Films and 90 Days Through the Bible

RC of Strange Culture is trying to read the Bible in 90 days. As he does so, he's posting a few thoughts on the cinematic potential in what he reads. So far he's written on Genesis and Exodus. I've written quite a bit on films about Genesis and Exodus, though frustratingly I can't work out a way to track my older posts for these labels. I also wrote an article a few years ago on Genesis films.

It looks like I've seen a few more films from Genesis than RC. I'm a big fan of the African La Genesse (pictured), Green Pastures, Huston's The Bible and the various films in The Bible Collection that touch on stories from the Bible's opening book. As for Exodus films, I started writing a book on that years ago, but only got halfway before I lost my weekly writing day. I think Moses the Lawgiver is my favourite, though I'm still in awe of watching L'exode a couple of months back.

Anyway, I look forward to reading RC's thought on the rest of the Bible as he progresses.

Pop Classics: Jesus Christ Superstar

I'm very much enjoying Juliette Harrisson's Pop Classics blog, particularly when she turns her attention to Bible films. The latest film based on the scriptures to which she's turned her attention is 1973's Jesus Christ, Superstar (all my posts on this film). Juliette seems to be very good at finding a new angle, and in this case her analysis of the film's costumes are very interesting. They are much commented on, of course, but few writers go beyond noting the mix of ancient and "modern" (and the datedness of the "modern"). Here's a brief excerpt:

He [Pilate] also wears a rather lovely golden laurel wreath. Laural wreaths were prizes in much older Greek athletic competitions, while Caesar made a point of refusing a crown in public to avoid looking like a monarch (although he was a dictator, he was careful never to call himself a king). Like the rest of Pilate's costume, this is not related to actual Roman dress, but to modern perceptions of what it is to be Roman.

Incidentally, my other favourite female writing informatively about the accuracy of historical films, The Guardian's Alex von Tunzelmann recently posted an amusing piece on The Mission. Her conclusion? "It might all have been avoided if they'd had some karaoke bars"...Well quite.

Ron Reed on Whistle Down the Wind

Over at Soul Food Movies, Ron Reed has written a nice piece on Whistle Down the Wind. It's been a while since I've seen this film, but the black and white images and the stark, rugged backdrops keep it fresh in the meory. In particular, Ron talks about the performance of Alan Barnes who plays the scene-stealing young boy.

Thinking about the film almost 50 years later, it seems to me that Barnes' performance embodies the film itself. His wide-eyed innocence matches the nostalgic simplicity of this low-budget, film. Not only was it not shot in a sumptuous Hollywood studio, but it was shot in Britain, and rural northern Britain at that. The rugged Pennine landscapes may remain to this day, but the make up of the farms and villages are long gone. Likewise, it's hard to imagine this story happening today. Barnes would most likely be shut inside playing on his Wii, not allowed to go to the barn alone in case he ran into, well, an unsavoury character hiding therein. And doubtless Bates would be far too scared of being caught and branded a paedophile to hang around enjoying the children's hospitality.

Even were such a movie to be made today, it would be difficult for the filmmakers to avoid an uncomfortable, suspicious atmosphere in showing a relationship between a young boy and a unrelated, hitherto unknown man. You only have to look at how little evidence the makers of Doubt required to perfectly balance the "did he / didn't he" question that dominated post-viewing discussions.

Anyway, Ron's conclusion is particularly worth quoting:

But the world of the film is unique, and for all its simplicity it grows richer on repeat viewings. Perhaps the film escapes the expected coyness because we are constantly aware that the man in the barn is not Jesus – he may even be an escaped criminal – and the convolutions the children indulge to sustain belief take the piss out of adult "true believers." At the same time their simple loving concern for this man has an undeniable sacredness about it. There's a thin line between serving Jesus and visiting a criminal, whether in a stable or in a prison.

My Greenbelt Talk Available Online

I've had a number of people ask about getting hold of my Greenbelt talk. The majority of Greenbelt seminars are recorded, but I was on at one of the venues where that wasn't possible. So the bad news is that the quality isn't great here, as I had to record this on my laptop, but the good news is that it's free! (Greenbelt seminar downloads usually cost £2). Feel free to post any comments below or email me.

Anyway, you can download my talk - Biblical Horror Stories for Children - from my (currently hibernating) Jesus Films podcast site.

[To save a copy click on the download link under the "Audio MP3" icon. That will take you through to another page. Right click on the "download" button and chose "Save Target As" (Internet Explorer) or "Save Link As" (Firefox) or similar for other browsers.]

Greenbelt 2009

I've been meaning to write a little bit about Greenbelt ever since I got back on Tuesday, but haven't quite managed it. Having not gone since 2007 due to having a 2 week old baby and no cash, it had felt like a long wait, but ultimately it proved to be well worth it.

