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Jesus: Real to Reel
Bibliography and Web Resources
For Religion/Theology and Film




Richard Ascough

Queen's Theological College
Queen's University
Kingston, Ontario
Canada, K7L 3N6

(613) 533-6000 x78066

fax: (613) 533-6879

rsa@post.queensu.ca

http://
post.queensu.ca/~rsa



Peter Gilmour

Institute of
Pastoral Studies

Loyola University
6525 N. Sheridan Rd
Chicago IL
U.S.A., 60626

(773) 508-2320

800-424-1238

fax: (773)508-2319

pgilmou@luc.edu

http://homepages.
luc.edu/~pgilmou/



Jesus Films

From the Manger to the Cross, 
1912

Intolerance, 1916

The King of Kings, 1927

King of Kings, 1961

The Greatest Story Ever 
Told, 1965

The Gospel According to St. 
Matthew, 1966

Godspell, 1973

Jesus Christ Superstar, 1973

Jesus of Nazareth, 1977

Jesus, 1979

Monty Python's Life of Brian, 
1979

The Last Temptation of 
Christ, 1988

Jesus of Montreal, 1988

Matthew (The Visual Bible), 
1996

Mary, Mother of Jesus, 1999

Jesus, 1999

The Miracle Maker, 2000

Jesus Christ Superstar, 
2001

The Gospel of John, 
2003

The Passion of the Christ, 
2004


Books

Divine Images: A History of 
Jesus on the Screen
Kinnard & Davis 1992

Jesus at the Movies: A Guide to 
the First Hundred Years
Tatum 1997

Imaging the Divine: Jesus and 
Christ Figures in Film
Baugh 1998

Savior on the Silver Screen
Stern, Jefford, & Debona 1999


Jesus in Film | Online Links
Bible & Film | Religion/Theology & Film
Other Works of Interest | Film Analysis

Welcome to the "Jesus: Real to Reel" web site. This site has been set up to collect into one place resources for studying the historical Jesus through modern cinematic presentations of Jesus' life and teachings. However, it has also developed into repository for bibliography and web links on the intersection of religion/theology and film in general.

The web page originated as a resource for a graduate course called "Jesus: Real to Reel" at the Institute of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University Chicago, taught by Richard Ascough and Peter Gilmour. If you are interested in taking the course it is being offered at the Institute of Pastoral Studies in the Summer of 2003 (syllabus).

Both of the course instructors are available to do workshops on aspects of Jesus and film or religion/theology and film. Prof. Gilmour is located in the Chicago area. Prof. Ascough is located in south eastern Ontario. You can find out more about us by visiting our personal homepages:

If you have any suggestions for additional bibliography or web links of if you need more information please feel free to contact us at rsa@post.queensu.ca.
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Jesus in Film: Bibliography


Agel, Henri. 1985. Le Visage du Christ a l'ecran. Paris: Desclee.

Babington, Bruce and Peter William Evans. 1993. "The Lives of Christ: The Greatest Story Ever Screened." In Biblical Epics: Sacred Narrative in the Hollywood Cinema, 98-109. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Baugh, Lloyd. 1998. Imaging the Divine: Jesus and Christ Figures in Film. Communication, Culture, and Theology. Kansas City, MO: Sheed and Ward.

Chattaway, Peter T. 1998. "Jesus in the Movies." Bible Review 14/1 (Feb., 1998) 28-35, 45-46.

------. 2000. "Jesus at the Movies." Books and Culture 6/2 (March/April, 2000) 10-14.

Corley, Kathleen E. and Robert L. Webb, eds. 2004. Jesus and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ: The Film, the Gospels and the Claims of History. London and New York: Continuum.

Forshey, Gerald E. 1992. "The Jesus Cycle." In American Religious and Biblical Spectaculars, 83-121. Media and Society Series. Praeger Publications.

Goodacre, Mark. 2000. "The Synoptic Jesus and the Celluloid Christ: Solving the Synoptic Problem through Film." Journal for the Study of the New Testament.

Graham, D. 1997. "Images of Christ in Recent Film." In Images of Christ: Ancient and Modern, ed. S. Porter, M. Hayes, and D. Tombs. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

Kinnard, Roy, and Tim Davis. 1992. Divine Images: A History of Jesus on the Screen. New York City: Citadel Press.

Malone, Peter. 1988. Movie Christs and Antichrists. New York: Crossroad.

------. 1997. "Jesus on Our Screens." In New Image of Religious Film, ed. John R. May, 57-71. Communication, Culture, and Theology Series. Kansas City, MO: Sheed and Ward.

May, John R. 1991. "Art: Shaping Images of Christ." In Imaging Christ: Politics, Art, Spirituality, ed. F. Eigo, 73-103. Villanova, PA: Villanova University Press.

