April Podcast (Godspell) Postponed

Just a quick post to let listeners of my podcast know that there's not going to be an entry this month. I had planned to do Godspell (1973), but I've just been too busy this week, and it doesn't look like I'll get the chance next week (or the week after come to that). Hopefully though, I'll get around to it sometime before the end of May. Apologies to anyone that was looking forward to it.

Jesus der Film (1986)

Thanks to Joel Wilson for bringing this one to my attention. It appears that a director called Michael Brynntrup filmed Jesus der Film on Super8 back in 1986. Brynntrup has a website detailing his various films, and so there's a special section given over to this one. Amongst the information that's provided is the fact that the film's full title is actually Life and Death and Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It's less clear about the format of the film. One the one hand it talks about it being "125 (84) Min.", but on the other it seems to talk about various episodes. I suspect that it is a single film, but that the word episode is being used for what would normally be called scenes. There are a few photos as well.

Perhaps the best thing about the site, however, is that it gives you the (full?) script in both English and German. I'm not sure how widely known this film is, and will probably drop Thomas Langkau a line to find out if he knows about it. I'll try and find out more on this one and report back later if I discover anything more.

The New Statesman on Tom Wright

Photo by Jordan Cooper, used under a Creative Commons Licence

I'm a bit pushed for time this morning, but I just have a moment to post a link to this interview with Tom Wright which is from the New Statesman. The interviewer is a little too taken aback by the fact that Wright didn't arrive in all his regalia to offer a great deal of substance, but there are one or two interesting points.

I must admit though that I'm a little flummoxed by just how much hatred there appears to be against Christians at the moment, particularly when given the chance to comment on web articles as they are here. I agree that Wright is too hyperbolic with his phrase "militant atheists", and I'm certainly not denying that the church has done some horrendous things in the past, nor that it still has it's faults at present. But there seems to be an increasing amount of vitriol against Christians on the web at the moment, and it does genuinely make me wonder why so many people want to spend so much of their time knocking us in such a full-on manner. Have we really hurt so many people?

Bits and Pieces on The PassionDVD Mystery, More Q&A, The Reader

Ever since the final broadcast of The Passion, I've been keeping a keen eye on Amazon for news of its release to DVD. There's been a page up there for the DVD for sometime, but, in spite of the 28th April release date, the spartan looking cover shot hasn't really inspired much confidence that it's being released any time soon. Nor is there anything about it on the distributors site, Fremantle Home Entertainment. I seem to remember that a few weeks back there was something about the film, but that could just be my imagination!

Moreover, there's the BBC Shop which currently just returns the message "This product is not available to view" on an otherwise blank page. Yet, according to Google cache, there was a whole page on the DVD at one point. So I've no idea what's going on, but it doesn't look like this DVD will be coming out tomorrow, (although you never can tell).

In other news, Mark Goodacre has linked to another set of Q&A which this time deal with issues raised by the show's portrayal of the death and resurrection scenes. There are some interesting answers there, not least getting some clarification over the portrayal of various parts of the story.

Finally, the latest issue of the C of E's Reader Magazine has just been published including a brief piece I wrote about The Passion. I think I tagged this on to a previous post after its initial publication, so some of you may have missed it.

Verhoeven's 'Jezus van Nazareth' Due for Publication in September

Back in December 2006 I reported that director Paul Verhoeven had decided to write a book about Jesus as a step towards fulfilling his dream of one day making a film about him. Empire had interviewed Verhoeven in the run up to the release of Black Book and he'd mentioned the project saying he feared getting attacked by fundamentalists.

15 months later and it seems the book is almost ready for publication, although initially it's only going to be available in the director's native Dutch. Hollywood Reporter are saying that Verhoeven's 'Jezus van Nazareth: Een realistisch portret' (Jesus of Nazareth: A Realistic Portrait) will be published by Meulenhoff in September, and a quick search on their website uncovered the above cover art and a brief description (still unintelligible even after using Google Translation). Fortunately, Fox News have picked out the main headlines.

