At 11:44 AM 2/27/97 -0600, Donald Larsson wrote: >Imre Szeman requests: >"Can anyone help a student of mine who sent me the following e-mail? > >> i have another unrelated question for you. i am in a religion >>and film class right now and i am going to write a paper on christ >>figures in film. i was wondering if you had any interesting >>suggestions? let me know if you do. thanks." > > >Aside from the many films from the silent era on that deal with aspects of >the life of Christ itself (eg., KING OF KINGS, THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD, >BEN-HUR, etc.), there are several SF films whose heroes seem to be allegorical >Christ figures--Klaatu (aka "Mr. Carpenter") in THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, >E.T. (of course), and John Carpenter's STARMAN. > >There are other treatments, especially by foreign directors that use allegorical >Christ-like figures, such as Dreyer's ORDET and Bresson's BALTHASAR (although >Bresson seems to simultaneously encourage and debunk the notion of the donkey >as a "suffering servant"). (There is also Pasolini's THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO >MATTHEW.) > >More controversial takes on Christ or Christ-figures include Scorsese's >THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST and Peter Medak's THE RULING CLASS, with >Peter O'Tool as a dotty English lord who thinks he's Jesus. And, of course, >there's MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN. > >If you want to stretch a point and include characters who redeem themselves and >others by dying, there a number of films about convicts who make such a final >gesture, from MANHATTAN MELODRAMA and ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES to DEAD MAN >WALKING. > >Hope these help. > >Don Larsson, Mankato State U (MN) > >---- >To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L >in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask] > > I agree Scorses's THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST hints towards the trouble it caused. Try to see THE PASSENGER as Antonioni's hint of Locke/Roberson as Christ/Dove.......impossible Byrnes ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]