Hello? Agnes of God?

I remember “Frailty” with Matthew McCounohay bothering me after I watched it.

While I loved it, a lot of people got really upset when “Life of Brian” came out.

Hi, I’m glad you brought this up. I have has a direct and indirect dealings with Gibson’s “Passion Of The Christ’ and I’m gonna rat them all out now! That movie, for a year before it was released, was promoted with “subliminal suggestion” within the commercials…which is illegal, there is a $10,000 fine everytime they get caught. If the stakes are high enough, that fine is a pee in the bucket ! (if you catch my drift !)So far it has grossed over a billion dollars, and will continue to grow every Easter time. I worked in the advertising biz, for a number of years (did not do the advertising, but built the props, scenery, etc)That method was developed back in the late 50′s at drive-in-movies,and is now down to an exact science. They can elect the President of the US of A, within very narrow percentage points, just so it doesn’t look suspicious(just in case you were wondering how in the Hell some of these guys got elected !) This game is being played right now with the American public, in the campaigning for the last two years for the Presidency (wonder why thy started so early ?) By the time they get to 2008, they will know exactly what it takes to elect the new Pres.
LUV 2 ALL
Wisdum

Hail Mary by Jean Luc-Godard
Priest (1995) and Kids (1995) caused Baptist-wide boycott
Left Behind (because it sucked and the authors sued the filmmakers)
The Order with Heath Ledger
End of Days w Ah-nold
Angel Heart w DeNiro and voodoo-priestess Lisa Bonet
At Play In the Fields of the Lord w nekkid Kathy Bates
Magdalene Sisters (for its charicatures screwing up a very imp story)
Breaking the Waves (great film, but story a little screwy)
40 Days and 40 Nights (mocking Lent)
Silent Night Deadly Night (worst Christmas movie)

The most controversial/mindmessing religious movie I have ever seen is The Rapture from 1991- Starring David Duchovney

Here’s some you might have missed:
1. ‘the Messenger’, which irked muslims for even portraying the prophet in a movie, even though his face was never seen.
2. ‘cape fear’, the scorcese remake, which irks me, because it relies on the cliche hollywood trope that those who know the scriptures well must be psychotic maniacs.
3. ‘bridges of madison county’, which served as propoganda for adultery.
4. ‘left behind’, lame movie made from a bestselling series with lame religious content.
5. ‘breaking the waves’, in which a visionary girl prostitutes herself for love of god and husband.

You missed “The Devils” by Ken Russell. Anyone watching that one would come to the conclusion that Catholics, and religious-believing activists in general, are psychotic torturers. Of course, the fact that it is based on truth, in the life of Father Urban Grandier, is beside the point.

REVELATION-depicting a natural birth of a child conceived via ‘hidden lines’ of Christ and Mary Magdelene VS. the cloned version of a Hitler like ‘savior’ from the DNA left on the nails Christ was crucified with.
DEVILS ADVOCATE-Keanu Reeves choosing to exercise freewill via suicide rather than particiapte in the Devil’s genetic scheme to take over the world using lawyers, after pleas from his wife who’s been raped by the Devil himself.

AGNES OF GOD – with Meg Tilly, as a tormented nun, who believed she was pregnant by God.
A film (I don’t recall the name), with Elizabeth Hurley as the Devil, tempting some poor guy with fantasmagorical riches.

In your blurb you said that they don’t carry it, but I got “Last Temptation…” from Blockbuster.com. Perhaps it isn’t in their stores, but they do rent it out.

The film with Elizabeth Hurley as the devil is Bedazzled. It was a remake of a film with the great British duo of Peter Cook [the devil] and Dudley Moore [the poor schlub] made in the late 60′s.
I absolutely second The Life of Brian.

I would add the movie “Priest” in 1994
A story of a beautiful and tormented Priest who deeply loves his congregation and community, but struggles to love himself, a gay man. The final scene is one of the more beautiful representations of grace I have seen on film.
But the protesters were very loud and very, very nasty.

