Neon Genesis Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Are there any Christian movies you still like now even as an ex-Christian? I have to admit I have mixed feelings on The Prince Of Egypt. On the one hand, it's a really well-done adaptation of the Exodus myth and I liked how they actually gave Pharaoh a personality with character development. The animation is still some of the most impressive visuals I've seen and I really like the music. On the other hand, I feel quesy that they made a children's movie that promotes infanticide as morally good and that most Christians don't seem to have a problem with showing this to kids yet they'll try to ban Harry Potter because it has magic in it. I also love the movie Save Me which is a really powerful drama on the ex-gay movement. The movie is pro-Christian but takes the heretical stance that Christianity is compatible with homosexuality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dagan Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 I still like the movie adaptations of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Prince Caspian" if those count. And "Saved!" is great, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnceConvinced Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 I always liked The Cross and the Switchblade, although it hasn't aged well. Old Eric Estrada. Why did he do so many Christian movies? I remember my mother wondering why he never became a Christian after doing so many. Now if she asked it I'd probably say something like "Because he was actually a smart guy and knew all the appeal to emotion was simply BS and that Christianity was BS." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franko47 Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 I'm one of the few people on the planet who likes "The Last Temptation Of Christ". Of course, it's reassuring to know that most Christians are against this movie, and according to my own polling over the years, few of them have actually ever seen it. The Italian 1985 remake of "Quo Vadis" (Klaus Marie Brandauer as NERO) is superlative as a kind of miniseries, or if you like, a six hour movie. It really captures the feel of that era, and is largely about political and social events in Rome, including, obviously the eventual persecution of the Christians. Sophisticated dialog though; it's almost more of a historical film than a "Christian" one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramen666 Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Passion of the Christ is still an artistically good movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searska Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 "Constantine" isn't too bad. I thought the guy who played the devil was bloody creepy. I don't know if you can call that a "Christian" movie, though. Same thing with "From Hell" (though I like that on more for Depp) and the anime series Trinity Blood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRDWarrior Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 There are a few major movies with a christian theme that I can appreciate from a film-making or animation standpoint, but that's about it. When I was back home for my uncles funeral my 4 year old nephew went through a lot of Veggie Tales...I remember thinking they were cute when I was a christian. Watching them now was just painful - some of the messages were okay, but a lot of it was rather subtle christian babble put in a form to brainwash kids that much easier. And the animation was horrible - I know I could do better than that on my home computer, I was appalled at how much money these people have made with such crappy 3-D modeling, animation, lighting....the list goes on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Passion of the Christ is still an artistically good movie. Really? Even as a christian I didn't think the movie was very good. There's not much story to it. Just torture porn. As for christian movies I still like, Ben-Hur is one hell of a movie (it even puts most modern epics to shame), The Passion of Joan of Arc is one of the best silent movies ever made, A Man for All Seasons is pretty great (and has a knockout performance by Paul Scofield). Also the aforementioned Prince of Egypt gets my approval. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator buffettphan Posted April 8, 2010 Super Moderator Share Posted April 8, 2010 I'm one of the few people on the planet who likes "The Last Temptation Of Christ". Hi! I'm one of those other few. I never saw the sacrilege or heresy in the movie, but rather thought it showed the human side of jesus and how we all face (and deal with) temptation. But then again, I was never a bible-thumper. Heck, we even sang John Lennon's Imagine during mass, so what do I know. I'm just a happy heathen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramen666 Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Passion of the Christ is still an artistically good movie. Really? Even as a christian I didn't think the movie was very good. There's not much story to it. Just torture porn. As for christian movies I still like, Ben-Hur is one hell of a movie (it even puts most modern epics to shame), The Passion of Joan of Arc is one of the best silent movies ever made, A Man for All Seasons is pretty great (and has a knockout performance by Paul Scofield). Also the aforementioned Prince of Egypt gets my approval. It is not more violent than The Patriot or Saving Private Ryan. I look as it is trying to give a "historical" look into something(don't have to agree that it is fact but it what it is), what made the movie fascinating is the lengths they went to, to make it accurate (which that is why they used the violence). The language thing I just think was a cool move for it (I wished they did that in Valkrye). Another thing that made the movie good was the soundtrack they