Six Religious Films By Secular Filmmakers
Going My Way (1944): Once upon a time one needn’t go full-on Mel Gibson when tackling religious themes. Despite being a practicing Roman Catholic, director Leo McCarey directed the fairly pro-adultery Love Affair . Atone he must, and atone he did with this lighthearted Bing Crosby musical about a young priest and his new parish—the box office champ of 1944 and parent of the equally feel-good sequel The Bells of St. Mary’s .
The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964): A moving, beautiful retelling of the J.C. story—just one problem: Director Pier Paolo Pasolini was a Marxist and atheist, interested in the tale from a socially conscious angle. Whoops!
The Bible: In the Beginning ... (1966): Dino De Laurentiis originally wanted to film the entire Bible. Happily, he only got halfway through Genesis. A crass undertaking, surely, made all the more crass since director John Huston, an outspoken agnostic, bellowed on the film’s press tour, “I find it foolishly impudent to speculate on the existence of any kind of God.”
Fiddler on the Roof (1971): With a name like Norman Jewison, it would seem an obvious hire to do up Jerry Bock’s Tsarist Russia musical. But not only was he not actually Jewish, the director followed this hit with Jesus Christ Superstar .
Dogma (1999): The expected feathers were rustled when Kevin Smith skeptically tackled Catholicism, but the real issue was a filmmaker with zero visual panache tackling something that required ambition. That action climax hurts.
A Serious Man (2009): Exhuming the predominantly Jewish Minnesota neighborhood of their youth, the Coen Brothers use the setting to more bluntly explore the theme that hangs over all their work: Man is either adrift in a godless universe or the plaything of a mischievously sadistic supreme being.
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1. Anonymous said... on Oct 14, 2009 at 05:07PM
“Um, really not sure how secular Kevin Smith is. He's Roman Catholic, and not at all shy about talking about what/why his beliefs are with anyone who may be interested. He's pretty entertaining with it, too.
Also, Jhon Houston's 'Wise Blood' REALLY deserves to be on that list.”
2. Matt Prigge said... on Oct 14, 2009 at 05:30PM
“Kevin Smith may be Roman Catholic, but his films are about as secular as you can get. Please don't make me cite from the plethora of examples. (Although I hear Clerks 2, which I can't yet bring myself to watch, flirts with some religious inquiry.)
Wise Blood is a good one, although I decided to go with another Houston. But mentions of missed films is just what this comment section is for!”