Imaging the Divine: Jesus and Christ-Figures in Film (Communication, Culture, and Religion) [Paperback]

Lloyd Baugh (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1556128630 | ISBN-13: 978-1556128639 | Publication Date: May 1, 1997

Baugh traces the development of the Jesus-film and through critical film and theological analysis show us the limitations of this genre. Baugh analyzes several important and often prize-winning films showing how each film-maker has created a valid and often complex and challenging metaphor of the Christ-event. He questions many of the traditional approaches to religious film, and offers a new approach and new criteria for the appreciation and judgment of these films.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lloyd Baugh, S.J., is professor of Theology and Film Studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome

Product Details

• Paperback: 337 pages
• Publisher: Sheed & Ward (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556128630
• ISBN-13: 978-1556128639
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #344,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cinematic Christology, May 2, 2003

By 

Michael Bishop (Pine Mountain, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Imaging the Divine: Jesus and Christ-Figures in Film (Communication, Culture, and Religion) (Paperback)

I found Baugh's book not only spot-on in its theology, as did another reviewer, but also more than knowledgeagble about film in general and helpfully incisive in its analyses of individual films about Jesus and those featuring Christ figures. Its take on Denys Arcand's "Jesus of Montreal" is worth the entire price of admission, with a concluding paragraph as verbally eloquent as the final images of the film are visually compelling. Moreover, Baugh's discussions of films by Pasolini, Bresson, and Scorsese simply increase the study's value. I'm at a loss to account for a previous reviewer's warning that a Jesuit priest (which Baugh is, with no attempt to disguise this aspect of his identity) makes judgments about films at least partially on the basis of his faith and his understanding of Christian doctrine. I imagine that any intelligent reader can determine what these judgments are, and from what mindset they spring, and compensate according to his or her own values. Let me add here that I took over ten pages of single-spaced notes, in longhand, from Baugh's text, not because a film and/or thelology course required me to do so, but because Baugh's research and analyses seemed to me so rich and astute. The sections on women as Christ figures, in such films as "Babbett's Feast," "Bagdad Cafe," and "Dead Man Walking," reverberate with surprising insights and good sense. Let me add here that I have never met, do not personally know or correspond with, and have no expectation of any sort of kickback from, the cinematically well-versed Lloyd Baugh.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Primarily a highlight of deficiencies in theology, August 2, 2000

By 

Elizabeth G. Melillo "gloriana" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Imaging the Divine: Jesus and Christ-Figures in Film (Communication, Culture, and Religion) (Paperback)

Lloyd Baugh's scholarship is impeccable, but, while his conclusions are clear and well-presented, this is far more a book for those who wish to explore how the human vision obscures the perception of Christology than for anyone who has more of an interest in artistic forms. Baugh indeed gives much attention to technical presentation, and his extensive knowledge of cinematic art is unquestionable, but it is a curiously scientific effort, and somehow unsatisfying.

All would depend on perspective. In my own case, though I agreed with many of the author's conclusion and found some thought provoking, some of the very aspects I found excellent in certain films (such as the "extra-evangelical" character development in "Jesus of Nazareth") are explored by the author as diminishing the gospel message. The artist in me was disappointed that I found the book so dull - especially because I recognised that, as far as theology is concerned, Baugh is spot on.

The book has great merits, but don't acquire it as a gift for a film or theatre buff.