Your review completely missed the point of “Last Temptation of Christ,” in which Jesus ultimately refuses the temptation, revealing that the whole marriage, children, life and work are part of the temptation. Jesus in fact does die on the cross for rejecting the temptation, and the film affirms the Christian teaching of crucifixion and resurrection. I watched it and found it to be one of the more profoundly Christian films I have ever seen. If the people who criticized it would bother to watch it they might realize this. Did the reviewer even see the movies on the list?
I would add several movies: “Places in the Heart,” starring Sally Field in an Oscar-winning performance, which ends with a powerful scene of communion between black and white, male and female, sinned against and sinners; “Jesus of Montreal,” with its central lead as a metaphor for Christ; and even “The Green Mile,” where the central figure had to die (be executed wrongly) for the sins of others. Christian metaphors are everywhere in pop culture if you pay attention to them.

And one more big movie you left out: Brokeback Mountain, which was the first mainstream movie about a love affair between two gay cowboys. Many people even in Hollywood where I live believe this film lost the Best Picture Oscar due to secret homophobia among the older Academy members, many of whom also refused to see this magnificent love story.

I THINK THE 10 COMMANDMENTES IT’S ANOTHER GREAT CHRISTIAN MOVIE, ONE NIGHT WITH THE KING ANOTHER, THE AMERICAN MOVIES, HAD MADE IN THE PAST
A LOT OF GREATEST MOVIES THOSE, WHO’S THEIR NAMES ESCAPES FROM MY MEMORY RIGTH NOW. I’M A CHRISTIAN TOO. HAVE A NICE WEEK, GOD BLEES
YOU. BYE.

You missed V for Vendetta, excoriated by the denser sort of Christians.
The religious angle: the government is the Sanhedrin; Mr Finch a Nicodemus, Evey Eve/Mary, etc.
V is a deliberately ambiguous Christ figure, who claims two natures, to have helped create the world, and to be ‘like God’ [homoiousios, with the iota..], and whose death raises the dead. The most profoundly Christian aspect is the prison sequence, where Evey is redeemed, and revokes her bargain of his life for her freedom; whereupon he gives her both, as a gift. Deep waters indeed. Controversial, because a great many Christians wrote against it; they simply didn’t get it, and instead felt indignation over the representation of the church on the surface as corrupt and venal.

I would say Jesus Christ Superstar in the seventies

Most controversial … I select The Passion of The Christ because it is based on the Bible’s relating of events, in it’s purist form that could possibly be interpreted / depicted / filmed, whether it aroused displeasure / dissent is not the point! The other movies on the list are themes that relate to the refuting of the essense of the 10 Commandments; the fictional theorizing of “what could have been”; someone’s transposing their understanding of where / how we originated; someone’s interpretation / representation of God in a human mind’s association / concept, be it non-fiction or fictional.
We’ve talking about Jesus Christ’s history, about the history of mankind, about the storied Genesis and the Garden of Eden, of the theory of Creation, if you will … not someone’s perception of “religion” or segmented thoughts of an aspect / facet of / within the belief structure … so in my estimation, the other movies are not “religious” in nature, but widespread contentions that explain a personal perception, not GOD’s association with mankind. The word religion really is not applicable to Jesus Christ … he is part and parcel of a belief / faith structure that negated everything that smacks of “religion” … worship in your heart / mind, that’s where he is depicted / present in His Spirit form.
I choose The Passion of The Christ because it is closest to the historical facts within the Bible in the current storytelling medium.

What about The Message starring Anthony Quinn as the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)? This was the only movie about the Prophet that had its script approved by the pre-eminent school of Muslim thought, Al-Azhar in Egypt? You can read more about the movie here.

I think that the Golden Compass should be up there too. It is one of the newest most controversial movies. I’ve heard so much bad about it but I don’t know what to believe.

One of my old time favorites, Rosemary’s Baby with Ma Farrow.

Life of Brian should be on the list. The movie was banned in some countries and decried as blasphemous. It still inspires strong feelings today.

A Clockwork Orange.
Period.
It’s a wonder why it’s an R and not NC-17.