Catholic Movies
| Below is a
selection of movies with Catholic themes. To the right, I list a liturgical
season or Feast Day that would be particularly appropriate for watching.
Older movies are getting hard to find to rent in some places, so I link to
them at Amazon.com -- but another option is to try your library system! If
your library system is like mine, all of these movies are available (and
you can even possibly search the library catalogue online, place holds on
the movies you want, and have them delivered to your local library
branch). |
VHS
DVD |
The Ten
Commandments (1956)
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille Run Time: 220 minutes
Starring: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, and Edward G.
Robinson.
Moses leads the Israelite slaves from the tyranny of the Egyptian pharaoh
and into the desert where he is given the Ten Words by God. Once the pharaoh's
chief architect, Moses receives the attentions of the Queen until he rebels
and is cast into exile. It looks very "1950s" and "epic," but it's good to
watch (listen for how Anne Baxter says "Mooooses" -- great stuff.) |
Lent |
VHS
DVD |
Jesus of
Nazareth (1977)
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli
Run Time: 371 minutes
Starring: Robert Powell (as Jesus Christ), Anne Bancroft, Ernest Borgnine,
Claudia Cardinale, James Farentino, James Earl Jones, Stacy Keach, Tony Lo
Bianco, James Mason, Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence, Christopher Plummer,
Anthony Quinn, and more.
This is a well-done film of the life of Christ with a few points some Catholics
might quibble with, and a few points all Catholics will quibble with. |
Easter |
VHS
DVD Wide Screen
DVD Full Screen
Soundtrack |
The Passion
of The Christ (2004)
Directed by Mel Gibson
Run Time: Unknown
Starring: James Caviezel (as Jesus Christ), Maia Morgenstern (as Mary), Monica
Bellucci (as Mary Magdalene), Claudia Gerini
Filmed in Matera, Basilicata, Italy and released on Ash Wednesday of 2004,
it is the story of the last 12 hours of Christ's Passion. Both Mel Gibson
and James Caviezel, the man who plays Jesus, are devout Catholics (Mr. Gibson
being a very traditional Catholic) who were devoted to making the film as
accurate as possible, going so far as to film the movie in Aramaic, Latin,
and Hebrew. I cannot recommend this movie highly enough! It is less
"a movie" than a religious experience. Brilliant! |
Lent,
especially Passiontide and, more specifically, Good Friday |
VHS
DVD |
Spartacus
(1960)
Directed by Stanely Kubrick
Run Time: 184 minutes
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier , Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton,
Peter Ustinov
Though not particularly a "Catholic movie," I put this film here because
it gives one an idea of the situation in Rome around the time of Christ.
Plot: The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold
to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the
arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in
rebellion. |
|
VHS
DVD |
Quo Vadis?
(1951)
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Run Time: 171 minutes
Starring: Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Peter Ustinov
Returning to Rome after 3 years in the field, General Marcus Vinicius meets
Lygia and falls in love with her. She is a Christian and doesn't want to
have anything to do with a warrior. Though she grew up Roman, the adopted
daughter of a retired general, Lygia is technically a hostage of Rome. Marcus
gets Emperor Nero to give her to him for services rendered. Lygia resents
this, but somehow falls in love with Marcus anyway. Meanwhile Nero's atrocities
get more outrageous. When he burns Rome and blames the Christians, Marcus
goes off to save Lygia and her family. Nero captures them, and captures other
Christians to kill them, but Marcus, Lygia, and Christianity prevail in the
end. |
Time
After Pentecost |
VHS
DVD |
Becket
(1964)
Directed by Peter Glenville
Run Time: 148 minutes
Starring: Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud
The story of St. Thomas a Becket, made Archbishop of Canterbury by King Henry
II who made him so for political purposes -- but who came to regret it after
St. Thomas had a true conversion and came to take his new "job" very seriously,
to the point of martyrdom. (Historical innacuracy: Thomas a Becket was Norman,
not Saxon) |
Time
After Pentecost & the Feast of St. Thomas (December 29) |
VHS
DVD |
Joan of Arc
(1948)
Directed by Victor Fleming
Run Time: 145 minutes
Starring: Ingrid Bergman, José Ferrer, Francis L. Sullivan
What can I say? It's the beautiful Ingrid Bergman playing St. Joan of Arc
in a way that modern portrayals of the Saint don't: without the "Joan was
a lesbian feminist who wasn't as Catholic as Catholics make her out to be"
overtones. |
Time
After Pentecost & the Feast of St. Joan (May 30) |
VHS
DVD |
The Passion
of Joan of Arc (1928)
Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
Run Time: 114 minutes
Starring: Maria Falconetti, Eugene Silvain, André Berley, Maurice
Schutz
All reviews I've ever read about this silent film describe it as a veritable
masterpiece of film-making -- a film that is shown repeatedly in film schools
and is said to be the apotheosis of visual excellence in film-making. The
actress's performance has been described by Pauline Kael as the best
performance ever captured on film. But it is a silent movie, so may not appeal
to most people who aren't "film buffs." |
Time
After Pentecost & the Feast of St. Joan (May 30) |
VHS
DVD |
A Man for
All Seasons (1966)
Directed by Fred
Zinnemann
Run Time: 120 minutes
Starring: Paul
Scofield, Wendy Hiller, Leo McKern, Robert Shaw, Orson Welles, Susannah York,
Nigel Davenport, John Hurt
The story of St. Thomas More, an attorney during the time of Protestant
"Reformation" in England, who suffered martyrdom by beheading rather than
capitulate to Henry VIII's idea of religion. Winner of 6 Academy Awards for
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Scofield), Cinematography, Screenplay,
and Costume. |
Time
After Pentecost & the Feast of St. Thomas (June 22) |
VHS
DVD |
The Song
of Bernadette (1943)
Directed by Henry
King
Run Time: 156 minutes
Starring: Jennifer
Jones, William Eythe, Charles Bickford, Vincent Price
The story of St. Bernadette Soubirous, who had the vision of Our Lady at
Lourdes and whose body still lies incorrupt at her convent at Nevers, France.