In his upcoming biography of Jesus, "Basic Instinct" director Paul Verhoeven will make the shocking claim that Christ probably was the son of Mary and a Roman soldier who raped her during the Jewish uprising in Galilee.
[snip]
The book... also states that Christ was not betrayed by Judas Iscariot.

Fox has wheeled in Catholic League President Bill Donohue to fulfill the role of outraged Christian, but, really, Verhoeven is saying nothing that hasn't been said a hundred times before. In fact similar claims are even made in another Jesus film - Jesus of Montreal - so it's hard to believe that Donohue is really that shocked. That said, his suggestion that the Basic Instinct director "should go back to Sharon Stone's legs" seems very odd indeed. Is Donohue really suggesting Verhoeven make more soft porn?

More 2 Kings Films

Back in February, I made two posts discussing films that are based on material from 2 Kings. Shortly afterwards I decided to go ahead and order Sins of Jezebel to see what exactly it covered. I figured it might make an interesting post if nothing else. In the meantime, WitlessD found out some details about some, more obscure, films that are on parts of Kings, and emailed me the details, and Peter Chattaway also discovered a film due for release that might also touch on this material.

Unfortunately I decided to delay posting more until Sins of Jezebel, and, sadly, it didn't arrive until yesterday. Furthermore, having had a quick scan it appears it's very much based on Elijah and 1 Kings rather than the second part of the book. So I probably should have posted this a month or two ago, but better late than never I suppose.

The first film is a five part mini-series from Brazil called O Desafio de Elias (The Challenge of Elijah) by Rede Record and VMT Produções. It was directed by Luiz Antônio Piá based on Yves Dumont's screenplay. It aired on 5 consecutive nights on Brazilian TV back in 1997 (22-26 December). Guilherme Linhares played Elijah, Adriana Lessa (pictured above) as Ninra, Othon Bastos as Ahab and Sônia Lima as Jezebel (pictured below). WitlessD also sent me a description which I've had translated.

The struggle of the prophet Elijah for the word of the God of Israel. It's around the year 850 BC and Elijah antagonizes King Ahab. Ahab is married to the flirtatious Jezabel, and influenced by the queen's construction of a temple to the false god Baal

A year later Lima and the same producers, director and writer created a 10 part Esther mini-series A História de Ester.

Then there have been two versions of Racine's 1691 play 'Athalie' (based on the story of the idolatrous Athaliah from 2 Kings 8&11 / 2 Chronicles 22&23). The first version, Athaliah, Queen of Judah, was filmed by Pathé Frères in 1910 and a couple of reviews of it remain to this day. Firstly an issue of The Bioscope dated 25 August 1910 (p.29):

Athaliah, Queen of Judah, has gained the throne by the destruction of all the royal princes. Unknown to her, a tiny babe has been saved by Jehoiada, the priest, and brought up by him in the Temple of Jerusalem. Seven years pass and the people, weary of the tyranny of their cruel Queen, plead to God for a miracle in the form of the coming of a son of David.

Athahiah has become a worshipper of Baal, and two of the priests of Baal are seen endeavoring to persuade her to destroy the Sacred Temple. But Athaliah dismisses her advisers and falls a prey to remorse and visions in which Joash, the new child king, appears to her. Athaliah resolves to satisfy herself as to the truth of the rumors of the existence of a royal prince. She goes to the Temple and finds herself within its sacred walls at the moment a sacrifice is to be made. Jehoiada drives her out, and the Queen decides to question Joash. Joash is unable to answer her questions, but his features convince Athaliah, and she decides that she must regain her power by arms.

In the next scene we see he leading her warriors to the assault of the great Temple. She demands admittance, and the High Priest, allows her to enter alone. He has a curtain drawn aside and Athaliah sees before her the new King, seated on a throne, and surrounded by his adherents. She springs forward, but at the cry of the priest, hidden soldiers rush forward and force her backwards out of the Temple. Outside the people have gathered to acclaim the new ruler promised them, and Athaliah cries out for their allegiance. Their only reply is silence, which changes into cries of joy as Joash appears before the Temple, and as the queen rushes forward a thrust from a spear ends her life.

