Religion and politics have inspired more battles over ideology than can be counted. Opinions and questions are legion when it comes to a list. This list is offered from the unique insight of an aficionado of film who also works in the film and television industry. These qualifications may be adequate enough for some, and unacceptable for others. Motion pictures were created to entertain and delight, and allow the masses to escape. Pictures on a theme, such as religious, often push the viewer to question and affirm their beliefs. Put one hundred people into a theatre and you get one hundred different opinions. Nonetheless, peruse this list, agree or disagree, and feel free to offer your own additions in the comments below. Please note the order of movies listed does not reflect a hierarchy whereas number 1 is the best of the lot, and so on.
1) The Robe. Presented when color film was coming into its own, this was offered to the masses as a side story to the crucifixion. The focal point – the namesake for which the film is titled, becomes at first an object to be gambled over, and later a symbol for the Roman tribune of what the article represents: truth and salvation. It represents a journey many find themselves on, the path to faith and truth. For this reason The Robe is a film that embraces viewers even today.
2) The Ten Commandments. This film, as grand epic, is the penultimate presentation that grabs the viewer with its sweeping vistas and emotive, inspiring music scores. A tale of two brothers, it is also a tale of the search for truth and understanding. Charlton Heston became synonymous with the role of Moses. Unlike some actors under contract with the studios, as was the case with Mr. Heston and many of his peers, he chose to embrace and portray a role with a sense of vigor and believability. The film is unintentionally part camp at times (witness the dance around the calf and reaction to Moses coming down with the tablets) but still a holiday favorite aired every year around the Jewish holiday of Passover.
3) Stigmata. When faith and the supernatural collide, we are presented with a story like Stigmata. This is another search-for-truth film, where a priest, portrayed by Gabriel Byrne, embarks on an investigation into the claims of Stigmata, the sudden and inexplicable appearance of the wounds and cuts to the body that mirror those inflicted on Christ. The premise is based on reports over the centuries of such eyewitness and first person accounts. When it was released it introduced audiences to a visual concept of something too incredible to be true. For added measure, the film made references to the existence of gospels that do not appear in the New Testament, creating for itself a built in controversy that spawned ten thousand websites affirming or denying the existence of such books.
4) Dogma. Kevin Smith wrote this story with the sense of turning conventions on religion upside down. View as innovative to some, blasphemous to others, it nonetheless garnered attention with its depictions of meddling fallen angels and God as woman. This of course played into the Wiccan religious collectives who claimed it confirmed their own beliefs. The simple point of the story is to force the viewer to observe with eyes wide open. The story was told as a testament to faith. The movie is worth seeing, if for no other reasons than the cast performances and the visual portrayal of the question of what religion means to us.
5) Little Buddha. The tale of Siddhartha was dismissed by many critics simply because Keanu Reeves was cast to play the lead role. Some referred to the film as “Bill and Ted’s religious departure.” Mr. Reeves was the ideal choice for the role. The sense of peace his character portrayed as he moved closer to the goal of self-detachment, and therefore enlightenment, could not have been carried by any of his contemporaries. The unique telling of the story within the story allows the viewer to connect at once to the origin and birth of this religious understanding and the relevance in contemporary times. Visually stunning, a memorable scene plays out when the Buddha, during a particularly lengthy period of meditation, remains exposed to the elements. The rain begins to fall and a giant cobra flares and shelters him. It must be noted that many Buddhists enjoyed the telling of the story and two Tibetan teachers both identified as reborn lamas appeared in the film.
6) The Life of Brian. The story of Jesus as a sidebar offered people an opportunity to laugh at the possibility of a religious comedy of errors. Always at the right place at just the right time, the story follows the main character that becomes a victim of peculiar circumstance and happenstance. A great example of what could happen if one arrived a few seconds after the event and picked up the stragglers, the brilliant comedic sense of Monty Python provided an irreverent intelligent telling of the story that was done with just enough tongue-cheek madness to garner a following.
7) Ben Hur. A brilliant film that features a recognizable cast of dozens, this story told the tale of Judah Ben-Hur and his own search for truth and salvation. A tale of two brothers, a sub-plot shared by many other films within the genre, it offered a stunning sense of gravitas the characters experienced as the story unfolds. Many versions of the film were created, but most memorable is the 1959 version, which earned 11 Academy awards, and continues to be the standard-bearer for such films. The story inspired theatrical productions throughout the world, with one taking the bold leap to recreate the chariot race with live horses, chariots, and treadmills. This film, for its costumes, sets, action, and story telling, still retains the charm of the golden age of Hollywood.
8) Jesus Christ Superstar. A rock opera telling of the story of Judas, with Jesus as a focal point whose magnificent influence isn’t felt until very nearly the end, this film offers insight into Judas as a victim of circumstances. One remarkable asset to the film is the production company utilized locations throughout the Holy Land to tell the story, offering a satisfying consumptive, believable feel to the story itself. The fact that music spreads the world of the ministry of Jesus during what was portrayed as roughly his lat week or so on Earth is one lends itself to the film and various plays still casting a spell over the millions who have seen it. Jesus Christ Superstar was the eighth highest earning film of the year, when it was released in 1973.
9) Raiders of the Lost Ark. Part roller-coaster ride, part tale of greed and excess, part morality tale, this film is another movie that kept moviegoers coming back. The story of a titular professor, whose real job, archeologist/antiquities hunter, had young boys and men clamoring to sign up and young women swooning, offered a classic globe-trekking tale surrounding the quest for what must surely be one of the most sought after religious icons of all time: The Ark of the Covenant. The scene where Indy and Marion are held captive as the ark is about to be opened is the penultimate example of the adage, “be careful what you wish for.” The awesome and mighty power of the Lord, provided with a little help cinematically by ILM, offered an image of a god who does what is right. It is interesting to note that the real life quest for the ark has caused a spin-off of several documentary style films that have an Indiana Jones sensibility intertwined with their air of authenticity. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a film that offers insight into the extent people will go in regards to religion, and it loses none of its luster as a form of entertainment.
10) The Passion of the Christ. The familiar story was told in a visceral and gritty tone that felt as real as if the viewer were a helpless bystander mere feet from the action. It had a tone of violence that even after co-writer and director Mel Gibson edited still garnered a pg-13 rating. Mr. Gibson sought to engage the audience in a telling of the story that was different and so enlisted the script to be rewritten into Latin and Aramaic, the two prevalent languages spoken during the time of Jesus. One of the controversies that surrounded this film stemmed from various organizations and their concern that the presentation of Jesus being murdered by the Jews would undo four decades of tentative and sometimes difficult work towards the repudiation efforts of the act, and the acknowledgement by the Catholic Church that Jesus was not killed by the Jews, but instead by a tiny collective bent on destroying anything that threatened their comfortable way of life. Controversy and hyperbole notwithstanding, the film is a stunning and gripping story that will at once compel the viewer to avert their eyes, and yet not be able to.
