from Sethian Platonic Gnostics not orthodox gospels (Campbell's books are full of that) where the god of creation was a false Aeon trying to create a copy of true God's perfect universe. He instead created a corrupt version that aged, withered and died. His copy of the perfect blueprint, Adama, contained the spirit of the true God, but the false god wanted to steal it for himself. The Serpent was the first step of the True God's plan to rescue humanity from this false universe and the prison of Eden.
IOW the Jews got the story backward and worshipped a false and temperamental jealous god ....and Jesus was from the true Socratic God above and outside all that. Weird huh.
You'll find this stuff in heresy text like The Gospel of Judas...an Egyptian Gnostic book and some of it in Greek Marcionian, Gospel of Mary Magdeline.
@@STho205 I thought the whole of the movie seemed to follow the Gnostic gospels-I've been told the Gospel of Thomas is where Judas is supposed to be the hero- but I've never read them. I had no idea that Luke Skywalker's temptation was supposed to mirror Christ's; at the time, I thought it was just lazy scriptwriting.
The hollowness of Satan's offer is even more stark from a Oneness perspective. It seems preposterous on the surface for Satan, a created being, to solicit worship from his Creator. But of course there was more going on than was on the surface. The essence of the Devil's offers was instant gratification, which he seems to consider an act of worship. It became clear to me when Christ told Pilate that His Kingdom was not of this world, since if it were, His followers would fight for him. In fact, Peter attempted this very thing, because he did not understand the necessity of the Cross. Mohammed spread his gospel by the edge of the sword precisely because his kingdom >is< of this world, and will perish either with it or before it; and this was what Satan offered Christ. Not just the kingdoms of that time, but of all times, for just one act of worship, one acknowledgement of supremacy. It seems as small as a pinch of incense to offer on the fire at a mobile altar while muttering "Caesar is lord" to appease the Roman authorities. But of course, a Christian cannot make that compromise, however small. The significance becomes clearer when we see that this is precisely the test Esau failed, selling Jacob his birthright for a bowl of red beans.
@@lanerussell7958 don't go by what you're told. Read it yourself.
What you've been told is mere rumors.
My favorite religious/quasi-religious films that don't easily fit the current "Christian" film category: The Mission (1986), Les Miserables (2012), The Sound of Music, Time Bandits, The Prince of Egypt, Life of Brian, and Hail, Ceaser! The new animated Pilgrim's Progress is quiet good as well and of course the stop motion film, The Miracle Maker, is marvelous!
There were things that I enjoyed about Midnight Mass but it ultimately felt like a subtle dig at faith and what Christians believed. The monologue at the end, a completely non-Christian way to describe life, seems to be the ultimate message. It was a pagan show, not a Christian one.
I noticed that. That monologue about “what happens after death” totally turned me off. It was so weird and out of place, anti-catholic (and that character is devout). Every event of that show, if you’re in it, would have you believe in God, whether it was through miracles or through the evil manifested. And she goes on this new-agey rant that is basically just monism.. That was annoying.
Plus, what the fuck was that creature? They left that hanging.
Still a very captivating show with some excellent dialogues and acting.
I thought the same thing! I'm so glad you pointed that out.
I enjoyed a lot of it up until the end: a woman who was a faithful catholic throughout suddenly spews this hippie dippie pantheism drivel at the moment of her death? When she just witnessed all of this supernatural, demonic activity!??
@@OrthoLou 100%!
I’m glad that I’m not the only one who saw it that way. The show was ultimately a thumbs down for me, mostly because of the ending.
Agreed. The ending was disappointing. I really enjoyed the music though.
I imagine Flannery O'Connor's writing can be well adapted to film.
I’m coming a bit late to the party here; but, as an evangelical Christian, I think one of the most Christian shows I have seen is Breaking Bad. You can’t play with a little bit of sin and not have it affect you. You can’t rationalize sin and say “I’m not hurting anybody.” You can’t couch sin in the disguise of a noble cause. Sin will destroy you. The wages of sin is death.
surprised he hasn't watched The Chosen. one of the better more recent Christian movies/tv
Agreed! The DW had an article on it a little bit ago, but I don't think word has gotten to Klavan yet.
Time Changer is a good Christian movie that actually gets more and more relatable as time goes on. It’s about a 19th century Christian writer who finds himself in a modern world where Jesus is not taught about or remembered. The acting is surprisingly decent as well. Check it out if you can.