This movie won Academy Awards for Best Actress (Jennifer Jones), Cinematography,
Art Direction, and Music, and won nominations for Best Supporting Actor
and Actress, Best Director, Best Picture, Editing, Screenplay, and Sound
Recording. |
Time
After Pentecost & the Feast of the Apparition at Lourdes (February 11)
and the Feast of St. Bernadette (April 16) |
VHS
DVD |
Thérèse
(1986)
Directed by Alain
Cavalier
Run Time: 94 minutes
Starring: Catherine
Mouchet
This French movie (English subtitles) is a very strange and haunting one.
It will not please the "I need action and explosions" types (they will loathe
it), but for those who are able to be calm, meditative, and appreciative
of visual beauty, this one is most definitely for you. It is a visual poem
in shades of blue and white, and the way the camera treats faces in this
movie is something to behold. What I appreciate about this film is its capturing
of the stillness of a convent's interior and how that makes one appreciate
the little things -- the rustling of freshly washed white linen, sound of
bare feet on cold stone floors... If you "get" what I am saying, buy or rent
this movie. (Warning: after Thérèse becomes quite ill and confined
to bed, don't eat anything while watching if you have a queasy stomach. One
little quickie scene that involves a bizarre form of mortification/relic
veneration might bother you.) |
Time
After Pentecost & the Feast of St. Thérèse (October
1) |
VHS
DVD |
The Miracle
of Our Lady of Fatima (1952)
Directed by: John Brahm
Run Time: 102 min.
Starring: Gilbert Roland, Angela Clarke, Frank Silvera Richard Hale. Score
by Max Steiner.
The story, beautifully filmed in Technicolor, of the greatest miracle of
the Church Age, witnessed by thousands: the miracle of Our Lady appearing
to Lucia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta. |
Time
after Pentecost & the Feast of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary (October
7) |
VHS
DVD |
The Exorcist
(1973)
Directed by William Friedkin
Run Time: 122 minutes
Starring Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller
This is the most terrifying movie ever made. It's about demonic possession
(based on a true case of the possession of a young boy) and has been described
by real exorcists as completely realistic (except for the head-spinning).
This movie is shocking and horrifying and, because of its subject matter,
contains extreme vulgarity and blasphemy (some quite explicit and
sickening). Therefore, discretion should be used! This movie's not for
children! But if you want to see what possession looks like, this movie might
be for you... Winner of 2 Oscars (Best Screenplay and Best Sound), nominated
for 8 others, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Lead Actor and
Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Art Direction). |
All
Hallow's Eve |
VHS
DVD |
The Exorcism
of Emily Rose (2005)
Directed by Scott Derrickson
Run Time: 119 minutes
Starring: Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, Campbell Scott, Jennifer Carpenter
The suspenseful story of a real-life exorcism and, mostly, the court room
drama that ensued after the possessed girl died while under a priest's care.
Much less of a "shocker" than "The Exorcist," this movie pits the secular
world against the religious world in a thought-provoking and respectful way.
Highly recommended, even by exorcists and priests such as Fr. Brian W. Harrison,
O.S., who wrote at Seattle Catholic
"The Exorcism
of Emily Rose" gets it right. Scarily, yes, but at the same time beautifully,
powerfully — inspiringly. This one is the real thing, folks. (I speak
as a priest who has had direct experience with real-life exorcisms: in Rome,
with Fr. Gabriel Amorth, the Pope's leading exorcist and author of several
books on the subject.)