The main thing for me was, I guess, my talk, something I had wanted to do for a long time. Inevitably I ended up speaking at the same time as (but in a different venue to) Greenbelt's biggest named speaker - Rob Bell. It was Bell's only speaking date in the UK for all of 2009, and though he was doing three talks, this was the only one that wasn't in a limited-number-of-seats venue, thereby guaranteeing everyone the opportunity to hear him. This was inevitable I suppose. I was the anti-Bell - an almost entirely unknown speaker discussing a difficult topic. Obviously it made sense to have me fill one of the least popular slots. Thankfully, I got a bit of perspective after a while. If, back in February, the Greenbelt team had offered me the chance to talk at Greenbelt, but told me this was the slot I would have had, I would have taken it with both hands and a big smile. And, as it turned out, my venue was reasonably full, so everything worked out well in the end.

The talk itself went well. There was a desperate, last minute, scramble to find something to put my notes on, and some background noise that made it hard initially to pick up the audience's reactions, but I felt I communicated reasonably well. The questions and comments at the end were interesting and positive, and one old lady made a comment about how the session resolved an issue she'd been struggling with for a long, long time. I almost shed a tear at that point, but thankfully avoided turning into a blubbering wreck.

Anyway, now I've blown all of my egomaniac chips all in one go, I should probably talk about the rest of the festival. I didn't actually get to a lot else this year. Having two, very active, kids made it quite hard work. I can tell you, though, that Bubble Inc. is cool, though not, apparently, as much fun as playing in the toy tents on your own.

I did get to a few grown-up things, mainly talks by two friends - Simon Hall and Stu Jesson. Simon's talk was called "The Thoughtful 'Charismatic'" and was an examination of the Charismatic movement 15 or so years after the Toronto Blessing. He made a number of interesting points, which I'd like to go over again. Stu's talk was "Simone Weil and the Search for Undivided Attention", and was, in honesty, too complex for me to sum up without the risk of getting it totally wrong.

The only other talk I went to was Symon Hill's "What Would Jesus Spin?" about Christians and the media. Given that Hill is the associate director of the Ekklesia thinktank, I was surprised that this was sparsely attended. I was tempted to ask him whether this was a reflection on his ability to communicate with a mass audience or simply an indication of how lightly most Christians take this subject. Hill's main point seemed to be that it is possible to get good media coverage, but it often doesn't happen, and it's usually the result of very creative hard work.

Sadly, I didn't get to much film stuff, having already seen Son of Man plenty of times. I'd have liked to introduce it actually, but assumed that someone else was already filling that role.

The good thing about going to Greenbelt with a large group is that you do tend to pick up what's going on in the festival. Often people speaking there pass comments as well, all of which gives you a good sense of what's happening even if you miss the events themselves. So, in no particular order: Rob Bell was very good and very full (or at least his sessions were); Ockham's Razor was apparently amazing; Musical highlights were Foy Vance, Duke Special and The Welcome Wagon. I also enjoyed hearing Sixpence None the Richer's "Kiss Me" and Cornershop's "Brimful of Asha" drift across the fields to my tent whilst I babysat the kids and finally finished James Crossley's "Jesus in an Age of Terror". More on that another time.

Sadly, just when I was getting into the swing of things, it all had to end, and so we packed up our tent, whilst some friends pegged down the kids, and drove back home somehow trying to communicate to Nina (3) just how long it would be until Greenbelt next year. Sad to say, I'm already pondering my talk proposal...

(Photos of Mel, Nina and Digory (left) and me (right) are thanks to Anna Purver)

Biblical Studies Carnival 45

Photo by Tim Parkinson, used under a Creative Commons Licence

Over at The Golden Rule Michael Kok has posted the 45th Biblical Studies Carnival. It's a got a Simpson's-esque theme and mentions my piece on Elisha, God and the Bears.

And according to the Biblical Studies Carnival website, Biblical Studies Carnival XLVI will be compiled by Daniel & Tonya of the Hebrew and Greek Reader - October 2009).

Variety on Dino De Laurentiis

One of my favourite Old Testament films is 1966's The Bible: In the Beginning. It's famous for being directed by John Huston (pictured above) of course, but it owed a tremendous debt to it's producer Dino De Laurentiis. De Laurentiis turned 90 last month, though he's still involved in making films, returning to historical epics as recently as 2007 when he produced The Last Legion.

Anyway, Variety marked the occasion by publishing a good-sized quotation from the 2004's "Dino" - a biography of De Laurentiis by Tullio Kezich and Alessandra Levantes. It's a great indication of what filmproducers have to go through to get their pictures made, or at least an interesting insight into how this one went about things.

Thanks to Peter Chattaway for the link.