used. I am a big fan of movie soundtracks. I just see at as a very artistic movie, it is not one of those "happy" Christian movies where everyone is so fake in it. They did try to portray it as "real life" of that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Genesis Posted April 10, 2010 Author Share Posted April 10, 2010 I can't watch The Passion Of The Christ because I have a weak stomach to violence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentLoner Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Are there any Christian movies you still like now even as an ex-Christian? I have to admit I have mixed feelings on The Prince Of Egypt. On the one hand, it's a really well-done adaptation of the Exodus myth and I liked how they actually gave Pharaoh a personality with character development. The animation is still some of the most impressive visuals I've seen and I really like the music. On the other hand, I feel quesy that they made a children's movie that promotes infanticide as morally good and that most Christians don't seem to have a problem with showing this to kids yet they'll try to ban Harry Potter because it has magic in it. Same here - I relly liked a lot of the songs and still find myself looking them up on youtube. Same goes for the prequel, I think it was called Joseph: King of Dreams. Way better in the Prince of Egypt, IMO. Didn't try and justify wrath-of-god acts there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmen Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 I'm not sure if this counts as a christian movie, but I'm still a fan of the Chronicals of Narnia series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Genesis Posted April 10, 2010 Author Share Posted April 10, 2010 Same here - I relly liked a lot of the songs and still find myself looking them up on youtube. Same goes for the prequel, I think it was called Joseph: King of Dreams. Way better in the Prince of Egypt, IMO. Didn't try and justify wrath-of-god acts there. My favorite song from the Prince of Egypt is the film version of When You Believe when the kids start singing in, I think it's Hebrew? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godtastic Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 "God's Army" by Richard Dutcher is an excellent fiction movie about Mormon Missionary life. I live in a town with a fairly sizable Mormon community & often see the newly hatched Missionaries leaving the nest (I think the church in our neighborhood is a centralized location for missionaries.) I'm absolutely fascinated by Mormons though I don't dare ever let on because I don't want them knocking at my door. In fact, I've actually run the other way when I see a missionary coming. Richard Dutcher created that movie when he was active in the LDS Church so it's from a believer's point of view. He has since left LDS because they would not tolerate his honest depiction of Mormon life. I don't know if he's no longer a believer or not. If you're curious about the experiences of a Mormon Missionary, it's a must-see. It's funny and seems fairly honest - it portrays doubt, pettiness, absurdity. From what I recall, one of the missionaries just stopped believing & left. Some would say Mormons are not Christians. However, they believe in Christ, so that's pretty much defining it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godtastic Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 Whoops! If you haven't seen "The Rapture" (1991) by Michael Tolkin, rent it some weekend. It's not intended to be a movie for Christians, but a literal account of The Rapture in all it's charm. Christians weren't asking folks to see it, but many will admit that it's Biblical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancey Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 I must agree with liking the Prince of Egypt. Still a very artistic movie with good songs. I rewatched it and "Joseph: King of Dreams" a little while ago. King of Dreams isn't quite as good as I remembered it... boring to me, really. I also like "Dogma" and "Saved!" I also like "It's a Wonderful Life". The funny part was, I actually was in a play adaptation of this as the main character (And I'm a girl who was playing a guy... It was strange, yes, but our Drama club lacked guys with the stage experience), and I was already an atheist during this time. So, I had to pray once on stage, and even one man said that it was the best part of the play because I acted it so well (I just sort of said "thanks" and acted nice about it and not rain on the guy's parade) But, overall, it's a very wonderful story less about God and faith and more upon family and the goodness of life, so I love that movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentLoner Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 My favorite song from the Prince of Egypt is the film version of When You Believe when the kids start singing in, I think it's Hebrew? Funny, thats actually the one song I wasn't too fond of - the ones I liked were "Through Heaven's Eyes" and "The Plagues" (yeah I know, its just catchy). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hereticzero Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 I really did not think the Passion of Christ was that good of a movie. I don't care how many times the character of Christ was struck by lightening while making the movie, it just did not make me go 'wow!