Savior on the Silver Screen [Paperback]

Richard C. Stern (Author), Guerric, Osb DeBona (Author), Clayton Jefford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1999

What does Life of Brian really say about the day's religion, culture, and politics? What does King of Kings or The Last Temptation of Christ say? From silent movies to Technicolor musicals, directors have put their images of Jesus onto the screen and in doing so provided a unique lens onto their own moment in time. Originating from a team-taught college elective for film enthusiasts, not experts, this book examines nine movies about the life of Jesus and what each says about the society that "created" it. Clear and insightful, the book has, for each film, an introduction, pre-viewing questions, post-viewing questions, and a discussion of the film's major features. The selection ranges from the traditional to the outrageous. Besides the above movies, it includes The Greatest Story Ever Told, The Gospel According to St. Matthew, Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus of Nazareth, and Jesus of Montreal. The authors take no movie as a test of orthodoxy but use all of them as a way to open up to a fearless dialogue about faith and culture. As entertaining and insightful reading, this book is for film buffs, scripture scholars, and art historians. As a detailed course outline, it's a unique resource for parish study groups, adult ed classes, high school classes, teen recreation programs, and college or seminary electives.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Highly recommended. -- Sr. Rose Pacatte, F.S.P., Pauline Book and Media Centers

Impressive. -- The Topeka Capital-Journal

Must Read. -- Today's Books

The book is an excellent value. -- Catholic Library World

This book is an excellent resource and is highly recommended for anyone interested in the cinematic Jesus. -- Religious Education

About the Author

Richard C. Stern is Assistant Professor of Homiletics at St. Meinrad School of Theology in Indiana.

Clayton Jefford is Associate Professor of Sacred Scripture at St. Meinrad. He's the editor of three books and author of Reading the Apostolic Fathers and The Sayings of Jesus in the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles.

Guerric DeBona, OSB, is assistant professor of homiletics at St. Meinrad and a monk of St. Meinrad Archabbey.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Paulist Press (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809138557
• ISBN-13: 978-0809138555
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,735 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A decent analysis of prominent gospel films, April 15, 2009

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aidyl_falcon - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Savior on the Silver Screen (Paperback)

Savior on the Silver Screen provides useful analysis on almost all of the mainstream films over the christian gospels. Stern and Jefford give three lenses for analyzing these films.

1. Film elements controlled by the director. Lighting, Camera Angles, etc.
2. How does this movie compare to the historical account from the bible?
3. What does the film say about society at the time?

Each movie presented has detailed responses to these questions as well as explanations of plot and characters. This book was a very useful tool for my religious studies class. It's uses are suited more appropriately to a college or academic setting rather than personal reading.