Faith and Film Bibliography and Resources

Bryan Stone

 

Theology and Film

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

Faller, Stephen. Beyond the Matrix: Revolutions and Revelations. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2004.

Godawa, Brian. Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom and Discernment. Downer’s Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2002.

Hurley, Neil. Theology through Film. New York: Harper & Row, 1970. [Renamed Toward a Film Humanism.]

Hurley, Neil. The Reel Revolution: A Film Primer on Liberation. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1978.

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

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

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

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

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

Kupfer, Joseph H. Visions of Virtue in Popular Film. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1999.

Malone, Peter. Lights, Camera, Faith: A Movie Lectionary, Cycle A. Pauline Books and Media, 2001.

Malone, Peter. Lights, Camera, Faith: A Movie Lectionary, Cycle B. Pauline Books and Media, 2002.

Malone, Peter. Lights, Camera, Faith: A Movie Lectionary, Cycle C. Pauline Books and Media, 2003.

Marsh, Clive and Gaye Ortiz (eds). Explorations in Theology and Film. Oxford: Blackwell, 1997.

McNulty, Edward. Praying the Movies: Daily Meditations from Classic Films. Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 2001.

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

Sanders, Theresa. Celluloid Saints: Images of Sanctity in Film. Mercer University Press, 2002.

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

Vaux, Sara Anson. Finding Meaning at the Movies. Nashville: Abingdon, 1999.

Walsh, Richard. Finding St. Paul in Film. T & T Clark, 2005.

 

Christ on Film

Baugh, Lloyd. Imaging the Divine: Jesus and Christ-Figures in Film. New York: Sheed & Ward, 1997.

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

Malone, Peter. Movie Christs and Antichrists. New York: Crossroad, 1990.

Stern, Richard C., et al. Savior on the Silver Screen. Paulist Press, 1999.

Tatum, W. Barnes. Jesus at the Movies: A Guide to the First Hundred Years. Polebridge Press, 1998.

Walsh, Richard. Reading the Gospels in the Dark: Portrayals of Jesus in Film. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press.

 

Religion and Film

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

Bandy, Mary Lee and Antonio Monda, Eds. The Hidden God: Film and Faith. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2003.

Billingsley, K. L. The Seductive Image: A Christian Critique of the World of Film. Westchester: Crossway Books, 1989.

Black, Gregory D. The Catholic Crusade Against the Movies, 1940-1975. Cambridge University Press, 1998.

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

Blake, Richard. Screening America: Reflections on Five Classic Films. New York: Paulist Press, 1991.

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

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

Drew, Donald. Images of Man: A Critique of the Contemporary Cinema. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1974.

Forshey, Gerald. American Religious and Biblical Spectaculars. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1992.

Kuhn, Arnette. Cinema, Censorship, and Sexuality, 1909-1925. New York: Routledge, 1988.

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

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

May, John R., ed. Image and Likeness: Religious Visions in American Films. New York: Paulist Press, 1992.

May, John R., ed. New Image of Religious Film. New York: Sheed & Ward, 1997.

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

Medved, Michael. Hollywood vs. America. New York: HarperPerennial, 1992.

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

Newport, John. Theology and Contemporary Art Forms. Waco: Word Books, 1971.

Savary, Louis and J. Paul Carrico, ed. Contemporary Film and the New Generation. New York: Association Press, 1971.

Schiallaci, Anthony. Movies and Morals. Notre Dame: Fides Pub., 1970.

Scott, Bernard Brandon. Hollywood Dreams & Biblical Stories. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1994.

Sharrett, Christopher, ed. Crisis Cinema: The Apocalyptic Idea in Postmodern Narrative Film. Washington: Maisonneuve Press, 1993.

Valenti, F. Miguel. More Than a Movie: Ethics in Entertainment. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2000.

Wall, James. Church and Cinema: A Way of Viewing Film. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971.

Walsh, Frank. Sin and Censorship: The Catholic Church and the Motion Picture Industry. New Haven: Yale University, 1976.

 

Other Christian Ministry Resources

Reel to Real: Making the Most of the Movies with Youth, (Abingdon) – in several volumes; an excellent resource for using film with young people in church schools or youth groups.

Videos That Teach: Teachable Movie Moments from 75 Modern Film Classics, Doug Fields & Eddie James (Zondervan, 1999) – created by youth workers who wanted to liven up their messages with film clips that either illustrate a point or ask probing questions for youth.

Films and Faith: Forty Discussion Guides, Edward McNulty (Viaticum Press) – includes discussion guides for the following films: Amadaus; Babe; Babbette’s Feast; Boyz 'n the Hood; Broadway Danny Rose; A Bronx Tale; Chariots of Fire; Cool Hand Luke; Crimes and Misdemeanors; Cry Freedom; Dead Man Walking; Eleni; Field of Dreams; The Fisher King; Gandhi; The Gospel according to Matthew; Grand Canyon; The Great Santini; Hook; In the Name of the Father; The Joy Luck Club; The Long Walk Home; Matewan; The Mission; Network; On the Waterfront; Philadelphia; Places in the Heart; The Purple Rose of Cairo; The Pawn Broker; Romero; The Saint of Fort Washington; Schinderler’s List; Smoke; To Kill a Mockingbird; The Trip to Bountiful; Unforgiven; The War; The Wizard of Oz; The Year of Living Dangerously. McNulty also is the editor of Visual Parables and has a book entitled Praying the Movies (Viaticum Press) and VBS curriculum for Babe and Hunchback of Notre Dame.

 

Bibliographies

Jesus: Real to Reel –

http://post.queensu.ca/~rsa/Real2Reel/realreel.htm

 

Websites

Most important starting points:

Internet Movie Database

http://www.imdb.com/

Journal of Religion and Film –

http://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/

Boston University Libraries Research Guides

http://www.bu.edu/library/guides/film.html

 

Helpful:

Christian Spotlight on the Movies

http://christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/home.html   

Christianity Today Movies

            http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/

The Movie Concordance

            http://www.textweek.com/movies/movies.htm

Cinema in Focus –

            http://www.cinemainfocus.com/

Damaris Online Resources – Study Guides to Films

            http://www.damaris.org

Decent Films

            http://www.decentfilms.com/    

Dick Staub “Culture Watch”

http://www.faithandculture.com/links.php?category=Movies

The Dove Foundation

            http://www.dove.org/   

Hollywood Jesus –

            http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/

Journal of Religion and Popular Culture

            http://www.usask.ca/relst/jrpc/ 

Looking Closer at the Movies (Jeffrey Overstreet)

http://www.lookingcloser.org/

Peaceweb: Movies with a Conscience

            http://www.web.net/~peaceweb/mvmain.html   

SIGNIS

            http://www.signis.net/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=36

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops – Office for Film and Broadcasting

            http://www.nccbuscc.org/movies/index.htm

 

Weak, but may prove helpful in some respects:

About.com – Christian Movies and Christian Movie Reviews

            http://christianity.about.com/library/weekly/blmovies.htm           

The Dove Foundation

            http://www.dove.org/

Joy of Movies.com

            http://www.joyofmovies.com/

MovieGuide

            http://www.movieguide.org/

Movie Parables

            http://www.christiancritic.com/ 

The Phantom Tollbooth

            http://www.tollbooth.org/movies.html