Terrance Malik and Mel Gibson make the best Christian films. I can’t taken any more of the saccharine coating on almost everything else.
It's because they are Catholic and are used to looking at good art (churches, painting, status, etcetera). Protestant movies hammer the message on the head too hard.
@@crobeastness that’s a good point. It’s seems the purpose of Protestant (of whom i am one) movies is always catechetical or to directly evangelize. Can’t just let the art be art where it can still (better) serve those purposes.
@@knowthycell ah ok that makes sense. I'm catholic and sometimes laugh at protestant movies because the conversations for example are sometimes so obvious.
@@crobeastness looking forward to Maliks new film about Jesus: *The Way of the Wind.*
@@knowthycell I agree with you. And although I personally don’t like Christan movies as “God’s Not Dead” or “October Baby”, I think they are good for teenagers, they enjoy and learn from them. I’ve used them in my (Catholic) Religion classes for teenagers and they love them.
The Chosen. Would love to hear Andrew's opinion on it
Dude. The Book of Eli and Bruce Almighty was so dang good. Loved them both to bits.
Both are wonderful, thought-provoking movies! That being said, I would watch Denzel Washington read the phone book (it's a book printed on newsprint with names, addresses, and phone numbers). Just sayin'.
@@BeforeMoviesSucked 😂
Why is this guy humming and hawing about the war on religion Hollywood is waging. Every crazy or evil villain in movies is a Christian lately. Christianity is given disbelief or outright hatred in movies now, but mostly hatred.
@Philip Butler True, but where each formulaic is placed repeatedly in a role makes the difference. The Christian representative is most often placed, as I pointed out, in the role of a crazy, or low IQ, cruel, etc personality in the movie. While the gay part is charming, wise, sensitive, and always in a positive role. Hollywood hates Christians because they have a false view pushed by the left and their agenda is against Christianity. They cannot and will not believe Christians can love all humanity without believing certain human behavior has negative results. All actions God condemns are negative to humanity in various known and unknown spiritual and physical ways. He wants to protect us not condemn us. We have free will to follow His guidelines or not.
@Philip Butler OK, Just pointing it out to others and just frustrated at the whole situation. Basically offended by Hollywood's bias when Islam has certain laws against their agenda but are not persecuted. It seems Christianity is their bugaboo.
@@mvies77
Because there is no Hollywood war on Christianity. You have imagined it. There people in Hollywood that dispose religions, black people, jews, cars, independence, guns and so much more but it is not everybody and cannot be applied to just the term Hollywood.
@@bighands69 It can and it does and if you think the majority of Hollywood is not controlled by the left whom have made part of their agenda to undermine and ridicule Christians and Christian values then you are completely deaf, and blind. Your seem to think your simple proclamations of, it ain't so, will convince. Well, it does not.
It's not like christians being hated is anything new. The world has tried to destroy christianity from day one.
John Eldridge summed the problem of Christian films and books. He said that writers and directors forget that they are telling a story and not preaching a sermon.
The first half of First Reformed was decent, but the second half was so brutal as to completely forsake the intellectual honesty of the first. It is always painfully obvious when a preacher's lines are written by a non-believer.
Top 10 Christian Films all time
1. Chariots of Fire
2. Hacksaw Ridge
3. Fury
4. Silence
5. The Passion of the Christ
6. San Francisco
7. Machine Gun Preacher
8. It's a Wonderful Life
9. Quo Vadis
10. The Rider
What Christian messages were in Fury..? Doesn't the main character have a one night stand with a German girl? LOL
Also, I personally can't see why you'd put Passion so low..😬
@@OrthoLou There are many Christian themes and messages in Fury, and Pitt's character quotes scripture on at least 3 occasions. This actually goes to one of their points in this video, in the old testament there are"main characters" who commit adultery or hammer tent pegs into the skull of another person. Is that a Christian story? And I have Passion so low because these rankings are for the movies themselves, and Passion of The Christ must also be rated for how well it works as a movie.
Great list! Haven't seen all these, but I'll look them up.
"Hail Caesar!" is one of the best film about Catholicism that I have ever seen.
How so?
UNBROKEN ♥️ my favorite Christian movie 🍿
Great interview! I think you would enjoy speaking with Dallas Jenkins of ‘The Chosen’ especially in respect to his / their ‘different’ approach to the Gospel presentation in both story and distribution….
i would love to see klavan review the chosen!!
