Reading the Gospels in the Dark: Portrayals of Jesus in Film

223 Pages·2003·13.35 MB·English

by  Richard G. Walsh

ISBN 1-56338-387-X
9 781563 383878
Reading
GO.~
Diik

TR1N1TY PRESS lNTERNATIONAL
~
•' f. A Continuum imprint
HARRISBURG· LONDON· NEW YORK
Copyright © 2003 by Richard Walsh
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permis
sion of the publisher, Trinity Press International.
Trinity Press International, P.O. Box 1321, Harrisburg, PA 17105
Trinity Press International is a member of the Continuum International
Publishing Group.
Cover art: Actor Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus Christ in King oj Kings © Bettmann/
CORBIS
Cover design: Wesley Hoke
Photographs found on pages 33, 36, 49, 54, 85, 133, and 157 are reprinted
courtesy of PHOTOFEST.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Walsh, Richard G.
Reading the Gospels in the dark: portrayals of Jesus in ftim /
Richard Walsh.
p. cm. .
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-56338-387-X (pbk.)
I. Jesus Christ-In motion pictures. I. Title.
PNI995.9.J4 W35 2003
79I.43'651-dc21
2003012627
Printed in the United States oj America
03 04 05 06 07 08 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I
It [ cinema] is the renewal of Plato's cave, where instead of seeing only shad
ows, we find illumination in the dark.
Geoffrey Hill) Illuminating Shadows: The Mythic Power oj Film) page 2 Z
It is possible to live in myth and without parable. But it is not possible to live
in parable alone. To live in parable means to dwell in the tension of myth and
parable. It is obvious, of course, that one can change from one myth (for exam
ple, capitalism) to another (for example, communism), and that every myth can
have an antimyth. But a parable is not an antimyth, and it must be carefully dis
tinguished from such. It is a story deliberately calculated to show the limita
tions of myth, to shatter world so that its relativity becomes apparent. ... It is
in fact the dark night of story, but precisely therein and thereby can it prepare
us for the experience of transcendence.
John Dominic Crossan) The Dark Interval: Towards a Theology oj Story) page 60

Contents
Preface: Living amidst Stories ................................................................................. ix
1. Telling Sacred Stories in Cathedral Cinemas ............................................... I
2. Films without Heroes ....................................................................................... 21
3. On Earth as in Heaven:
Jesus 0/ Montreal and Mark ........................................................................... 45
/'
4. Location, Location, Location:
Godspell and the Teachings of Jesus ........................................................... 69
5. A Hermeneutics of Suspicion:
Il Vangelo secondo Matteo and Matthew ......................................................... 95
6. The Alien and Alienating Past:
King 0/ Kings and Luke .............................................................................. 121
7. Romancing the Past:
The Greatest Story Ever Told and John ......................................................... 147
8. Coming to America ........................................................................................ 173
Appendix: Portraying the Sacred in Film ......................................................... .187
Movies Cited ................................................................................ :. ........................ 191
Selected Bibliography... ..................... ...... .............. ............................. .................. 195
Index of Names and Movies .............................................................................. 203
vii