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The War Cry | OCTOBER 2014
movies to incorporate sex and violence was the bib-
lical epic." Basing a film on the Bible allowed it to
be more risqu� than would normally have been ac-
cepted. Figures like Eve, Delilah and Jezebel could
all be portrayed as seductive temptresses. In tales
such as Sodom and Gomorrah and Samson and Deli-
lah
, exotic sins could be lavishly portrayed on screen.
Professor Drew Casper, a film historian at the Uni-
versity of Southern California, says that by the mid-
1960s several epic-style biblical mov-
ies flopped, and were partially blamed
for the movie industry's financial
troubles at that time. Two major stu-
dio attempts to make a film of Je-
sus' life during this period, King of
Kings
(1962) and The Greatest Story
Ever Told
(1965) were both commer-
cial failures. With the end of the stu-
dio system and the changing social
climate, the Bible epic film fell out of favor over the
next few decades.
It was re�popular-
ized with Mel Gib-
son's controversial
The Passion of the
Christ
(2004), an in-
terpretation of the
last 12 hours in the
life of Jesus, which
was extremely
profitable, gross-
ing $370 million (domestic). Due to dialogue in He-
brew and Aramaic, it was subtitled. It set a record for
the highest-grossing independent film of all time.
Gibson's film reopened the door for The Nativity
Story
(2006), The Kingdom Of Solomon (2010), The
Book Of Esther
(2013), and Son Of God (2014).
What's coming? Exodus: Gods and Kings is ready for
release in late 2014 and The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
will open in 2016--the latter perhaps a paradigm for
the Gospel message on film coming back to life.
the highest-grossing independent film of all time.
Gibson's film reopened the door for The Nativity
ic film fell out of favor over the
mestic) Due to dialogue in He
> The Nativity Story (2006):
Focuses on the period in Mary and
Joseph's life where they journeyed
to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus.
< Samson and Delilah
(1949 Hedy Lamarr
and Victor Mature):
Cecil B. DeMille directed
this masterpiece of the
account when Samson
encounters the beautiful
Philistine woman Delilah,
who seeks vengeance for
her people, resulting in horrible consequences they both
regret. Two out of three Oscar nods went to this classic.
> Solomon and Sheba (1959-
Yul Brynner and Gina Lollobrigida):
King David's dysfunctional family gets its
due when just prior to his death, King David
names his younger son, Solomon, his heir
ahead of his elder son, Prince Adonijah. Solo-
mon is wise and rules his kingdom well but
when the Queen of Sheba arrives in Jerusalem,
supposedly for a friendly visit, he slowly falls in
love with her. Not too smart, Solomon!
< The Ten Commandments
(1956-Charlton Heston,
Yul Brenner):
Arguably the
granddaddy of all Biblical movies,
and one of director Cecil B.
DeMille's legacy contributors, it
included a cast of Hollywood's
Who's�Who--Vincent Price, John
Carradine, Yvonne DeCarlo, Ed-
ward G. Robinson, and Anne Baxter.
Seven Oscar nominations, with
one statue given for special
effects--with two walls of water
impressively parted in convincing
style for that era!
> The Greatest Story Ever Told
(1965-Max von Sydow, Dorothy McGuire, Charlton
Heston and many others):
Nominated for five
Oscars, but came up short on all. The raising of Lazarus and
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem are two scenes in which Sydow
eclipsed other actors who portrayed Jesus through the years;
but even these were not quite enough to carry the movie
off into box�office heaven. At a budget of $20�million,
the movie grossed only $8�million domestically.
< The Gospel According
to St. Matthew (1964):
In the spirit of Italian
neo-realism, Director
Pier Paolo Pasolini hired
ordinary people, not actors,
to embody characters
they were born to play.
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