Plate, S. Brent, ed. 2004. Re-Viewing the Passion: Mel Gibson's Film and its Critics. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

Reinhartz, Adele. 2000. "Jesus of Hollywood." In The Historical Jesus Through Catholic and Jewish Eyes, ed. Leonard Greenspoon, 131-46. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International.

Riley, Robin. 2003. Film, Faith, and Cultural Conflict: The Case of Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Solomon, Jon. 2001. "The New Testament and Tales of the Christ." In The Anciet World in the Cinema. Revised and Expanded Edition, 176-223. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.

Stern, Richard C., Clayton Jefford, and Guerric DeBona. 1999. Savior on the Silver Screen. New York and Mahwah: Paulist.

Tatum, W. Barnes. 1997. Jesus at the Movies: A Guide to the First Hundred Years. Santa Rosa, CA: Polebridge.

Telford, William R. 1995. "The New Testament in Fiction and Film: A Biblical Scholars Perspective." In Words Remembered, Texts Renewed. Essays in Honour of J. F. A. Sawyer, ed. J. G. Davies, G. Harvey, and W. Watson, 360-94. JSOTSup 195. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

------. 1997. "Jesus Christ Movie Star: The Depiction of Jesus in the Cinema." In Explorations in Theology and Film, ed. Clive Marsh and Gaye Ortiz, 115-139. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Tiemann, Manfred. 2001. Jesus comes from Hollywood: Religionspädagogisches Arbeiten mit Jesus-Filmen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (with an online appendix describing Jesus films.

Tiemann, Manfred. 2002. "Die teuflischste Versuchung Teufel und Versuchungsgeschichten in Kino und Jesus-Film," in "entwurf" 3:73ff.

------. 2004. "Schönster Herr Jesu Tendenzen in neuen Jesus-Filmen," Braunschweiger Beiträge für Theorie und Praxis von RU und KU 110/4: 5-10.

Walsh, Richard. 2003. Reading the Gospels in the Dark: Portrayals of Jesus in Film. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International.
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Online Reading and Links


Peter Aitken, "Another Hundred Years of Jesus Christ on Film."

Roy M. Anker, "Lights, Camera, Jesus: Hollywood Looks at Itself in the Mirror of the Messiah." ChristianityToday.com 5/12/00.

Mark Goodacre, "Do You Think You're What They Say You Are? Reflections on Jesus Christ Superstar." Journal of Religion and Film 3/2 (1999).

Jeffrey H. Mahan, "Celluloid Savior: Jesus in the Movies." Journal of Religion and Film 6/1 (2002).

James Martin, "The Gospel According to Blockbuster"

Matthew McEver, "The Messianic Figure in Film: Christology Beyond the Biblical Epic." Journal of Religion and Film 2/2 (1998).

Adele Reinhartz, "Jesus in Film: Hollywood Perspectives on the Jewishness of Jesus." Journal of Religion and Film 2/2 (1998).

Adele Reinhartz, "Scripture on the Silver Screen." Journal of Religion and Film 3/1 (1999). Also published in The Canadian Society of Biblical Studies Bulletin and Abstracts 1998/99 58 (1999) 19-31.

William Telford, "Images of Christ in the Cinema," lecture given at New College, University of Edinburgh, July 1997.


Bible Films Blogspot: an excellent site for links and commentary, particularly good at having uptodate information about upcoming Jesus films; maintained by Matthew Page.

Celluloid Jesus: The Christ Film Web Pages: lots of links, especially reviews; maintained by Dr. Mark Goodacre.

Jesus Filmography: A Chronological List

Survey of 650 Jesus films by Manfred Tiemann.

Journal of Religion and Film

Journal of Religion and Popular Culture

Movie Scene Concordance: a listing of movies that illustrate biblical themes; part of The Text This Week.

Internet Movie Database: source for data and reviews for all movies

Hollywood Jesus: movie reviews and more.

Cinema in Focus: A social and spiritual commentary by Hal Conklin and Denny Wayman.

Ken Ristau's Reel Bible.

"Life of Christ": web page supporting the American Bible Society's video series.
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The Bible and Film


Aichele, George, ed. 2000. Culture, Entertainment, and the Bible. JSOTSup 309. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

Aichele, George and Richard Walsh, eds. 2002. Screening Scripture: Intertextual Connections Between Scripture and Film. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International.

Babington, Bruce and Peter William Evans. 1993. Biblical Epics: Sacred Narrative in the Hollywood Cinema. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Bach, Alice. 1999. "Watching Biblical Scholars Read Films." Currents in Research: Biblical Studies 7: 11-34.

Bach, Alice, ed. 1996. Semeia 74: Biblical Glamour and Hollywood Glitz.

Campbell, Richard H. and Michael R. Pitts. 1981. The Bible on Film: A Checklist, 1897-1980. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow.

