Other library resource(s)
Religion and film from Oxford Bibliographies Online by Call Number: Electronic resourceISBN: 9780199791286In 1911 one of the earliest documents examining the nature and function of cinema came from the Reverend Herbert A. Jump of Connecticut, a pamphlet entitled The Religious Possibilities of the Motion Picture. His thoughtful reflections on the novel medium envisioned a fertile marriage between the moving pictures and the church, leading to revival and reform.
Internet resource(s)
- Bible films from WikipediaThis is a list of movies (including television movies) based on the Bible (Old Testament and New Testament), depicting characters or figures from the Bible, or broadly derived from the their revelations or interpretations.
Keeping up with Film Studies journal literature
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A short definition
... Certain types of films are identified as religious films, including biblical epic films, such as The Ten Commandments (Cecil B. DeMille, 1923), and films about the life of Jesus, including The Last Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorsese, US/Canada, 1981) (see also biopic). This taxonomy also includes films with religious themes such as redemption/salvation (The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, US, 1994)), the struggle between good and evil (Seven (David Fincher, US, 1995)), and transcendence (Divine Intervention (Elia Suleiman, France/Palestine, 2002)), and/or religious scenarios, including the flood (Noah (Darren Aronofsky, US, 2014)), the afterlife (Wandafuru raifu/After Life (Hirokazu Koreeda, Japan, 1998)), and revelation (End of Days (Peter Hyams, US, 1999)). ...
Kuhn, A., & Westwell, G. (2020). Religion. In A Dictionary of Film Studies. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 9 Jan. 2021
Finding library resources for Bible films
- bible filmsThis subject search will find books on film with Bible centered stories.
Introductory reading(s)
Bible and cinema: fifty key films by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781136184000Movies which have drawn inspiration from the Bible, either directly or indirectly, have been extremely popular since the earliest days of cinema. Bible and Cinema: Fifty Key Films introduces a wide range of those movies, which are among the most important, critically-acclaimed and highest-grossing films of all time, ...
The Bible in motion: a handbook of the Bible and its reception in film by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781614515616This two-part volume contains a comprehensive collection of original studies by well-known scholars focusing on the Bible's wide-ranging reception in world cinema. It is organized into sections examining the rich cinematic afterlives of selected characters from the Hebrew Bible and New Testament; considering issues of biblical reception across a wide array of film genres, ranging from noir to anime; featuring directors, from Lee Chang-dong to the Coen brothers, whose body of work reveals an enduring fascination with biblical texts and motifs; ...
Close encounters between Bible and film: an interdisciplinary engagement by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1995.9 .B53 C56 2016ISBN: 9781628371581This volume showcases the divergent approaches from film studies and cultural studies that can be used in the visual analysis of biblical and religious themes, narratives, and characters in cinema. It is the first volume that specifically addresses issues of methodology, theory and analysis in the study between bible and film. As such, this collection is of interest to scholars in Film Studies and Theology/Religion/Biblical Studies, who are invested in doing interdisciplinary research in the expanding field of religion and film.
The Bible in film - the Bible and film by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9789004151901Exploring the interface between the Bible and film offers exciting opportunities for both biblical scholars and moviegoers alike. The eleven contributors to this provocative and wide-ranging collection deal critically and creatively both with films about the Bible and biblical characters, including the recent controversial The Passion of the Christ, and with a wide range of contemporary films in which biblical themes play a significant, and sometimes surprising, role.
The Oxford handbook of the Bible and American popular culture by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780190461416The study of the reciprocal relationship between the Bible and popular culture has blossomed in the past few decades, and the time seems ripe for a broadly-conceived work that assesses the current state of the field, offers examples of work in that field, and suggests future directions for further study. This Handbook includes a wide range of topics organized under several broad themes, including biblical characters (such as Adam, Eve, David and Jesus) and themes (like Creation, Hell, and Apocalyptic) in popular culture; the Bible in popular cultural genres (for example, film, comics,and Jazz); and "lived" examples (such as museums and theme parks). ...
Selected book title(s)
The Bible on silent film: spectacle, story and scripture in the early cinema by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781107042605Between the advent of motion pictures in the 1890s and the close of the 'silent' era at the end of the 1920s, many of the longest, most expensive and most watched films on both sides of the Atlantic drew upon biblical traditions. David J. Shepherd traces the evolution of the biblical film through the silent era, asking why the Bible attracted early film makers, how biblical films were indebted to other interpretive traditions, and how these films were received. ...
