Movies And The Bible.

Iconic Bible Story Retold in Series of Blockbuster Films

Since the advent of the motion picture in the late 1800s,

the Bible has provided inspiration for American and international films.

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This was especially the case in the earliest days of the movie business when Bible stories,

such as The Life and Passion of Christ (1903), Adam and Eve (1912), Joseph (1914), and David (1917), were adapted to the big screen.

Few Bible stories, however, have captured the imagination of filmmakers and moviegoers alike more than the Exodus-based account of Moses,

and no director has been more influential in bringing that story to life than the legendary Cecil B. DeMille.

Cecil Blount DeMille (/ˈsɛsəl dəˈmɪl/; August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most commercially successful producer-director in film history.Cecil B. DeMille - Wikipedia — Cecil Blount DeMille (/ˈsɛsəl dəˈmɪl/; August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most commercially successful producer-director in film history.
Cecil B. DeMille – Wikipedia

After directing 50 silent films between 1914 and 1922, DeMille held a competition to give his fans a chance to choose the topic of his next movie.

The winner was F. C. Nelson from Michigan who simply wrote,

“Make the Ten Commandments” along with this caution: “You cannot break the Ten Commandments—they will break you.”

Movies And The Bible.

Considered one of Hollywood’s first epic productions, DeMille recreated ancient Egypt on some sand dunes 175 miles north of Los Angeles.

The set was immaculate and lavish for that era.

It featured four 40-ton statues of Ramses II, and was populated by 2,500 extras and 3,000 animals.

According to The Telegraph, DeMille sent a copy of the Bible to everyone on the studio with this note:

“As I intend to film practically the entire book of Exodus, the Bible should never be away from you.”

After filming several more Bible-inspired films, including King of Kings and Samson and Delilah, DeMille decided to remake The Ten Commandments at the urging of his fans:

“The world needs a reminder, they said, of the Law of God,” he responded.

Movies And The Bible.

In 1956, the story was brought back to life, and this time in Technicolor and with sound.

Charlton Heston was cast as Moses, and the film was primarily shot in Egypt.

Other Hollywood stars featured were Yul Brynner as Rameses and Anne Baxter as Nefertari.

DeMille, 72 years old during production, fought through the 90-degree temperatures and a massive heart attack to complete principal photography.

The opening of the film featured a narration that paraphrased parts of the Bible’s creation story,

and described the plight of the Israelites as Egyptian slaves.

It also depicted some of the most iconic parts of the story,

including baby Moses’s rescue in the Nile River (Exodus 2:1–10), the Ten Plagues (Exodus 7–13),

the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14), and the proclamation of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19–20).

One of the most memorable scenes takes place when God audibly speaks to an exiled Moses through a burning bush,

and commands him to rescue the Israelites (Exodus 3).

Movies And The Bible.

The Ten Commandments was a huge box-office success with $65.5 million in ticket sales,

which still makes it one of the Top 10 films of all time when adjusted for ticket price inflation.

Although often criticized for his filmmaking skills and noted for his highly eccentric personality,

DeMille pointed back to the original intent for directing the groundbreaking motion picture.

“Our intention was not to create a story,” he said,

“but to be worthy of the divinely inspired story created 3,000 years ago—the five books of Moses.”

Just over 40 years later, Exodus was brought back to life in the award-winning animated film Prince of Egypt (1997),

and was more recently depicted in Ridley Scott’s controversial Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014).

It’s hard to argue, however, that those films,

and many of the other successful Bible-themed movies would have been possible without DeMille who Billy Graham once referred to as a “prophet in celluloid.”

Movies And The Bible.

Exodus 2:1-10 KJV

[1] And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.

[2] And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.

[3] And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes,

and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.

[4] And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

[5] And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side;

and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

[6] And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept.

And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.

[7] Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?

[8] And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother.

[9] And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it.

[10] And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.

And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

https://bible.com/bible/1/exo.2.10.KJV

Movies And The Bible.

The Life of Jesus Provides Inspiration for Numerous Blockbuster Films

No book has been portrayed on the big screen more than the Bible,

and few historical figures have been depicted in film more than the New Testament’s central figure—Jesus of Nazareth.

Hollywood’s fascination with Jesus goes back to the advent of motion pictures and silent movies such as Passion Play (1903),

From The Manger To The Cross (1912), and Intolerance (1916).

It was legendary director Cecil B. DeMille who manufactured the first epic retelling of the life of Jesus in The King of Kings (1927).

Every morning during production, DeMille would spend hours reminding them of the important work they were doing,

and would then lead them in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13).

He went on to describe the filming of the crucifixion as “the highest moment of my life”

and beforehand implored the cast to once again pray as they considered their moral responsibility as they reenacted the iconic scene.

Movies And The Bible.

The next major film to portray Jesus was The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965),

which, unlike DeMille’s version, covered Jesus’s entire life.

What followed were a trio of contemporary portrayals,

including Godspell (1973), Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), and Monty Python’s The Life of Brian (1979).

That all changed with the movie Jesus (1979), which is commonly referred to as The Jesus Film.

As films were modernizing at a rapid pace,

this became the standard for accurately portraying the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) that future movies about Jesus would be judged against.

It would be another 14 years before Jesus’s life would once again become a popular topic in Hollywood.

