Screen Jesus: Portrayals of Christ in Television and Film

by Peter Malone

Since the dawn of film in the 1890s, religious themes and biblical subjects have been a staple of cinema. One of the earliest focuses of screen presentations was the Bible, especially the New Testament and the Gospels. In Screen Portrayals of Christ in Television and Film, Peter Malone takes a close look at films in which Jesus is depicted. From silent renditions of The Passion Play to 21st-century blockbusters like The Passion of the Christ, Malone examines how the history of Jesus films reflects the changes in artistic styles and experiments in cinematic forms for more than a century. In addition to providing a historical overview of the Jesus films, this book also reveals the changes in piety and in theological understandings of the humanity and divinity of Jesus over the decades.

While most of the Jesus films come from the United States and the west, an increasing number of Jesus films come from other cultures, which are also included in this study. Fans and scholars interested in the history of religious cinema will find this an interesting read, as will students and teachers in cinema and religious studies, church pastors, parish groups, and youth ministry.

348 pages, Hardcover

First published September 16, 2012

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is pretty comprehensive, or at least tries to be, mostly listing all the movies about, with or a reference to Jesus or a Jesus figure. Most movies have a summary, the most important ones have a lengthy review. Different movies get a different kind of treatment, for instance, some Jesus films get a scene by scene guide while others, like the Passion of Christ, get a few sections bout its impact, and others are more focused on theology and Christology of the film. I find the book lacks a red thread in the way of form and discussion although both older films and newer films reference both forth and back in time respectively to tie things together.

My biggest issue may be that the film dates are mostly by when they are produced rather than released, and sometimes totally wrong even by that standard. Some of the titles are also wrong, as the film about Muhammed, called "The Message" is referred to as "The Messenger". After a few mistakes like that, as well as omitting ":", "!" and "?" from titles all too often, the book seems lousily edited. The inclusion of copy-paste material too makes it seem less like a really well-crafted book.

Yes, there is a lot of information here. Yes, there is theological discussion that is well worth reading. No, the book has not included all the films possible. Yes, it is a mixed basket.

[Ella · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way too devotional and enamoured of The Passion of the Christ (aka the evangelical’s favourite splatter horror) for my taste.