Holy horror: the Bible and fear in movies by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1995.9 .H6 W445 2019ISBN: 9781476674667What, exactly, makes us afraid? Is it monsters, gore, the unknown? Perhaps it's a biblical sense of malice, lurking unnoticed in the corners of horror films. Holy Writ attempts to ward off aliens, ghosts, witches, psychopaths and demons, yet it often becomes a source of evil itself. Looking first at Psycho (1960) and continuing through 2017, this book analyzes the starring and supporting roles of the Good Book in horror films, monster movies and thrillers to discover why it incites such fear. ...Images of the word: Hollywood's Bible and beyond by
Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1995.9 .B53 I43 2008ISBN: 9781589832756
Insights from filmmaking for analyzing biblical narrative by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781451496291In this volume, Gary Yamasaki develops an innovative approach to biblical narrative, exploring the way stories are treated in film-making and using that as a model for analyzing biblical stories. In our culture, the voluminous exposure we have to movies has resulted in our being conditioned to experience cinematic stories in a particular manner: for example, seeing them as events rather than objects and the story worlds of movies as distinct from the real world. However, biblical stories are not typically viewed through this cinematic-story lens, making our analysis of biblical narrative out of step with what has become our natural mode of experiencing stories. This book demonstrates how fresh interpretive insights emerge when we read biblical stories like we watch movies. Book jacket.
Jesus, the Gospels, and cinematic imagination: a handbook to Jesus on DVD by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1995.9 .J4 S73 2007ISBN: 9780664230319Movies about the life of Jesus continue to be a fascinating way to consider how the Gospels present an image and a narrative of Jesus. In Jesus, the Gospels, and Cinematic Imagination, Jeffrey Staley and Richard Walsh use their biblical knowledge and admiration for films to summarize eighteen popular Jesus movies and to show exactly where each movie parallels the Gospel accounts of Jesus's life. The authors provide teachers and students easy access to both Gospel and film parallels, enhancing the value of these select films as teaching tools and useful resources for pastors, those leading discussions of films, and libraries.
Finding journal titles and articles
The journal of religion and film: JR & FCall Number: Electronic journalThe Journal of Religion & Film is a peer reviewed journal which is committed to the study of connections between the medium of film and the phenomena of religion, however those are defined. We encourage multiple approaches to the study of religion and film, including (but not limited to) the analysis of how religious traditions are portrayed in films; exploration of the religious concepts that may be found or utilized in the interpretation of films; ...
Film & television literature index by Call Number: Electronic resourceUse this index to find articles about this genre.
ATLA religion database by Call Number: Electronic resourceThis is a searchable database of citations to journal articles, essays in multi-author works, and book reviews in the fields of religious and theological studies. Journals representing all the major religious faiths, major denominations, and numerous language groups are included.
The web of science citation databases by Call Number: Electronic resourceThe online version of 3 separate ISI indexes: Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Science Citation Index and, Social Sciences Citation Index.
Selected film titles
For more bible films, search the library's online catalog.
Ben-Hur by Call Number: Jones Media DVD #579ISBN: 9780790758459A prince of Judea leads his nation against the wrath of the conquering Romans. His self-imposed destiny brings tragedy to himself and his people, as he learns to fight, to love, to hate and, finally, to forgive.
Exodus. gods and kings by Call Number: Jones Media DVD #18560The defiant leader Moses rises up against the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses, setting 400,000 slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues.
Godspell by Call Number: DVD ML 1500 .S39 G63 2000ISBN: 9780767827928Film adaptation of the off-Broadway musical based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew. Set in contemporary New York City, the film features a cast drawn from both the original New York and various stage companies.
The secret of Kells by Call Number: Jones Media DVD #14812ISBN: 9781422992371Young Brendan lives in a remote medieval outpost under siege from barbarian raids. But a new life of adventure beckons when a celebrated master illuminator arrives from foreign lands carrying an ancient but unfinished book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers. To help complete the magical book, Brendan has to overcome his deepest fears on a dangerous quest that takes him into the enchanted forest where mythical creatures hide. It is here that he meets the fairy Aisling, a mysterious young wolf-girl, who helps him along the way. But with the barbarians closing in, will Brendan's determination and artistic vision illuminate the darkness and show that enlightenment is the best fortification against evil?
