why are religious movies so bad?

[mitsuki lover]

I think the reason for the popularity of Mel Gibson's Passion was because
it was one of the rare religious movies that was actually rather good.
Or so I have heard as I haven't seen it myself.

As far as Christian music goes...I can look back and remember what it
was like in the late '70s and early '80s when Keith Green was still alive
and before Amy Grant and a lot of others decided to crossover to do
Pop or Country.That was certainly a better time as the music was lot
better back then.IMHO.
Btw:Did anyone else read where Petra is going to call it quits?

[uc pseudonym]

There are religiously oriented films that are masterpieces, and that do deliever the goods so to speak, but there aren't too many of them. In addition, one is forced to wonder at times just how many of the Christian audience "get" such films when they are speaking from a denominational tradition that is not there own. Then again, there are those members of the audience that seem determined to miss the point no matter what any one does, 'The Last Temptation of Christ' being a prime example.

That is definitely another aspect that must be considered: does the audience (as a whole) truly want "good" films? Most likely, I think that many want only films that treat operate under a very strict set of beliefs. Because many groups with this philosophy have very different beliefs, any one movie that satisfied one group would be shunned by the others and unpopular overall. One aspect of good writing in general is that it forces the person experiencing it to look beyond their comfort zone, and many people do not wish to do this.

Obviously, CAA is not representative of the general audience.

[creed4]

I think the reason for the popularity of Mel Gibson's Passion was because
it was one of the rare religious movies that was actually rather good.
Or so I have heard as I haven't seen it myself.

As far as Christian music goes...I can look back and remember what it
was like in the late '70s and early '80s when Keith Green was still alive
and before Amy Grant and a lot of others decided to crossover to do
Pop or Country.That was certainly a better time as the music was lot
better back then.IMHO.
Btw:Did anyone else read where Petra is going to call it quits?

Yes and I'm so Sad

Any way I think Christian movie are starting to get better. Look at Billy Gram movie... and a few others

[Uriel]

I havent seen Mel Gibson's passion...do Christians really need to?

[inkhana]

Should this thread head into an actual discussion of the Passion, it will be locked due to unpleasantness in the past. Let's not go there, ok?

[Heed]

Ok... AHEM Constantine, Stigmata and the Excorcist are NOT Christian movies.

Chrs\istian movies genre includes those movies made by Christians (e.g. Left Behind, Escape From Hell, The Passion (Well director is Catholic, but closer to Christianity than most) and some others.

[bigsleepj]

I havent seen Mel Gibson's passion...do Christians really need to?

What a strange question. Well, I don't think God will hold it against you when Judgement Day arrive - the "Passion" is merely an artistic representation of a Biblical event and wether or not you'll like or admire the movie can not be used as a barometer of your faith. The movie has it flaws (and does go overboard on occasion) but I think it is a good movie that focuses on Christ's sufferings. I do consider it to be a Christian movie but it is incredibly violent.

If you want a much better telling of the story of Christ (all of it) try finding Franco Zeffirelli mini-series called "Jesus of Nazareth". It's 371 minutes long but its worth it (although most DVD editions have been edited down). It also has an A-List cast (for 1977 when it was made though) that includes Robert Powell, Anne Bancroft, Ernest Borgnine, Claudia Cardinale, James Earl Jones, Stacy Keach, James Mason, Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence, Christopher Plummer and Anthony Quinn

[Technomancer]

I havent seen Mel Gibson's passion...do Christians really need to?

Well, St. Peter won't ask to see your receipts ]http://www.decentfilms.com/commentary/vaticanfilmlist.html[/url]
(Scroll down to the bottom to see the actual list)

[uc pseudonym]

Ok... AHEM Constantine, Stigmata and the Excorcist are NOT Christian movies.

I thought the same at first, but realized that the language was ambiguous and I was interpreting it in the wrong way. Uriel said that current religious movies were bad (true, from a Christian perspective if not a filmmaker's), and wished that there were Christian movies available. But the later use of the word "Christian" needn't apply to the previous titles.

[Stephen]

Once again, religious does NOT equal Christian.

[Shao Feng-Li]

I havent seen Mel Gibson's passion...do Christians really need to?

We didn't need to a few years ago and there's no reason why we would now.

[Kireihana]

(Well director is Catholic, but closer to Christianity than most) and some others.

Catholicism is a denomination of Christianity; in fact it was the first.

[Stephen]

Stop it. A mod posted about not getting into the whole Passion debate, and you guys are heading right at it again! Get this thread back on topic or its getting locked. And if someone gets the great idea to ignore Inks words again, we can start passing out strikes.

[Yojimbo]

[quote="Kireihana"]Catholicism is a denomination of Christianity]

Thank you sheesh I don't know how many Christians who I've had to tell that to. It gets really aggrivating and I'd find it actually insulting if I didn't hear it so often.