Forshey, Gerald E. 1992. American Religious and Biblical Spectaculars. Media and Society Series. Praeger Publications.

Fraser, Peter. 1998. Images of the Passion: The Sacramental Mode in Film. Westport, CN: Praeger.

Hulsether, Mark. 1999. "Sorting Out the Relationships Among Christian Values, US Popular Religion, and Hollywood Films." Religious Studies Review 25/1: 3-11.

Jasper, David. 1994. "Living in the Reel World: The Bible in Film." Modern Believing 35: 29-37.

Jewett, Robert. 1993. Saint Paul at the Movies: The Apostle’s Dialogue with American Culture. Louisville: Westminster John Knox.

Jewett, Robert. 1998. St. Paul Returns to the Movies: Triumph Over Shame. Grand Rapids and Cambridge: Eerdmans.

Kreitzer, Larry J. 1993. The New Testament in Fiction and Film: On Reversing the Hermeneutical Flow. Biblical Seminar 17. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

Kreitzer, Larry J. 1994. The Old Testament in Fiction and Film: On Reversing the Hermeneutical Flow. Biblical Seminar 24. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

Kreitzer, Larry J. 1999. Pauline Images in Fiction and Film: On Reversing the Hermeneutical Flow. The Biblical Seminar 61. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

Kreitzer, Larry J. 2002. Gospel Images in Fiction and Film: OnReversing the Hermeneutical Flow. The Biblical Seminar 84. London and New York: Sheffield Academic Press and Continuum.

Malone, Peter, with Rose Pacatte. 2001. Lights, Camera . . . Faith! A Movie Lover's Guide to Scripture. A Movie Lectionary - Cycle A. Boston: Pauline Books and Media.

Reinhartz, Adele. 2003. Scripture on the Silver Screen. Louisville: Westminster John Knox.

Runions, Erin Runions. 2003. How Hysterical: Identification and Resistance in the Bible and Film. Religion/Culture/Critique. New York: Palgrave.

Scott, Bernard B. 1994. Hollywood Dreams and Biblical Stories. Minneapolis: Fortress.

Soukup, Paul A.. and Robert Hodgson, eds. 1997. From One Medium to Another: Communicating the Bible Through Multimedia. Kansas City, MO: Sheed and Ward.

Telford, W. R. 1995. "The New Testament in Fiction and Film: A Biblical Scholar’s Perspective." In Words Remembered, Texts Renewed. Essays in Honour of J. F. A. Sawyer, ed. J. G. Davies, G. Harvey, and W. Watson, 360-94. JSOTSup 195. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

Tiemann, Manfred. 1995. Bibel im Film. Ein Handbuch für Religionsunterricht. Gemeindearbeit und Erwachsenenbildung. Stuttgart: Calwer.
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Religion / Theology and Film


Anker, Roy M. 2005. Catching Light: Looking for God in the Movies. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Ascough, Richard S. 2003. "Symbolic Power and Religious Impotence in Paul Verhoeven's Spetters." Journal of Religion and Film 7/2.

Blake, Richard A. 2000. AfterImage: The Indelible Catholic Imagination of Six American Filmmakers. Chicago: Loyola Press.

Butler, Ivan. 1969. Religion in the Cinema. New York: A.S. Barnes.

Cooper, J. C. and C. Skrade, eds. 1970. Celluloid and Symbols. Philadelphia: Fortress.

Cosandey, Roland, et al. 1992. Une invention du diable? Cinama des premiers tems et religion. Quebec City: Payot-Lausanne.

Deacy, Christopher. 2001. Screen Christologies: Redemption and the Medium of Film. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.

Ferlita, Ernest and John R. May. 1976. Film Odyssey: The Art of Film as Search for Meaning.

Fields, Doug and Eddie James. 1999. Videos That Teach. Youth Specialties. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Fraser, P. 1998. Images of the Passion: The Sacramental Mode in Film. Trowbridge: Flicks.

French, Peter A. 1997. Cowboy Metaphysics: Ethics and Death in Westerns. New York: Rowman and Littlefield.

Holloway, R. 1977. Beyond the Image: Approaches to the Religious Dimension in the Cinema. New York: WCC.

Hasenberg, Peter. 1997. "The 'Religous' in Film: From King of Kings to The Fisher King." In New Image of Religious Film, ed. John R. May, 41-56. Communication, Culture, and Theology Series. Kansas City, MO: Sheed and Ward.

Hurley, Neil P. 1970. Theology Through Film. New York: Harper & Row. Repreinted as Toward a Film Humanism: Original Theology Through Film. New York: Dell.

Johnston, Robert K. 2000. Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue. Grand Rapids: Baker.

