Most Memorable Religion-Related Film

The Third Miracle! That's it!
I thought it was a little cliche that the daughter was a non-believer but other than that I liked it.

Methinks I am going to have fun here.

Rhonda
Female World Domination Sidekick

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You get me slapped with a fine, you argue with the customers and I have to patch everything up, you get us thrown out of a funeral by violating the corpse, and then to top it off, you ruin my relationship. I mean, what's your encore? Do you, like, anally rape my mother while pouring sugar in my gas tank?

Hey Buddah,
Faraway so Close would fit here.
I don't remember if I liked it. I think I did till it turned into a French version of City of Angels. Sans la morte d'Meg Ryan of course. If they could have killed Meg Ryan in that one I would have loved it. Lol.

When I die I hope Raphaela comes for me. What a knockout. Sorry Lord. Hehehe

you folks just knew i was gonna show up and say dogma, didn't you? DOGMA! ok, there. i think it's pretty obvious that dogma is one of the most creative and brainy movies i've ever seen, but i can understand how it offended a lot of people (especially catholics). i wouldn't recommend it if you are a person who doesn't like to joke a little at their own religious beliefs. but anyway, i always thought it was interesting that scorsese as a child wanted to join the preisthood. he is adamantly catholic and i never saw the last temptation of christ (despite being a huge scorsese fan) and i would love to. can anyone recommend it?

Yes! You have officialy become my favorite buddhagrrrl...I know several...lol.Anyhoo,watch out boys!

It sure beats dogma...like I said before...blech

KUNDUN by Scorsese

About the 14th dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso and how hard it is to sustain the Buddhist principle of non-violence in today's world. Beautifully shot. The score is perfect.

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Blonde Klingons: Because it was a good day to dye!

Kundun, whats the plot Wortle? Write it in Japanese so I dont have to post SPOILERZ! Teehee. Speakin of Tibet, I just saw a movie about little Tibetan monks who are crazy about the world cup soccer. Not relgious (well maybe a little) but it was funny. Its called The Cup.

Ps. You know Id like to see a movie about angels. Not angels who come down to earth to live as humans but ANGELS, Real Angels! With huge 20 ft wings. And theyre all pissy & jest about ready to destroy the earth with thunderbolts. Kinda like those Xena episodes but less cheesy. And I dont want to see Prophecy type angels either where you see the wings only in shadows. But the war between good & bad angels was a GREAT idear!!!

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God save Freddie Mercury!

"You don't make up for your sins in Church, you do it in the streets. You do it a home. The rest is bullsh!t, and you know it."
- Charlie (Harvey Keitel) in Mean Streets (1973)


BrodieMan - Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Chist is a brilliant adaptation of a brilliant novel. Like most such controversies, the majority of those 'outraged' by the film (and the book, for that matter) have never bothered to see it. I love the kind of blind fanatical devotion to something that ceases one from even being able to take information in and debate it on merits rather than supposition. Had they managed to get through Kazantzakis' novel or Marty's film they would see that in spirit and principle they are very much pro-Catholocism. They are Heretical, in that they go agaisnt the specifics of the Church, but not even close to approaching Blasphemy.

Anyone interested in Religion on Film would do well to see both Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ and Kundun. They are magnificent, intelligent, heartfelt pieces. Scorsese truly was headed to the Priesthood until his teen years, when he finally decided to leave the Church behind as a vocation and pursue filmmaking. As a former


And while on the subject of Heresy vs. Blasphemy, anyone who hasn't seen Monty Python's Life of Brian at least a dozen times should be crucified (first offense).

"Right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?"

I don't really want to get into a religious debate here, Holden, but some of us *did* read the Kazantzakis novel (I had an entire course on him in college at Carnegie-Mellon), and were still offended.

I'm not Catholic (Catholicism and Christianity are not the same entity, as you know). I was offended. Why? Because I do not believe that the life of Christ should be gerrymandered, twisted, or turned in order to play some sort of "What if?" game that has absolutely no point in terms of God's truth. I'm much more interested in discerning what Christ really *did* do while on Earth, and learning from that.

Kazantzakis: Good writer, bad theologian.

Not all of us are mindless, fanatical sheep.
Some of us are just offended. Just as I get offended when someone lumps all Christians together as fanatical fundamentalist types with no minds of their own.

My two cents...

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P.S. I *have* seen Life of Brian, and actually think it's hysterical. But then, the point of *that* movie wasn't to rewrite the Gospel. Their "what if" involved a totally different person and poked fun at those mindless sheep types without using Christ directly to do it.

What about Leap of Faith??? LOL..is that not religion related or what. Sorry, just had to mention that one.

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"I was walking down the street with my friend and he said, "I hear music", as if there is any other way you can take it in. You're not special, that's how I receive it too. I tried to taste it but it did not work." - Mitch Hedberg

Hey, Austruck, I think that's GREAT that you disagree with/take offense from Kazantzakis' work itself and not just the idea of it. Truly, one who examines for themselves and reaches heartfelt conclusions is someone who's opinion I always respect, even if I am diametrically opposed.