If someone asked me to give my best example of Christian cinema I would say the Lord of the rings trilogy.
Old comment I know but I just had to say I agree with you 100%.
I completely disagree with "God's not Dead" with being horrible. Is it a little too quick of a turnaround for Kevin Sorbo's character? Yes. But it does show how students can be persecuted in modern classrooms, as well as something that Christians can enjoy without checking our faith at the door. I know non-Christians hate it, but saying that it was THE worst movie of the 2010's? That's going way too far. I enjoyed it. My family enjoyed it. My friends enjoyed it. We're not in the majority, by any means, but having entertainment that doesn't denigrate our faith is very welcome.
I enjoyed it too. And I agree that christian students being bullied on campus is a real issue. That said upon further reflection I felt that it ,like nearly all Christian films, was made exclusively for Christians and I just don't think we can call that a ministry.
I have not seen it, but a friend of mine who has great taste in film likes to call it "That movie that does every cringy thing a 'Christian film' can do, but somehow you still love it." I think some film critics just don't get that lots of people LIKE movies that aren't so-called "good movies."
Thank you for this intriguing video discussion, Mr. Klavan. Looking forward to possible future reviews and analysis of thought provoking spiritual fare such as CARNIVALE, THE LEFTOVERS and AMERICAN GODS.
Other great Christian films and filmmakers: The Flowers of Saint Francis (Roberto Rosselini), The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman), The Tree of Wooden Clogs (Ermanno Olmi), Raging Bull (Scorsese), The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer), and Terence Malick's big output: Days of Heaven, The Tree of Life, and A Hidden Life. And I'd add the work of Robert Bresson, especially Pickpocket (1959) and A Man Escaped (1956). These are not children's films, nor are they childish interpretations, and some (not all) have a hard edge, but for Christians looking beyond just bible retellings, these are all incredible films that involve Christian life and the human condition. All are masterpieces.
I really recommend Scorseses Silcence, best movie about faith and doubt in the last 10 years.
Christian Bale’s actual quote regarding Moses was “Moses would be viewed as a terrorist” and he was going into how the views Moses had back then would be seen as terrifying and he would be labeled as a terrorist by many people, due to what he was saying. Whether one agrees with Bale on that or not is one thing, but Andrew either doesn’t know the full context of what Bale said or if he does, he’s purposely being misleading in what he’s saying about Christian Bale.
Any public statement concerning any subject matter from actors like Christian Bale should be taken with large grain of salt. He has anger issues as manifested by the judicial complaints filed by his own mother and one of his sisters for assaulting them during the premiere of The Dark Knight movie in London.
Then again Christian Bale may be simply projecting his own violent tendencies upon others when he describes Moses as a terrorist.
My family and I really enjoyed God is Not Dead. Not a perfect movie but how anyone could rank it so low is odd. I thought it was thought provoking and could help many when they’re struggling to keep their faith or when their faith is being questioned by society/culture.
The reason why Hollywood produced so much Biblical films in the early part of Hollywood is that many of the studio Executives and producers in Hollywood were Jewish. With the anti semitism that existed in the US at that time, it was a clever way in which Jewish characters could be portrayed in traditional Jewish setting with heroic and positive overtones without incurring negative reaction. How could anyone not like Biblical stories. That would be un American.
A Hidden Life. What an amazing film 🎥
Andrei Rublev is the gold standard for Orthodox Christian cinema.
Not one word of "The Chosen"! Did I miss something here...or did you miss out Mr Klavan? A fantastic independent ( crowdfunded) series that can help people come to Christ.
That trailer was excellent. I am definitely going to give it a watch.
Gods Not Dead is by no means grand cinema but it’s a crowd pleaser that does a good job pleasing its audience and driving home the point that we need to have faith. The Passion, Chosen, heck, even Noah, are all objectively better, but no reason to become super elitist as far as film quality. Sometimes schlocky movies resonate better with audiences than cinematic masterpieces
Don't forget the much underrated "End of the Spear"
The problem is that Hollywood made more overtly religious films than it does now, it would seem to be concentrating on a "niche" of the U.S. population, in the same way that the films of Spike Lee cater to African-Americans and the films of Martin Scorsese cater to Italian-Americans. Simply put, it would look like identity politics. This wasn't a problem from the 1920s to the 1960s, when it was taken for granted that "all" of America was Christian, but things have changed since then. While Christians are still the largest ethnocultural group in this country (well over 200 million people), their numbers are dropping fast.