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ContraBardus Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 If we're going to include 'Saved!' and 'Dogma', how about 'Orgazmo'? A Mormon porn star teaches the love of Jesus to the Adult Film Industry and becomes a superhero. If we're going there, 'The Life of Brian' is one you shouldn't miss, but I'm guessing most of us have seen it. Would 'Santa Claus Conquers the Martians' count too? What about 'Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter'? On a more acceptable actual Christian approved pick, 'Jesus Christ Superstar' is good. A lot of Christians didn't like it as it depicts Jesus as human without a resurrection at the end, and focuses on the relationship between him and Judas. It's a rock opera, and worth checking out if you've not seen it. Based on the Gospel of John I believe and is set around the last week of his life. It's Time Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. A lot of Christians view it as a classic though and it was generally well received. Modern slang [for the time] is employed in the story, and it's a bit strange, but overall a decent rental at least if you can stomach the religious undertones. Oh, and the entirety of the Chronicles of Narnia definitely counts as a Christian film. On another note, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat wasn't bad, but I saw it live. There was a film made in 1999, but I haven't seen it. It was direct to video too, so I can't say anything to the quality of the production. If it's anything like the stage show, it's probably worth checking out, at least a rental anyway. It's the story from Genesis about Joseph as done by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 Passion of the Christ is still an artistically good movie. You're joking right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 It is not more violent than The Patriot or Saving Private Ryan Are you sure you've seen it? It's like Texas Chainsaw with more blood. Patriot was a shit movie full of sappy 4th of July, George and the cherry tree nonsense. Ryan has artistic merit but it wasn't for me. I look as it is trying to give a "historical" look into something(don't have to agree that it is fact but it what it is), what made the movie fascinating is the lengths they went to, to make it accurate (which that is why they used the violence How was it accurate? I read somewhere that he would have bled to death 50 times or more had he lost as much blood as portrayed in the film. Even if it was a historical event, which in my mind is doubtful, the violence was exaggerated to a silly degree. They did this because xians get a hardon over the idea that Jesus suffered for them and they tell themselves that he suffered more than any human ever has or could. It was just a dumb film that played off the worst of xian doctrine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 It's not a movie but Joe Heller, author of Catch 22 and IMO one of America's greatest writers, wrote a book called God Knows that covers King David from a first person perspective. Like his other works it's brilliant and hilarious. From wiki: God Knows is a tragicomedic novel written by Joseph Heller and published in 1984. It is narrated by the Biblical King David of Israel, and purports to be his deathbed memoirs; however, this David does not recount his life in a straightforward fashion, and the storyline is often hilariously fractured. Indeed, it is possible to read the book as Heller's meditation upon his own mortality, and an exploration of the Jewish view of family, life, death, etc. All of the major touchstones of King David's life are in place: his childhood herding sheep, the prophet Samuel, Goliath, King Saul, Jonathan (and homosexual innuendoes), Bathsheba and Uriah, the Psalms, the treachery of Absalom, Solomon, etc. At some points, David betrays knowledge of the future (he mentions Michelangelo's David, saying it is ironic that a King of the Jews should stand there uncircumcised), and even of heaven (Moses sits on a rock in the afterworld, working on his stutter) -- we are left to guess whether or not this stems from his special relationship with God, as no answers are forthcoming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramen666 Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 Are you sure you've seen it? It's like Texas Chainsaw with more blood. Patriot was a shit movie full of sappy 4th of July, George and the cherry tree nonsense. Ryan has artistic merit but it wasn't for me. Sorry Vigile I disagree and it is bloody and it is violent I am not disagreeing, was it necessary to get the point across? Maybe? Maybe not? I know you have a different view on things that are "artistic" than everyone else but I see it is something very "artistic". However what made the movie good was supposed to be the response of the viewer. If the movie makes you close your eyes on the violence or a movie depresses you, (not saying that movie does), when a movie can play with your emotions I see the movie doing what it intended. They did get the point across. Also remember the use of the devil metaphor in the movie? I still say it is clever how they did it. How was it accurate? I read somewhere that he would have bled to death 50 times or more had he lost as much blood as portrayed in the film. Even if it was a historical event, which in my mind is doubtful, the violence was exaggerated to a silly degree. They did this because xians get a hardon over the idea that Jesus suffered for them and they tell themselves that he suffered more than any human ever has or could. It was just a dumb film that played off the worst of xian doctrine. The accuracy of showing the violence (it crosses many lines doing that), using the correct languages, and trying to make it is "accurate" as they can. Think of it this way since we are Ex-Christian's what they did was make a movie of something based on a book and did a good job sticking to the book but they did add stuff also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramen666 Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 I can't watch The Passion Of The Christ because I have a weak stomach to violence. I am guessing you wouldn't like Kill Bill or Inglorious Basterds then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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