Matt started a meme in which we’re supposed to list our three favorite Bible movies and then suggest a movie that we’d like to see made. Here’s my picks:
The Passion of the Christ — I know a lot of people have criticized this film for being anti-Semitic, but that’s only because they don’t know what they’re talking about. I know that a lot of people found it to be gratuitously violent, but it wasn’t nearly as violent as I always imagined Christ’s passion when I read the Gospels. In all it’s a powerful visual depiction of the second most significant event of human history, the death of Christ.
Jeremiah — Jeremiah is a great story and Patrick Dempsy’s performance in this depiction of it is great. I only wish that the so-called prophets I encounter these days would go through even a little bit of what Jeremiah went through.
The Prince of Egypt — One of the best animated films of all time. I’ve seen a number of movies about the events of Exodus and none of them compare to this family friendly fun film (how’s that for alliteration?!). I also like the other film from the creators of this one, Joseph: King of Dreams, but it’s not nearly as good as this one.
The Emissary: A Biblical Epic (honorable mention) — This is a movie that I watched online a few times on the TBN website back when I was newly saved. It’s just a nice little treatment of Paul’s life and mission. I’d like to see it remade with a bit more money.
As far as what movie I’d like to see made, I think that a sequel to The Passion of the Christ called The Resurrection of the Christ would be interesting. The filmmaker could take creative license with what Jesus did for those 40 days before he ascended to heaven. ;-)
I’ll tag Chuck Grantham and Loren Rosson since I know they’re both movie buffs.
B”H
Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth 
I would love to see a movie made about the books of Ezekiel and Judges! :)
Nick: I listed two of your four! And, I didn’t know Dr. Shepherd used to be a prophet! ;-)
I forgot about that Jeremiah movie. That one was really good.
Nick,
Have you done a movie review of Jeremiah? I have never heard of it until today?
Rod: I shudder to think about the scene where Ezekiel would be cooking his food on excrement! And no, I’ve not done a review of the movie. I generally don’t review movies because I’m terrible at it. I just like to say whether or not I liked them and then recommend seeing or not seeing them.
Jason: I perceive that thou hast good taste in movies. I had to Google the ‘Dr. Shepherd’ reference since I had no idea who you were talking about. I’ve never seen Grey’s Anatomy before but my parents both love it.
Matt: I thought so too.
Nick: Now, if we can come to an agreement concerning Monty Python and the Holy Grail! ;-)
I admit it–I quite like Grey’s Anatomy!
Jason: If they remade the movie and it somehow became funny then we could agree all day! ;-)
Blogs – too many posts about blogging and too many self indulgent ‘memes’ ;-)
And what’s not funny about Life of Brian!! And all the other movies take themselves too seriously and are so seriously flawed…
:-)
I didn’t care too much for the Jeremiah movie. But I like others in that series (if I’m not mistaken): Abraham with Richard Harris, Moses with Ben Kingsley.
I also like Jesus of Nazareth, except for its depiction of Jesus. My favorite part is the debate among Anthony Quinn’s Sanhedrin.
As far as a movie that should be made goes, I proposed a few years ago a movie about the refugee in Ezekiel 33:21-22–who somehow got out of Jerusalem while it was being destroyed and fled to Ezekiel in Babylon, the very country that was destroying his nation.
Nick: Remake what is already perfectly hilarious? Never! ;-)
Steph: We blog about blogging when we have nothing to blog about. ;-)
Some memes are fun and some are annoying. This one was fun because it was easy and didn’t require too much thought.
I’ve not seen Life of Brian so I don’t know what’s funny or not funny about it.
James: I’ve seen the others but they didn’t leave the lasting impression on me that Jeremiah did. Was Jesus of Nazareth the one that was a mini-series when we were kids? If so then I remember liking it as a kid but I haven’t seen it since then.
And your movie idea sounds like it could be good.
Jason: Then it’s doomed to forever suck! ;-)
That’s the one–the miniseries.
