Home

Articles

Confessions

Contributions

Contact

Hollywood and the Bible have had a love/hate relationship since the beginning of motion pictures, just over a century ago.  From the birth of cinema, filmmakers recognized the Bible as a source for rich stories filled with bold heroes, classic villains, and epic situations.  However, the themes and subject matter of mainstream theatrical features have not typically been in line with the values and virtues espoused in the Good Book.  Because of this, the grand Biblical Epic, so popular during the first 60 years of Hollywood, has virtually disappeared from today’s theatres.

Interestingly, during the heyday of the “the Biblical Epic,” filmmakers seemed much more to prefer depicting the Old Testament, rather than the New. This was probably because, in addition to the stories containing huge natural disasters, large scale battles, exotic locations, dramatic escapes, and glorious miracles, the also had relatively few details.  This fact, it seems, gave the filmmakers freer reign to fill in the blanks with “artistic license,” adding more audience-pleasing scenes, such as the sensual depiction of temptresses such as Delilah, Bathsheba and Jezebel and massive armies filled with the proverbial “casts of thousands.”

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Biblical films were routinely huge hits for their studios, and some even went on to become classics, as opposed to just popular entertainment of their day. Although a few successful films (such as Samson and Delilah in 1949, and 1951’s David and Bathsheba) had predated it, Cecil B. Deville’s 1956 version of The Ten Commandments stands head and shoulders above the rest.  Superior to previous Biblical Epics in its scale, scope, and splendor, it is still considered arguably the finest examples of these films.

The Ten Commandments, with its all-star cast and state-of-art special effects, is still one of the most successful motion pictures of all time: it has grossed over $65 million in 1956 dollar value, and adjusted to inflation, its profit would be close to a billion dollars today, according to film website Box Office Mojo. Additionally, ABC’s annual television broadcast of the film (in the days leading up to Easter) still draws millions of viewers, even though the film has sold millions of DVDs.

Throughout the golden years of the Biblical Epic, there still was not yet a successful depiction of Jesus Christ on film. Big, expensive attempts were made, such as 1961’s King of Kings and 1965’s The Greatest Story Ever Told, but both films were panned by critics of their day and both were huge flops at the box office.  King of Kings, however, is now considered a classic telling of Christ’s life and teachings. Until these two films, many depictions of Christ in films, such as in The Robe (1953), Ben Hur (1959) and Barabbas (1961), mentioned Jesus and showed him briefly (just his hands in Ben Hur), but did not ostensibly deal with Him as its true primary protagonist.  

Unfortunately, the costly failure of both King of Kings and The Greatest Story Ever Told, put a lid on the Biblical Epic for the next few decades, and the two offerings in the 1980s did not help matters. Apparently, audiences were not agreeable to Richard Gere’s depiction of King David in 1985 (or it might have been the film’s wild diversions from scripture and history), and that film also flopped miserably. Nor did Christian audiences (or any audience, really) flock to see 1989’s The Last Temptation of Christ, a controversial, fictional retelling of Jesus’ life.  They probably were not sure why any filmmaker, even Martin Scorsese, would find it necessary to fictionalize such a dramatic, eventful life in the first place. During this time, however, television was the arena in which many Bible-based films and miniseries would find great success. The 1977 miniseries, Jesus of Nazareth and the 1981 miniseries Masada were both blockbuster television events and remain popular today.

Not until 2004 would there truly be a Hollywood blockbuster based on the life of Jesus… or so it seemed.  Ironically, the film is not a Hollywood film; The Passion of the Christ was made outside of the Hollywood studio system.  Mel Gibson financed the film from his own pocket for an estimated $45 million when no Hollywood studio would go near it.  When the film grossed over $611 million in theaters and 3 million DVDs in its first day of release, Gibson laughed, by himself, all the way to the bank. Though there were complaints of anti-Semitism and excessive violence, the film seemed to strike a chord with the world’s 2.2 billion Christians and its success brought about a resurgence of Biblically–based films, such as 2006’s The Nativity Story and animated version of The Ten Commandments in 2007.  Strangely, though Hollywood filmmakers shy away from making overtly religious or Bible-based films more often than not, they do have a tendency of employing Christian values and themes in their films discreetly (they think) by using what the literary world calls “The Christ Figure.”

The Christ Figure has been a fixture on the screen for decades, and often, much of the audience is unaware. The Christ figure is a literary technique which is used to draw allusions between characters and Jesus Christ. Typically, this character is spiritual or prophetic, sometimes sacrificing him or herself for the greater good. Other times, the Jesus figure will endure pain or hardship so his or her community, family, or nation can survive or prosper. Generally, this type of character will display traits that the Bible teaches us that our Savior embodied: unimaginable forgiveness and kindness, the courage and strength to fight for justice on behalf of the weak, the lost, or the ignorant; the manifestation of divination (miracles, resurrection), and being guided by a spiritual force (often a divine father figure). This archetype is seen in films almost every year, in some respect.  Here are a few interesting examples; some are quite obvious, but others may surprise you:

Clark Kent/Superman in Superman Returns. Although Superman is often discussed as having many references to his creators' Jewish Faith (His real name is Kal-El, and El in Hebrew means God), 2006's Superman Returns quite obvious turns transforms Superman from Moses to Jesus: Jor-El, Superman's father, tells him point blank that he was sent down to be a light for the people of earth: “They can be a great people. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you, my only son.” Superman takes Lois up in the clouds and tells her that he hears all the cries of help from all the people and that they need a savior. He is very near death late in the film, but is resurrected through the power of love (Lois Lane whispers in his ear that they share a son).

Neo Anderson/The One in The Matrix. The Moses-into-Jesus theme of the piece is very clearly laid out by Morpheus almost half-way through the film: "You are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage. When the Matrix was first built, there was a man born inside who had the ability to change whatever he wanted, to remake the Matrix as he saw fit. It was he who freed the first of us, taught us the truth. . . ." And Morpheus continues his Messianic prophecy, further trying to convince Neo that he is the Anointed One and that as soon as Neo realizes it, the Second Coming could take place, and their war (Armageddon) against the machines would be over. Need more examples? Neo is another word for "new." Ephesians 2:15 speaks of Jesus creating "one new man..."  Before the evil Agent Anderson kills Neo so that he may resurrected as The One, Neo is even betrayed by a Judas figure!

Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search For Spock. According to Star Trek's Vulcan spiritual beliefs, a very small percentage of their people have been given the ability to transfer their katra (soul) to a self place, when their flesh is endangered. After Spock sacrifices himself for the rest of his beloved crew in the 2nd Star Trek film, his body is ejected onto the planet Genesis. When the characters of David and Saavik go down to the Genesis planet and discover Spock's empty coffin and burial robes, the scene brings to mind the similar evidence that the Apostles first cite for Jesus' resurrection in the Gospel of Luke, and Spock's  resurrection not only proves the Vulcan's belief in the existence of the katra, but also affirms this not just folklore (as skeptics think the Bible is), but truth (as we believers know the Bible to be).

And there are many, many more (Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, and even characters in the Terminator, and Alien films). In part 2 of this article series, I will focus on Hollywood’s use of the Bible, specifically, the Book of Revelations, to make a mint by scaring its audience.

| back to top |