• Bible Films Blog

    Looking at film interpretations of the stories in the Bible - past, present and future, as well as preparation for a future work on Straub/Huillet's Moses und Aron and a few bits and pieces on biblical studies.


    Name:
    Matt Page

    Location:
    U.K.












    Tuesday, July 15, 2008

    Wittenburg Door's "10 Worst Movies About Jesus"

    Danny Gallagher of The Wittenburg Door has posted an article on the Ten Worst Films About Jesus. Full marks for an eclectic selection; it ranges from classic epics to modern-day horror flicks. And there's no doubting that it's a bold list. Whilst the inclusion of Pasolini's Gospel According to St. Matthew is highly questionable, Gallagher is fully aware of its prestigious reputation, and even those of us that admire have probably had a hard time convincing others of its value.

    The full list (which excludes The Passion of the Christ because "that would be too easy") is:
    The Robe
    Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter
    Jesus, the Mini Series
    Zombie Jesus!
    In Search of Historic Jesus
    The Lawton Story (aka The Prince of Peace)
    Gospel According to St. Matthew
    Ultrachrist!
    The Miracle Maker
    The Davinci Code
    I found Gallagher's comments on these films to be generally amusing, even when I disagreed with them, and there are some useful links to excerpts on YouTube.

    I've actually only seen five of the ten having not watched Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter, Zombie Jesus!, In Search of Historic Jesus, The Lawton Story (aka The Prince of Peace) and Ultrachrist! but only The Lawton Story holds any appeal. In Search of Historic Jesus seems to be just one Jesus documentary amongst many, and the others are only really about Jesus in name only. Rather worryingly, my own top ten includes 3 of the 5 films on this list that I have seen!

    4 Comments:

    • At 5:19 pm, July 15, 2008, Blogger Kevin C. Neece said…

      Obviously, these people have never seen "The Revolutionary" or "The Color of the Cross"!

       
    • At 6:04 pm, July 15, 2008, Blogger Matt Page said…

      ...or their respective sequels...

      Matt

       
    • At 12:56 pm, July 17, 2008, Blogger Patrick said…

      A long-time reader here, and second-time commenter.

      While (as a Catholic) I'd take some issues with Mr. Gallagher's comment about Catholicism on his review of the Da Vinci Code, I found his review to be quite interesting and amusing; 'Zombie Jesus' particularly made me remember that one time my classmates (I'm currently in Japan) got confused on the Christian concept of the resurrection, and somehow linked it with zombification.

      That aside, I would have liked to see 'The Judas Project' covered in the list (Admittedly I've never watched it; yet I have spoiled myself a bit by reading reviews about it on the internet, which were mostly negative).

       
    • At 1:27 pm, July 17, 2008, Blogger Matt Page said…

      Hi Patrick
      Thanks for your comment. I've never seen the Judas Project either perhaps, in part, because I've read similar reviews!

      I am thinking about what should be on my list - there's a lot to choose from.

      Let me know if you ever see the Judas Project.

      Matt

       

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