The film is well staged, and carefully treated, and the numerous sub-titles clearly explain the story.

The other review was written by Georges Fagot for the 8th October 1910 edition of Ciné-Joumal, (No 111). Again this is a translation:

We have just seen the most perfect film that has, so far, been presented by cinematography, Athalie, directed and adapted by Mr. Michel Carré one of the most famous authors of the SCAGL ... An ingenious adapter and clever director Mr. Michel Carré was well qualified to be the chef-d’ceuvre-Racine, as illustrated by this film version from La Série d’Art Pathé Frères (original name for Pathé Frères

Shooting began on 11 May 1910 and the film was released in Paris on 7th October 1910. The film was 410m/1352ft [361color].

The second, Atalia, was an Italian TV version transmitted on RAI 2 in 1964. The cast included Lilla Brignone (Athaliah) and Roberto Chevalier (Jehoash). It was directed by Mario Ferrero, and aired on RAI2 on the 13th May 1964 (my birthday). Whilst it looks lie a few copies of the 1910 film remain the 1964 version was apparently wiped just a year after its release.Finally, Will Smith is due to star in The Last Pharaoh - which is actually going to be about Taharqa the last Pharaoh of the 25th Dynasty rather than Cleopatra (because that would be really strange). And, as Peter Chattaway points out, that might feature an appearance from Hezekiah and the events of 2 Kings 19 and Isaiah 37

There is an interesting connection between Taharqa and the biblical history of this period. Scholars, it seems, have said that Taharqa may be the same person who is referred to in II Kings 19 and Isaiah 37 as "Tirhakah, the Cushite king of Egypt" -- a figure who is mentioned simply because he was "marching out to fight" against the Assyrian king Sennacherib while Sennacherib was laying siege to Jerusalem in 701 BC.

Peter also lists some problems with that theory and wonders how the film may treat the different accounts in the Greek / biblical history (if it includes the incident at all).

This post has taken me so long I've now not got enough time to sit and watch Sins of Jezebel. Oh well...

Interrupted and Ray's King of Kings

Director Nicholas Ray is best remembered for Rebel Without a Cause (1955), even though the masterful In a Lonely Place (1950) is, in my opinion, his best work. But he was also the director of the 1961 Jesus film King of Kings. Whilst King of Kings is clearly not in the same league as those other films, it does continue to explore some of the thematic elements from those earlier pictures. It was apparently a bad experience for Ray though, indeed Bernard Eisenschitz catalogues the production team fall out regarding the film¹ and his wife Betty Ray regarded it as "the start of his self betrayal".².

So it will be interesting to see if King of Kings features in next year's Ray biopic Interrupted. There's precious little information about it at the moment. It's based on Ray's posthumously published auto-biography 'I was Interrupted', and is being produced by City Lights Pictures (The Ten). Philip Kaufman (Quills, The Unbearable Lightness of Being) is lined up as director and City Lights claim that there's "A-list talent slated to star". Variety has a brief piece on this, as do a few other outlets, but there's not much to go on so far (and the Variety piece is from Jan. 2006).

In any case, I suspect King of Kings won't figure too highly: it is mentioned on only 5 pages in the index for 'I Was Interrupted', as opposed to 24 in Eisenschitz's index (although Eisenschitz's is book is more than twice as many pages) . But it would be interesting if it were included. No doubt it could make an interesting double bill with the sort of DeMille biopic Sands of Oblivion.

================
1 - Bernard Eisenschitz, "Nicholas Ray: An American Journey", Faber and Faber (London), ch.34, but especially p.371-375
2 - Bernard Eisenschitz, "Nicholas Ray: An American Journey", Faber and Faber (London), p.379

Screenings / DVD for Dante's Inferno

Back in June I wrote about an animated version of Dante's Inferno using cardboard cut-outs. Well the latest news is that the film now has a few screenings lined up, and that it should be released onto DVD in August or September. The screening details are somewhat few and far between:

Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Thursday, April 17, 2008, at 22:20
•Sandow and Elyse will attend.