However, I object to the premise that "Hollywood used to be Christian, so it could be so again." Hollywood was never Christian. Almost from the start, it was the domain of mostly secular Jews who were under tremendous pressure from the Catholic Church as well as some Protestant churches to see to it that popular entertainment was kept "moral." Cecil B. DeMille was indeed a genuine Christian, and (believe it or not) notorious sex symbols Jane Russell and Jayne Mansfield were Roman Catholics, but for the most part the Classic Hollywood era was a time of secularists placating religious pressure groups up until the time it became safe to finally defy them.
The recent Affleck movie “The Way Back” may be the best depiction of faith I’ve seen in film
Very wise conversation 🤗
The Devil's Advocate, while cheesy in its own 90's way (and not at all in the typical Christian Cheese way), is one of the best Christian, and particularly Catholic, movies. That this fact may have gone over the heads of the audience who were seeking a 90's legal thriller (losing the main audience) or that it subtly pits Catholicism against Protestantism (losing most of the Christian audience) could be why it only has a cult following, but for all its camp and datedness it's a masterpiece when you really think through its scenarios and implications, especially about free will, the ever-present threat of sin, perception vs reality, and the intersection of the spiritual and the corporal.
It's a strange film. A sort of "corporate-corruption-in-New-York" story meets a "freaky-supernatural-religion" story. I love the way it balances the two elements.
As a Christian, you will never be able to appease our group. One reason being that there are far too many denominations with varying amounts of different theological ideals. Passion of the Christ was extremely well done, but it is also VERY Catholic in its interpretation. Protestants are going to have a very different view of what makes a good "Christian" film. "The Chosen" is great. However, I feel like "Knowing" was more in tune with Biblical themes than so many "Christian" films. I would love to see a CS Lewis adaption of the "The Space Trilogy" (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength")
Another cool film about around Christianity silence which is based on the missionary work of Catholic Church in Japan
Also another good film though animated is Moses prince of Egypt, hands down very good film
Scorsese’s Silence was one of the best Christian film of our times. It should have been best picture rather than the antiChristian Spotlight in 2016.
Thank you for this
This is such excellent discussion of relation of Christianity and American cinema. I want more of it.
Dude has all ten seasons of Friends. My man
It's devastating to me that Klavan's film theory (proper theory, not "theory" as has been redefined by the humanities departments) vlogs have so few views. I've studied literature and film in college for years and these basic and useful insights simply don't exist within the universities or textbooks. It's no wonder that so many of us graduate with such slanted views of culture.
Great stuff 👍
When it comes to Christian films there are some good ones, like The Prince of Egypt, Silence, Passion of Christ, and even Vegetales. But the reason that makes those movies good is the fact that they don't make non-christians to be the bad guys. I like how they tell their stories without having to bash another person's beliefs. And I do think that movies like that can draw more people to consider Christianity, because they don't feel attacked by what's being said.
As a Christian, I'm glad they bashed God's Not Dead. It's propaganda.
The best expression of the challenge of portraying religion in film is in MAD Magazine's parody of The Sound of Music, specifically, their rewriting of the song, "How do you solve the problem of Maria?"
"How do you solve the problem of religion?
How do you handle nuns and not offend?
Just simply have them doing things they wouldn't.
Don't follow the norm.
Don't stay true to form.
Pretend.
"Ingrid Bergman you'll recall
As a nun would play baseball.
And sweet Audrey Hepburn convent life foreswore.
Sister Debbie was so swinging,
On her motorbike while singing
Ole Roz Russell, Donna Reed and many more.
All the nuns sang a lament while they mixed up their cement.
Playing Lilies of the Field with so much zeal!
Deborah Kerr was quite specific on that spot in the Pacific,
Celeste Holmes, Loretta Young all had appeal.
Yes, people will eat of films about religion
As long as the nuns and priests are so unreal."
Too much? Too much. I'm done.
Thanks!
By far the best is Rossellini's The Flowers of St. Francis
The Virgin Spring by Ingmar Bergman is wonderful
I like The Nativity Story and Amazing Grace. I also liked The Song (though I always skip the first back-story scenes b/c the wigs and make-up to make them look old is atrocious). I thought they did a good job of portraying bad things (i.e. drugs, adultery) without showing too much.
My favorite depiction of God in film is at the end of "Raider's of the Lost Ark."