Lawerence, John Shelton and Robert Jewett. 2002. The Myth of the American Superhero. Grand Rapids and Cambridge: Eerdmans.

Lindvall, Terry. 2001. The Silents of God: Selected Issues and Documents in Silent American Film and Religion, 1908-1925. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow.

Lyden, John C. 2003. Film as Religion: Myths, Morals, and Rituals. New York and London: New York University Press.

Marsh, Clive and Faye Ortiz, eds. 1997. Explorations in Theology and Film. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Martin, Joel W. and Conrad E. Ostwalt, Jr., eds. 1995. Screening the Sacred: Religion, Myth, and Ideology in Popular American Film. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Martin, Thomas M. 1991. Images and the Imageless: A Study in Religious Consciousness and Film. 2nd edition. Lewisburg, PA: Bucknell University Press.

May, John R. 2001. Nourishing Faith Through Fiction: Reflections on the Apostles' Creed in Literature and Film. Communication, Culture and Theology Series. Franklin, WI: Sheed and Ward.

May, John R. and Michael Bird. 1982. Religion in Film. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.

May, John R., ed. 1992. Image and Likeness: Religious Visions in American Film Classics. Isaac Hecker Studies in Religion and American Culture. New York and Mahwah: Paulist.

May, John R., ed. 1997. New Image of Religious Film. Communication, Culture, and Theology Series. Kansas City, MO: Sheed and Ward.

Miles, Margaret R. 1996. Seeing and Believing: Religion and Values in the Movies. Boston: Beacon.

Nolan, Steve. 2003. "Film and Religion" (Annotated Bibliography). In Mediating Religion: Conversations Media, Religion and Culture, ed. Jolyon Mitchell and Sophia Marriage, 369-74. London and New York: T & T Clark.

------. 2003. "Towards a New Religious Film Criticism: Using Film to Understand Religious Identity Rather than Locate Cinematic Analogue." In Mediating Religion: Conversations Media, Religion and Culture, ed. Jolyon Mitchell and Sophia Marriage, 169-78. London and New York: T & T Clark.

Ortiz, Gaye. 2003. "The Catholic Church and its Attitude to Film as an Arbiter of Cultural Meaning." In Mediating Religion: Conversations Media, Religion and Culture, ed. Jolyon Mitchell and Sophia Marriage, 169-78. London and New York: T & T Clark.

Plate, S. Brent, ed. 2003. Representing Religion in World Cinema: Filmmaking, Mythmaking, Culture Making. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Plate, S. Brent and David Jasper, eds. 1999. Imag(in)ing Otherness: Filmic Visions of Living Together. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Stone, Bryan P. 2000. Faith and Film: Theological Themes at the Cinema. St. Louis: Chalice Press.

Wall, J. M. 1971. Church and Cinema: A Waz of Viewing Film. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Wilkinson, D. 2000. The Power of the Force: The Spirituality of the Star Wars Films. Oxford: Lion.

Vaux, Sara Anson. 1999. Finding Meaning at the Movies. Nashville: Abingdon.
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Other Works of Interest


Black, Gregory. 1994. Hollywood Censored: Morality Codes, Catholics, and the Movies. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Carnes, Mark C. 1995. Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies. Henry Holt.

Cook, Michael L. 1997. Christology as Narrative Quest. Collegeville: Liturgical Press.

Czitrom, Daniel. 1982. Media and the American Mind: From Morse to McLuhan. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Hodgson, Robert, and Paul A. Soukup, eds. 1997. From One Medium to Another: Communicating the Bible Through Multimedia. Kansas City: Sheed and Ward.

Lipsitz, George. 1988. "This Ain’t No Sideshow: Historians and Media Studies." Critical Studies in Mass Communication 5: 147-71.

Skinner, James M. 1993. The Cross and the Cinema: The Legion of Decency and the National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures, 1933-1970. Westport, CN: Praeger Publications.

Toplin, Robert Brent. 1996. History by Hollywood: The Use and Abuse of the American Past. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

Walsh, Frank. 1996. Sin and Censorship: The Catholic Church and the Motion Picture Industry. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Warren, Michael. 1997. Seeing Through the Media: A Religious View of Communications and Cultural Analysis. Valley Forge: Trinity Press International.
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Film Analysis


Boggs, J. M. 1996. The Art of Watching Films. 4th edition. Mountain View: Mayfield.

Bordwell, David and Kristin Thompson (contributor). 1996. Film Art: An Introduction. New York: McGraw Hill.

Corrigan, Timothy. 2001. A Short Guide to Writing about Film. 4th edition. New York: Longman.

Kolker, Robert Phillip. 1998. Film, Form, and Culture. New York: McGraw Hill.

Roberts, Graham and Heather Wallis. 2001. Introducing Film. London and New York: Arnold and Oxford University Press.
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Revised December 21, 2004