In this significantly revised and expanded version of their 2007 work, Richard Walsh and Jeffrey L. Staley offer a surprisingly detailed treatment of exemplary Jesus films from the dawn of filmmaking in the silent era to the twenty-first century. Although their choice of films is selective, they offer more than just a representative sampling. The films include both popular and obscure works from Europe, the United States, and beyond, with many other works included in the discussion of the films selected. Ultimately, the authors have provided academics with a richly informative and useful tool for research and course planning. The introductory essay (“Digitizing Jesus”) provides wealth on insight and resources for thinking about the genre and subgenres of Jesus films, providing an excellent introduction not just to the chapters that follow but to the field in general. Even those who consider themselves theologically informed cinephiles will find something new in this rich and rewarding book.
The book treats the following twenty-two films (*denotes films treated in the revised version of the book but not the original): *La vie du Christ or La naissance, la vie, et la mort du Christ (Alice Guy, 1906); La vie et passion de notre seigneur Jésus Christ (Ferdinand Zecca, 1907); From the Manger to the Cross (Sidney Olcott, 1912); Intolerance: Love's Struggle throughout the Ages (D. W. Griffith 1916); The King of Kings (Cecil B. DeMille, 1927); King of Kings (Nicholas Ray, 1961); Il vangelo secondo Matteo (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964); The Greatest Story Ever Told (George Stevens, 1965); Godspell (David Greene, 1973); Jesus Christ Superstar (Norman Jewison, 1973); *Il messia (Roberto Rossellini, 1975); Jesus of Nazareth (Franco Zeffirelli, 1977); Monty Python's Life of Brian (Terry Jones, 1979); The Jesus Film (John Krish and Peter Sykes, 1979); The Last Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorsese, 1988); Jésus de Montréal (Denys Arcand, 1989); Jesus (Roger Young, 1999); The Miracle Maker (Derek W. Hayes and Stanislav Sokolov, 2000); The Gospel of John (Philip Saville, 2003); The Passion of the Christ (Mel Gibson, 2004);*Son of Man (Mark Dornford-May, 2006);*Mary Magdalene (Garth Davis, 2018).
The authors regularly devote their attention to techniques such as cinematography, location, and casting, which is particularly elucidating, especially for those making initial forays into the realm of film studies in their work. A point of caution: the book does not make the biblical narratives the focal point of discussion. Rather, the authors’ profound knowledge of the medium of cinema allows them to place the art (and politics) at the center of their presentation. As such, this work is less theological and more artistic, cultural, and political in its focus. For example, this reviewer was especially intrigued with the inclusions of three films. First, D. W. Griffith's Intolerance: Love's Struggle through the Ages (Triangle, 1916), the director's follow-up to his infamous, Birth of a Nation. The authors treat Griffith as a consummate artist and innovator while noting the (dis)values that motivate his work, and, in this instance, how the Jesus story is subverted in a twisted, bigoted, and historically incoherent juxtaposition with narratives of Cyrus's defeat of the Babylonians, the Medici destruction of the Huguenots, and a modern family under attack from religious authorities. This is not your typical Jesus film! Griffith reduces the character of Jesus to an unsubtle tool in his project that spans these two successive films that push his cultural and political agenda for the United States in the early twentieth century.
On the lighter side, the irreverent gospel parody, The Life of Brian, from the British comedy ensemble, Monty Python, serves as a reminder that this book does not simply cover “Jesus in film.” The Life of Brian falls into the so-called “Jesus adjacent” genre where the title character repeatedly crosses paths with Jesus in various ways. In this case, however, the film's focus on the protagonist, Brian, reduces Jesus to a bit part in the film about a tragically average “nobody.” The film is a cynical parody of Christianity and religious movements in general, as well as a savage indictment of the business of religion. Once again, not your typical Jesus film. Lastly, the authors bring forward Mark Dornford-May's Son of Man, a provocative retelling of the Jesus story as a modern African folktale. This act of relocating Jesus is not new, of course; it echoes other offerings discussed earlier in the book (e.g., Jesus de Montreal and Godspell). But the direction of Dornford-May, a transplanted white Briton in South Africa, helps to bring a more globalized scope to the book while also raising important issues on race and perspective in an industry and subgenre still dominated by that which is white and male.
The structure of each chapter is wonderfully regular and helpful. They include discussion of each film's plot, characters, visuals, appeal to authority, and cultural location as well as consideration of the director's achievements and style. Each chapter ends with reflections on problematic issues bedeviling the tradition, such as cultural imperialism, anti-Semitism, and patriarchy. To assist teachers and researchers, each chapter includes a listing of film chapters (for DVDs) and the approximate “time” (for both DVDs and streaming platforms) at which key film moments occur. The book also includes a “Gospels Harmony” that locates the time mark at which key gospel incidents appear in these films. Extensive endnotes point readers to other important work on specific films and film criticism in general. While the authors strive to set the Jesus film tradition within a broader understanding of cinema and its interpretation, the DVD/streaming listing and the Gospels Harmony appendix facilitate the use of these films with the gospels and explorations of Christology and the Jesus tradition more generally, making the book an ideal resource for theology and religious studies classes.