The Gospel of John (2003) was quickly followed by the blockbuster hit The Passion of the Christ (2004),

which was made famous due to Mel Gibson’s role as director and Jim Caviezel’s stunning portrayal of Jesus during his final days.

“The role of Jesus was the most difficult endeavor I’ve ever taken up,” he told the Polish publication wPolityce.

“There is nothing more glorious and at the same time more humbling than this role.

Nothing could teach me the humility better.”

Along the way, there have also been films based during Jesus’s lifetime, such as Ben Hur (five different versions between 1925 and 2016) and The Robe (1953).

Even more recently, Hollywood has made a concerted effort to retell various parts of Jesus’s story on multiple occasions,

with studio offerings such as The Nativity Story (2006), Last Days in the Desert (2015), The Young Messiah (2016), and Risen (2016).

Movies telling the entire story of Jesus—from birth to resurrection—have been less common.

That ended, however, when Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey, adapted their epic television mini-series “The Bible” into the feature film Son of God (2014).

“His whole life hasn’t been seen on the big screen for 50 years since The Greatest Story Ever Told,”

Downey said before the film’s release.

“So, we thought this was the opportunity to bring Jesus to the big screen for a whole new generation.”

With much of its content inspired by the Gospel of John, the film became an $81-million international box-office success.

Movies And The Bible.

The opening sequence depicts the apostle John (and one of Jesus’s disciples) in exile as he gives context to the story he witnessed.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (John 1:1–2, NIV)

Movies And The Bible.

Classic Olympic Themed Biopic Draws Inspiration From The Bible

In the Academy-Award-winning film Chariots of Fire (1981), the true story of Eric Liddell came to life and made a lasting impact on moviegoers all over the world.

The legendary Scottish runner and missionary famously missed out on a chance to compete in the 100-meter race at the 1924 Olympics,

due to his strict adherence to his interpretation of Exodus 20:8-11’s command to honor the Sabbath.

That was just one of many ways in which the Bible is present in the movie.

In a conversation with his father, Liddell paraphrases Luke 17:21 and Jeremiah 29:13 while explaining his approach to running.

Later in the film, Liddell preaches a message on the day he has withdrawn from his 100-meter heat.

His text is from Isaiah 40 and concludes with an iconic passage:

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Also, They shall mount up with wings of eagles.

And They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:20-21, KJV)

Just before competing in the 400-meter race, an American opponent handed Liddell a piece of paper with a biblical note of encouragement:

“Those who honor me I will honor.” (1 Samuel 2:30, KJV)

Holding the piece of paper in his hand, Liddell won the gold medal in world record time and also won the bronze medal in the 200-meter race.

Movies And The Bible.

While the film’s dialogue is laced with Bible verses and biblical analogies about running (e.g. 1 Corinthians 9:24, Hebrews 12:1-2, 2 Timothy 4:7, etc.),

the title itself is derived from the story of a prophet named Elijah who was swept into heaven on a horse-led “chariot of fire” (2 Kings 2:11, NIV).

The phrase appears at the end of the movie as a choir sings “Jerusalem,”

a song inspired by William Blake’s poem “And did those feet in ancient time.”

-Bring me my Bow of burning gold;

—Also) …Bring me my Arrows of desire:

—-(And) …. Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!

—–…. Bring me my Chariot of fire!

Movies And The Bible.

Denzel Washington Brings Love for Bible to the Big Screen

As one of the most accomplished leading actors in Hollywood,

Denzel Washington has earned a significant amount of capital with film executives, directors, and screenwriters alike.

Washington has often used that capital to embrace (and sometimes shape) scripts that included biblical themes and Bible quotes.

One of the earliest examples can be found in The Hurricane (1999),

in which Washington portrays a real-life boxer named Rubin Carter who was falsely imprisoned 20 years on a triple murder conviction.

In a scene with a character named Lesra, who helped Carter win his freedom, he explains what their names mean and uses Bible verses for context.

Lesra is short for Lazarus (“He who has risen from the dead”), which prompts Carter to quote John 11:43–44.

Rubin means, “behold a son,” which invokes the story of Jacob and Leah and the celebration of their firstborn child Reuben in Genesis 29:32.

Then, in the film Man on Fire (2004),

Washington plays an alcoholic bodyguard named John Creasy who is hired to protect a wealthy Mexican businessman’s daughter.

In a scene with the head sister at the girl’s Catholic school,

Washington’s character (who ironically goes on a violent mission of revenge later in the film) quotes Romans 12:21:

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

It was in the post-apocalyptic film The Book of Eli (2010), however, where the Bible makes more than the occasional cameo.

In it, Washington plays Eli (a blind man whose name pays homage to the priest and judge from 1 Samuel),

whose job is to protect the only remaining copy of the King James Version Bible 30 years after a devastating global war.

Eli faces off against a powerful man named Carnegie who seeks to wrestle the Bible away from him and use it to control the people.

There are many dramatic moments and even more fight sequences.

In one particular scene, Eli quotes Genesis 3:17–19 before defeating a group of armed men in a bar brawl.

He later quotes Psalm 23 to a young woman named Solara (Mila Kunis) who accompanies him on his harrowing journey.

Then, towards the end of the movie, while dictating what turns out to be a Braille version of the Bible, Eli starts from the beginning with Genesis 1:1–3.

Finally, in the epilogue, he quotes an apropos verse from the New Testament: