[New York], A Citadel Press Book, [1992].
4to. 222, [1] pp., ill.
An early and important comprehensive study of the representation of Jesus Christ in cinema.
The book traces how the image and perception of Jesus of Nazareth have changed throughout the history of film, reflecting wider social, political, and religious transformations.
The authors examine how filmmakers have approached the Gospels as source material and, more broadly, “how the mainstream cinema has dealt with the subject of Jesus Christ within the restrictions of a commercial market.” The book is not limited to films about the life of Jesus: it also explores films in which Christ appears only briefly, Christ-like figures, unconventional and satirical representations, and even projects that were never released.
Part film history, part filmography, the book provides credits, cast information, commentary, and reviews for films from America and Europe, beginning with the silent era and continuing through the late 1980s. Among the films discussed are The Passion Play of Oberammergau (1898), one of the earliest surviving motion pictures depicting the final days of Jesus; From the Manger to the Cross (1912); Cecil B. DeMille’s The King of Kings (1927); Ben-Hur (1959); King of Kings (1961); The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965); Black Jesus (1968), starring Woody Strode; Jesus Christ Superstar (1973); Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth (1977); Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979); and Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).
Richly illustrated with black-and-white film stills and screenshots.
Binding & condition
Original pictorial wrappers. Good: light rubbing to edges, minor soiling, with bookseller’s labels to rear cover.