Read Father's
full
review here (offsite, will open in new browser window). By the way, the
real life girl about whom this movie centers was named Anneliese Michel
(sometimes her first name is spelled Annelise), and she died in 1976. May
she rest in peace. |
All
Hallow's Eve |
Films with a
Catholic Sense of the World |
VHS
DVD
|
Meet John
Doe (1941)
Directed by Frank Capra
Run Time: 135 minutes
Starring: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan
Capra directed this, and the great Barbara Stanwyck plays in it. That's enough
there for me to like this movie, but what really gets me is the ending. The
plot: Stanwyck is a reporter who prints a fake letter from a "John Doe" who
threatens suicide over the social ills of the day. That sells newspapers,
so the scheme is continued with the newspaper's hiring Gary Cooper to play
this suicidal "John Doe." What happens? You'll see and will love it. And
if the last few lines don't make you cry, fuhgetaboutit! This is a film more
for adults than children. |
Christmas |
VHS
DVD |
It's a Wonderful
Life (1946)
Directed by Frank Capra
Run Time: 130 minutes
Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
If you don't know this movie by the wonderful (and Catholic! and Italian!)
Frank Capra, you've been living on Mars. This is the American Christmas
movie, and for good reason! I don't care what the cynical, intellectual elites
say, I love "Capracorn"! Just forget about the bad angelology (angels are
not those who've died, of course) and go with the story. |
Christmas |
VHS
DVD |
I Confess
(1953)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Run Time: 95 minutes
Starring: Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden
Not one of the great (and Catholic!) Hitchcock's best, but a fine film that
plays with the ideas of murder, falsely accused innocent men, and the sacred
seal of the confessional. This will bring a tear to your eye as you see how
Hollywood used to treat the Catholic Church compared with the way things
are now, when every priest is depicted as a radical or a troubled, drug-using,
foul-mouthed, money-grubbing, fornicator. So sad.
Pssst... If you want to know where Hitchcock's cameo is before seeing it,
highlight the area between the brackets with your mouse
[during the opening credits, he is crossing a staircase.
According to a site visitor, Hitchcock is also the first man seen leaving
the Church as the Mass ends.] |
|
VHS
DVD |
Angels with
Dirty Faces (1938)
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Run Time: 97 minutes
Starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, Humphrey Bogart, the Dead End Kids
Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connolly were tough kids who grew up together in
the toughest part of New York --- Hell's Kitchen. Early on, Rocky (the great
-- and Catholic! -- James Cagney) gets sent to reform school, where he learns
how to be a first class criminal. Jerry, who had escaped from the law, goes
straight and becomes a priest. As adults, they reunite in the old neighborhood:
Jerry works with the kids who could end up on either side of the law. Rocky
has returned looking for a safe place to stay 'til he can get back into his
old racketeering organization -- something that his old partner isn't anxious
to have happen. This great oldie is filled with that "I'm gonna get you,
see" dialogue delivered in that over the top Brooklyn accent that make old
gangster movies so memorable. The final scene is a film classic, a must-see,
and, as in all the old movies, evil gets its reward. |
|
VHS
DVD |
The Dead
(1987)
Directed by John Huston
Run Time: 83 minutes
Starring Anjelica Huston, Donal McCann, Dan O'Herlihy, Donal Donnelly
This film (John Huston's last) is a very slow-paced character study based
on James Joyce's "The Dead." To watch this movie is to be a fly on the wall
at a very mellow, pleasant and charming Twelfthnight dinner party in turn
of the century Ireland -- then to leave it and experience a haunting and
powerful meditation on death. This one's for poets... |
Lent |
VHS
DVD |
On the
Waterfront (1954)
Directed by Elia Kazan
Run Time: 108 minutes
Starring Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, and Rod Steiger
The young and beautiful Marlon Brando takes on corrupt union bosses -- including
his own brother. Karl Malden plays the brave, heroic priest who nudges at
his conscience, encouraging him to do the right thing, even at the cost of
great suffering. This classic won 8 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best
Director, Best Cinematography, Best Actor (Brando), and Best Actress (Eva
Marie Saint) -- and has the immortal lines, "I coulda had class. I coulda
been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which
is what I am." |
|
VHS
DVD |
Babette's
Feast (1987)
Directed by Gabriel Axel
Run Time 102 minutes
Starring Stéphane Audran, Birgitte Federspiel, Bodil Kjer, Jarl Kulle,
Jean-Philippe Lafont
A sumptuous, visually rich movie that is, on the surface, about a French
Catholic woman who flees to Denmark after her husband and son were killed.
There, she works as a domestic for two aging Protestant sisters and ends
up winning the lottery. Then, after fourteen years of cooking Danish foods
in a Puritan style as the sisters instructed, she uses her winnings and skills
to prepares a French feast for twelve (undoubtedly not a coincidental number)
-- a meal that changes their lives.
On a deeper level, the movie is about everything from sacrifice, the roads
not taken, the mind-body connection, unrequited and uncosummated love, the
contrast between the Protestant and Catholic views of the temporal world,
and, most of all, grace, faith and hope. It is beautiful to watch,
with lots of blues, cold seas, white walls, interesting faces, and extravagant
foods. I highly recommend this movie! |
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