But you do realize you are a rarirty in that regard, yes? Many of those organizing boycots and protests of The Last Temptation of Christ freely admit they have never seen the film or read the novel. I don't understand how one can be so strongly against something they haven't even bothered to see for themselves, but you must admit there is quite a bit of that in such public 'controversies'.

Did you ever see Scorsese's film, Austruck? It's quite interesting I think, even if you disageree with it in principle. You may find screenwriter Paul Schrader's, who is a Calvinist BTW, adaptation of the novel interesting. I'm certainly no theologian (as a holder of an English degree I'm much more familiar with Milton than the Bible), and I don't consider myself particularly Religious either - definitely not Catholic - but as an interested secular commoner, I find the presentation and sincerity very moving and intriguing, in both the movie and the book.

Here's a quote from Scorsese himself: "I know from a priest friend that the Kazantzakis book is used in seminaries, not as a substitute for the Gospel, but as a parable that is fresh and alive, which they can discuss and argue about. And this is what I hoped the film would do." Also, "Through the Kazanantzakis novel I wanted to make the life of Jesus immediate and accessible to people who haven't really thought about God in a long time. I certainly didn't think the film would destroy the faith of those who believed strongly."

I don't really want to get into a hotly contested Religious debate here either. But I do think Kazantzakis and Scorsese have interesting and (for me, anyway) valid perspectives.

I hadn't heard that Shrader is a Calvinist. Being a fairly strict Calvinist myself (moreso than Shrader--you have NO idea!), I find that hard to believe.

What's your definition of "Calvinist"? Or better yet, his definition?

Oops, that will lead to debate, sorry! Never mind.

No I haven't seen the film. I have no interest in it as a film. Just like I have no interest in spending two hours of my time watching, say, "Porky's IV." Some things just don't seem like they're worth taking the time to watch.

And, as for, "I wanted to present the story of Jesus in a 'fresh' or 'new' way," I take some issue with that. If one truly believes that the Bible is God's account of Jesus' life, then what is the point of trying to change important parts in order to freshen it up? Ought it not stand as it is, for what it is, and not be even marginally fictionalized? I find that most people who say such things really don't take Jesus seriously as a God-figure, but portray his humanity at the expense of his deity. I'm not saying they can't do that--I'm saying that it doesn't gel with committed Christianity, certainly not Reformed theology, which takes the Second Commandment seriously.

If they truly want people to learn about Jesus and get to know him, why don't they help them study the original documents instead? Most of the folks who reinvent Jesus seem to want to get their *own* opinion about Jesus on tape, film, or paper. It's not about Jesus any more--it's about them. I don't care so much what Scorcese or Kazantzakis say or think about Jesus. I care more what God says about Jesus.

Bear in mind, I also don't like films that do this with any historical figure (Stone's JFK, for instance). But I am even pickier when stories/films do this with a figure of deity. Everyone draws a line somewhere. This is where I draw mine.

As for "Last Temptation," I didn't organize protests against the film, nor did I participate in any boycotts. (They're usually counter-productive anyway.) I think those boycotts and protests were an embarrassment to Christianity.

I wouldn't know how to define 'Calvinist', but Paul Schrader (who of course also wrote Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Bringing Out the Dead and wrote/directed things as diverse as Hardcore, American Gigilo, Mishima, Touch and Affliction) was raised a strict Calvinist. He obviously rebelled at some point. He was raised so strictly by his parents that he didn't even see a motion picture until he was eighteen. It's likely a perspective that made his early film reviewing career so unique and memorable.

As for Schrader's Calvinist perspective infultrating the Last Temptation screenplay, I wouldn't know what to single out. I was mainly parroting some comments Scorsese has made over the years.


And to be clear, I wasn't implying you personally were a Last Temptation of Christ protester or boycoter in any formal way. If only you were a Lutheran, then I'm sure you'd be much more likely to nail your point of view to a door rather than carry it on a sign.

WELL! i guess no one wants to talk about the social influence of Demetrios & the gladiators!

Alanis Moriisette as God is just WRONG

Did you know they wrote that role for Holly Hunter, and later on had planned to cast Emma Thompson in the role, before she got pregnant?

The Omen (1976)
I really enjoyed this movie, starring Jonathan Scott-Taylor

Left to my own devices, I'd probably go for Dogma or Stigmata except that those would probably seal my eternal fate. Going all the way over to the other side, however, I'd probably go for Ben Hur, the 1950's one, not the subsequent, not-so-good one from 2016. It went full-on with sanctimonious religion, as authored by Lew Wallace, a Civil War general who had already gotten a taste of hell in the war. It has reverent music, miraculous conversions, healing, a brutal crucifixion and went with that old movie tradition that you could not show the face of Jesus because there's no actor who could do that without being mocking. Note, also, that the only person in the movie wearing purple is the emperor, who, in that time was allowed to do that and could afford the rare dye. They got lots of details right, sez-me, a one time Latin student.

It also had galley slaves, a sea battle, a chariot race, decadent Roman emperors and faux-marble temples, all supported by non-digital scenery makers and a cast of thousands. What more could you ask for? Except, maybe, given the nature of the character, a star who would pass for an ancient world Jew, Judah Ben Hur, somewhat better than Charlton Heston.