Margate Rocks 08
Margate, UK
Saturday, May 3, 2008 at 6pm

Great Small Works,
8th International Toy Theater Festival
dumbo, Brooklyn, NY
Thursday, May 29th at 10pm
•
REDCAT Theater at Disney Hall
Los Angeles, CA
Sunday, June 15, 2008
•Members of the team may attend•

Santa Monica Museum of Art
Santa Monica, CA
Saturday, July 19, 2008
•Sean, Sandow, and Elyse will attend.

De Oliveira's Film Featuring JobMon Cas/O Meu Caso/My Case (1986)

My friend Peter Chattaway emailed me to let me know about O Meu Caso - a film by Manoel de Oliveira which features an appearance by Job. O Meu Caso, also known as Mon Cas and translating as simply "My Case" in English is four part film with each segment shot in a different style. The sole IMDb reviewer describes the four parts as follows:

1) on stage, during a play's rehearsal; 2) as one of those films of the 1910s and 1920s, in which people moved at an accelerated pace; 3) with a chromatically-charged photography and dialogues of a sense of the absurd only equalled by the likes of Beckett or Ionesco ; 4) in a dusky setting, serving as a metaphor to our civilization's current state of affairs, the BOOK OF JOB is recited by biblical characters.

It seems the film may be doing the rounds at the moment, perhaps in celebration of de Oliveira's 100th birthday year, (and apparently he's still alive and making films!) So Doug C of the new Another Film Board saw it in a double bill with the director's passion play documentary O Acto de Primavera (The Rite of Spring), and it will be screening at the Torino Film Festival on the 21st and 29th November this year.

I've not managed to find a great deal more out about this one. It seems fairly clear that "Job" only appears in the final segment, but that Job-like themes run throughout the picture, and it's based on plays by José Régio and Beckett. There are some interesting details here, and a couple of Portuguese pages about the film (which I've passed through Google translation) here and here.

I can't recall any other films about Job, although the IMDb details a 1936 production which it describes as a "Televised Ballet based on Blake's vision of the Book of Job".

Couple of Bits on Year One

I've been waiting for a quiet moment to do an update on The Year One which is currently filming in San Diego. There's not a huge amount to report but Peter Chattaway did pick up on a report from ComingSoon.net which notes that comedian David Cross will play Cain. Peter can't help but note the potential historical anachronism. I was under the impression that this might be something of a journey-through-time affair anyway so I'm not too concerned about this at this point (not that historical anachronisms in a Jack Black comedy are particularly concerning in the first place). Having said that I'm not sure where I got this impression from. A quick search through my other posts on this film failed to turn anything up, other than the fact that Jack Black mentioned Cain in an MTV interview.

BBC Making Animation of The Bible

See all posts on this film.

Having succeeded in telling the last week of Jesus's life in the live action drama The Passion, the BBC is set to produce an animated series on the Bible for release late next year. I first heard about this in Pioneer's 'Library of Lives' journal, but have been unable to find out much more, until just now.

There's a little bit on this new series at Broadcast Now. Apparently it will be produced by Anna Cox with Michael Mosley and Jean-Claude Bragard acting as executive producers. Cox and Bragard worked together on the 2006 documentary series The Miracles of Jesus (pictured), and Bragard has been involved in other religious documentaries for the BBC since at least 2001 when he produced / directed Son of God.

There's also a press release from the BBC which mainly seems to focus on the Beeb's partnership with Greek broadcaster SKAI Television, but it does have this to say:

Religious co-production Bible will be a six part series featuring the most important and iconic Bible stories. Each episode will use drama and CGI to bring the stories to life – emphasising their humanity, the miraculous experiences and the epic encounters.

It will be an accessible, entertaining, informative and intelligent guide to important passages in the Bible.

Various sources have stressed that The Bible will be a big budget production, though figures are a little sketchy. I also seem to recall hearing that this was a 13 episode series whereas these pages say it will be six hour long episodes. I'll post more news as it comes along.