Neither of these guys are Catholic. What do they mean when they say "The Church"?
What Acts of the Apostles talks about. People who are saved by accepting that Jesus Christ came in the flesh as the sacrifice for our sins, resurrected, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. Who are "born again" as Jesus stated.
@@thesapphire_standard7534 born again in the bible gas always referred to baptism. Self professed "born again" Christians have always tried to convince me otherwise, I don't see the evidence from the bible of their claims though.
Also, what does that even have to do with my question of them referring to "the Church"? Lol.
@@crobeastness God considers His people the body of Christ. That is the Church. They are His Spiritual government (ekklesia in greek ) Also baptism might be necessary for salvation but I remain unconvinced as well.
@@thesapphire_standard7534 the Catholic Church considers herself the body of Christ.
@@crobeastness Jesus said my kingdom is not of this world. And that it cannot be said to be found "here" or "there". Last time I checked the Catholic Church could be found on a map in the vatican city-state. The Church of Christ is His people.
"Just because it's Christian, doesn't mean it's good." What an understatement! Yeah, Christian films at times have been the worst. As a Christian, I still want it to be a movie, not a documentary. God's not dead was OK, but it was super cheesy at times, but I can only Imagine is among one of my favorites. The worst I can remember though I think is the movies based on the Left Behind books, boy they were absolutely terrible.
Martin Scorceses' "Silence" is one of the best films about faith ever made. If you are a Christian, you owe it to yourself to watch it.
The Chosen is a great series. Protestants and Catholics alike are fans of it. It’s not cheesy.
Nerfarious is another good Christian film dealing with the ideas of possession without the grotesques of a typical Hollywood horror film.
So glad you said that about God's Not Dead- what a painful and unhelpful film.
I understand we don't want to seem cheesy, but I thought the core message about a college kid standing up for what he believes to be true resonated.
Not only biblical but there are thousands of Saint's life Story in any kind/class, of society available.
“Nefarious” is a great movie.
I think Respect...the Aretha Franklin bio pick does a fantastic job as a faith based film
Children of Men and Shawshank Redemption are two of the greatest Christian-themed movies ever made.
Matthew film is the best faith based film because it is a word for word account of the book of Matthew
Midnight mass is really good. It ask some deeper stuffs...
Oh let’s see …
I find that the best films that deal with faith/theology are done truthfully and beautifully. It also helps when the theology doesn’t lean toward iconoclasm and uses pedagogy as a substitute for art (coughs - PureFlix / God’s Not Dead - coughs)
So my own cinematic canon: The Passion of Joan of Arc, Diary of a Country Priest, Winter Light, A Man for All Seasons, Andrei Rublev, Bringing Out the Dead, The Passion of the Christ, The Tree of Life, A Hidden Life
I also liked Noah. Yes, the environmental message is there but I don’t think it was the driving force as it may seem. I took mother! as a very personal film-dream on the part of Aronofsky, not some papal declaration.
I was looking for a comment like this! All I can think to add at the moment is *The Dekalog* and *Apocalypto.* Also, Terrance Malik has a new film coming out about Jesus; *The Way of the Wind.*
@@knowthycell I’m still kicking myself for not listing Dekalog 😁
You should definitely put Black Robe on that list. Not a Christian film per se but it portrays faith in a way I've never seen in any other film.
Any opinions on "Risen"?
I would argue Apocalypto is a great Christian film.
Please make your Samson movie Klavan!! I'll go see it
‘A Man Called Peter’ (1955) about the 20th Century immigrant preacher Rev. Peter Marshall…
Yes, so good. My sons enjoyed it too and they were only about 11 and 8 when we saw it.
Revenant is a "deeply religious film." I missed that in my first viewing. Can anyone explain this?
Klaven bringing the culture to DW again
Being violent doesn't prevent a movie from being a good Christian movie. Just look at something like Hacksaw Ridge. Heck, the Bible itself is chock-full of violence.
The Shack is the best Christian movie I've seen so far. It taught a key Christian tenant in an awesome way.
I'm not sure that's a Christian film. To what Christian tenant were you referring?
@@CornerTalker'Tenets'. That would be forgiveness. Also the movie is described as a Christian drama.
@@ekpeiogban6787 I haven't actually watched the film but have only heard about it - so just curious.
@@CornerTalker Okay. I highly recommend it.
No one has mentioned The Preacher with Robert Duvall!