There is one scene from Jeremiah that sticks in my mind: where the false prophet is talking about God’s commitment to Israel, and Jeremiah looks around the city and sees idols, people cheating one another, and prostitutes throwing themselves at him.
There are parts about the Jeremiah movie I don’t remember, but what always touched me about the Book of Jeremiah was that Jeremiah’s own priestly family persecuted him. That’s where some of Jeremiah’s laments come in. I don’t recall seeing that in the movie. But I did see that kind of conflict in the Abraham movie.
Nick: Life of Brian is Python, so….
James: Interesting observation. I’ve never considered that before.
Jason: Ahh, that explains it.
Nick:
Good list.
And I am one of those who thinks Mel Gibson’s The Passion . . . . was very anti-Semitic. A great piece of cinema, but anti-Semitic through and through. And, contrary to your statement, I know what I’m talking about (wink).
John: The mere fact that your opinion runs contrary to my statement is evidence that you in fact do not know what you’re talking about. ;-)
I don’t really like any Bible movies. Prince of Egypt was pretty good but it’s more Disney than Bible. I’m not a big fan of the Passion. I think Mel Gibson has a fetish for graphic violence and blood (not to mention he’s become somewhat of a sleeze ball). I don’t think it was anti-Semitic though and in fact I wonder if people would have thought that if they weren’t told it was anti-Semitic. I saw an interesting panel discussion about it that included Amy-Jill Levine. I think it was at Yale.
I would, however, love to see a life of Jesus movie shot in that style (dark and gritty) with the demonic element in the gospels really amplified and shown for how ugly and evil it is. I can imagine the scene with the pigs drowning. That would be crazy.
Bryan L
Bryan: I believe that The Prince of Egypt is a Dreamworks film but it’s probably the best Moses movie I’ve seen, regardless of the creative licenses taken. I’ve always enjoyed Mel Gibson’s graphic violence (his personal sleeziness doesn’t bother me much). Braveheart is my all time favorite movie and has long been the standard by which I judge all battle scenes by. I liked Apocalypto as well although I don’t think it was nearly as gory as people made it seem. We Were Soldiers was great as too; another really good war flick. But if The Passion of the Christ is anti-Semitic then we’ll have to blame the Jews who originally told the story for that! Not to mention, as I think Loren Rosson pointed out, it’s more anti-Roman than anything else.
I like your suggestion for a movie. Something depicting Jesus the Exorcist would be great, especially with how advanced CGI is these days.
Nick: “Braveheart is my all time favorite movie and has long been the standard by which I judge all battle scenes by.” I now know with certainty thou art one of the brethren! Braveheart reigns supreme!
Jason: It remains permanently seated in my 5 disc DVD player!
Bryan L.
The pigs drowning scene will have to be CGI. I was told when they did the Jesus film, close up dynamite was necessary to get the pigs moving.
I thought Mel Gibson really tried to go the other direction when people accused the Passion of anti-Semitism. In some cases, he did a poor job. There was one Jew on the Sanhedrin protesting putting Jesus to death, and he was whisked away like it was Stalinist Russia. Then there was the scene where the Roman is trying to get the Jew to carry Jesus’ cross. He said, “You, JEW, pick this up!” It was like Mel Gibson was trying to emphasize that there were innocent Jews.
Chuck: They are obstinate creatures. My parents raised pigs once upon a time but all I remember about them is how they tasted. ;-)
James: Good observations about the film. Whatever Gibson’s personal anti-Semitic proclivities might be, I don’t think they affected his work.
Nick, hilarious. I will, however, have to disagree. But my conscience is fine with that.
I got tagged and one I’ll be putting up is The Nativity. I like it. I really highlights various themes preached during Advent, especially the themes of oppression and the hope of deliverance.
Brian: I haven’t seen the movie itself but I have a book with pictures of scenes from the movie and the accompanying passages of Scripture. My daughter gave it to me a few Christmases ago.