Ben Hur to be Re-made for TV

Just four days after the death of Charlton Heston, Alchemy TV has announced that it is remaking one of his best known works. Ben Hur has, been filmed three times before, as well as being released as a cartoon voiced by Heston, but now according to Variety it's to be made into TV mini-series as well.

Personally I find the timing of this annoucement somewhat distasteful - an unnerving keenness to prize the horse whip from Heston's cold dead hands, but in fairness, producer David Wyler has dedicated the film to both Heston and his father. Wyler's father is, as you may have guessed, the great William Wyler who both directed the 1959 version and worked on the 1925 production.

Wyler also states that the new film will feature a younger Ben Hur, and that he wants the film to "look at the spirituality within the piece rather than directly relating it to a specific religion". At the same time he intends that the series will be more in line with Lew Wallace's original novel than its predecessors.

There's a bit more on this over at FilmChat including some footage from the 1907 version.

Rethink on Visions of Ecstasy Ban

The British Board of Film Classification may reconsider their decision to ban a controversial Jesus film. Visions of Ecstasy was rejected in 1989 on grounds of blasphemy, and, accoding to one of the BBFC's websites it remains the only film to have been banned in the UK on grounds of blasphemy.

Released in 1989 the controversy came hot on the heels of debates about Last Temptation of Christ and the Salman Rushdie novel 'The Satanic Verses'. The 19 minute film depicts a scene in which a "sexualised figure of St Teresa of Avila caresses the body of Christ on the cross".¹ The ruling eventually ended up in the European Court of Human Rights in 1996, where the BBFC's decision was upheld.

This June, however, sees the repeal of the blasphemy law, which might pave the way for the ban to be lifted. And, according to The Observer, board member Craig Lapper has invited director Nigel Wingrove to resubmit the film for classification.

Searching the web for a bit more information on this film I also came across a 2006 Mark Kermode article from The Observer which discusses the film ahead of the (then) proposed 'Racial and Religious Hatred Act'. He describes the film as

an innocuous (if rather silly) short film depicting 'the ecstatic and erotic visions of St Teresa of Avila'...St Teresa is first seduced by her own sexual psyche (played, conveniently, by a photegenic 'babe'), and then mounts and caresses the crucified body of Christ. Technical shortcomings notwithstanding (hands which seem to move freely despite apparently being nailed down) the film raised a problem for the BBFC, which is forbidden from classifying material which may infringe the laws of the land.

His overall point is, I think, that whilst he thinks such material is distasteful, we shouldn't maintain a law which "privileges the sensitivities of Christians over those of others". Wingrove himself apparently has some reservations about resubmitting the film after all this time. "If I did release it, I would need to put it into context"².

1 - "Visions of Ecstasy", Students' British Board of Film Classification - http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/case_study_visionsofe.asp
2 - "Rethink over Christ 'porn' film ban", The Observer, 6th April 2008 - http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2271373,00.html

Charlton Heston (1923-2008)

I was sorry to hear of the death of the great Charlton Heston on Saturday. I can still remember, as a boy, rushing back home from playing football in the park in order to watch The Ten Commandments on TV one New Year's Day. As an actor he was champion of the historical epic in general and the Bible Film in particular. People often discuss whose face they picture when they think of Jesus, but when it comes to Moses there's no question: it's Heston.

It was undoubtedly DeMille who made Heston a star, giving him his big break in The Greatest Show on Earth and making him a household name with The Ten Commandments. Today Heston's performance seems a little dated in places, but overall it's still as monumental as it was 50 years ago. As with the film in general, it always seems to play better than I remember it.

Three years later Heston won an Oscar for his role in another Bible Film, of sorts, Ben Hur pictured in this blog's header image). The film won a record number of Oscars, but it was Heston's performance, along with the chariot race scene that really captured the attention. Heston's portrayal captured the inner battle between Ben Hur's heroism and his bitterness.Then in 1965 he turned in a brief role in The Greatest Story Ever Told. The standard complaint about this film was its parade of A-list stars making cameos, not least John Wayne's climatic moment as a centurion. In fairness Heston's performance was no better. It was the only feature film to star both actors.

Heston made numerous other historical films, El Cid, Big Country, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra and The Three Musketeers to name just a few. He often joked that his face belonged to another century, but in reality it was as much his charisma and nobility. Michel Mourlet first noted his "eagle's profile" with his "imperious arch of eyebrows", and in that way he embodied America¹.

He had plenty of choice roles in the modern era as well. In 1958 he was cast as a Mexican detective in A Touch of Evil and he became one of the few actors to get to choose their director. Chuck chose well, and Orson Welles got to make what is perhaps his second greatest film.

In later life he also ended up fronting a series of documentaries - "Charlton Heston Presents - The Bible" and voicing an animated version of Ben Hur, as well as turning in a handful of smaller roles. Reading stories and obituaries from various news outlets reminded me of one that I had temporarily forgotten - his hilarious cameo in Wayne's World 2.Predictably there are also mentions of his work as head of the NRA. Whilst I disagree with his politics I'm deeply saddened by the vitriol of some of the comments on the BBC website. They seem to forget / are unaware that not only do the majority of Americans favour the right to own a gun, but they also live in a household that actually does.

For Heston, however, this was simply part of his life long fight for civil rights as embodied in his presence at civil rights protests in the early sixties. It's rare for someone cross party agendas in such an extreme way. Rarer still for it to be done in a way that seems to exhibit such logic. As I said disagree, but, it has to be said most respectfully.

It was Heston's role with the NRA that gained him his last memorable screen role - as the bad guy in Bowling for Coumbine (2002). Director Michael Moore put in a lot of hours in the editing room, and Heston came out of it looking pretty bad. Shortly afterwards, however, he announced that he was suffering from Alzheimer's and his apparent discombobulation during Moore's interview suddenly made sense.Following his announcement he retired from public life and it seemed increasingly likely that the next news story about him would be the announcement of his death that came yesterday. Even before he reached 84 he had boasted that he had lived enough for two lives, and one wouldn't be surprised if his arrival at the pearly gates leads one or two of the inmates to exclaim "it's Moses!"

=======

There are a few other pieces on Heston at the BBC, The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph and The Independent.

1 - Michel Mourlet, "In Defence of Violence" in "Stardom: Industry of Desire" Gledhill (ed). (1991)

CNN Video on The Messiah

Yesterday's Biblical Studies Carnival brought my attention to a couple of other bloggers who have been discussing the Iranian Jesus film Mesih (The Messiah). Tony Chartrand-Burke discusses both it and The Aquarian Gospel over at Apocryphicity, and Jim Davila of PaleoJudaica notes a similarity with Life of Brian.

However, the big news is that CNN have a report showing some footage from the film interspersed with some comments from director Nader Talebzadeh. According to that the film will be released over the web shortly. I should warn you, however, that the report contains a major spoiler. I've been trying to get hold of Talebzadeh to get more information, but, as you might imagine, it's not that easy.

Biblical Studies Carnival XXVIII

Photo by Tim Parkinson, used under a Creative Commons Licence

After his April Fool's Day prank, Chris Weimer of Thoughts on Antiquity has now posted up the real thing. It's a great effort with a number of interesting posts. Amongst them are a few links relating to The Passion, as well as the Iranian Jesus film The Messiah. I'm going to discuss the links for Mesih elsewhere.

The next Biblical Studies Carnival will be held at Jim West's blog.

Yes, It was an April Fools' Gag

Just in case was taken in by yesterday's post, yes, it was an April Fools' Day joke. IT was nice to see it get a mention at least at MetaCatholic even if he wasn't taken in.

There were a couple of others that caught my eye. Pride of place goes to Chris Weimer's spoof Biblical Studies Carnival. Having actually nominated some posts this month, the opening line had me wondering...

Other April Fools' Day jokes include Stephen Carlson using Equidistant Letter Sequences to identify Brian as the author of the first gospel and Brian Flemming (host of The God Who Wasn't There) who posted a video to YouTube suggesting he had re-converted. Tyler Williams took a different angle, looking at Fools in the Book of Proverbs.