Trailers from Christian movies

[rakovsky]

Do you have a list of favorite Christian movies?
Have Orthodox directors made any movies about Christianity's first 4 centuries (The US has made dozens)?

Below are some Christian movies' trailers.

The Bible: Epic Series (History Channel). Looks Good. It narrates up to St. John's Vision on Patmos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkZ5NUAjuE4

The Messiah: Prophecy Fulfilled
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft8yqfsxYXg

I will follow up with more.

 

[rakovsky]

Nativity Story (2006) (AKA The Birth of Jesus)
youtube.com/watch?v=GISYw2N6YSY

The Holy Family (2006) (Part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcI1-fJSNyI
(Part 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2VSEgq8QTw

The Fourth Wise Man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAmlnSvl8oA

Full of Grace (About Mary after the Crucifixion)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35x4eaxBX0c

Joseph and Mary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0xe9WudUZE

Mary and Joseph: A Story of Faith (1979)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxRvXuZXaWY

Mary of Nazareth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biud9_OiFCc

Herod the Great
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNOloMbi0dY

Secrets of Herod's Reign (BBC. First Minute is like a trailer)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnQ-9fNw3xM

The Big Fisherman (1959)(I couldn't find a trailer, just the full movie)
youtube.com/watch?v=jeqEEb_Hso

Young Messiah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVfmdLO2Ui8

 

[rakovsky]

Last Days in the Desert (about Jesus' 40 days there)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDfySDiGeh8

Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lsYGZ525q0

Gospel of John (2003, Visual Bible, w/ C Plummer, Henry I Cusick, Directed by Philip Saville.)
http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-visual-bible-the-gospel-of-john/trailers/1084244

Gospel of John (Lumo Project)( D Harewood, S Rasalingam), David Batty (Director) )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K5E5jUMpuM

Gospel of Matthew (Pasolini, 1964)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaqVcZSI4d0
(Colorized)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7DnjPrpc4E

Gospel of Matthew (Visual Bible)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMy94ay_X48

Gospel of Luke (Lumo Project)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fPaNr3avmE

The Jesus Mysteries (National Geographic) (No trailer, but the video intro is like one)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmwqWugMmso

Son of God (movie series)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcIXCok9HPg

 

[rakovsky]

King of Kings (1961)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNlzMcOT8P0

Life of Brian (anti-Christian spoof by Monty Python)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKPmGjVFbrY

Jesus Christ Superstar (1973, Directed by N. Jewison, a Protestant. Modern Musical RocknRoll Retelling)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rV-6qbdmrk

The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmPF_dUE5f0

Jesus (1999, Starring Sisto)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BifpcJ-uRqI

The Jesus Film (1979)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXqjcDchr14

The Savior (2014, Jordan, Palestine, in Arabic)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PHb4lPbLyE
(Trailer 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX7u9bKeflA

 

[mike]

I can't say "Life of Brian" is anti-Christian.

 

[rakovsky]

Passion of the Christ (by M. Gibson)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Aif1qEB_JU

The Last Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorsese, 1988)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJKxg4p-Alk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j17GIsw7aVA

The Robe (1953)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oIY05cDU5w

Peter and the Last Supper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqIC4GQHnHs

Barabbas (1961)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4Yw2W4McJs

Barabbas (R. Young, Director)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqxdufwHAFQ

 

[rakovsky]

Road to Emmaus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXppKdV0Ut0

Pontius Pilate (Italy, 1962) (2 min. excerpt)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0l2AEKqJ3k

Killing Jesus (National Geographic)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgccekzzZ3Q

Story of Judas (in French, Dir. by Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPd6TYduoQM

Judas (2004, starring Johathon Schaech)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1J7OSqTM90

Judas: Close to Jesus (2000)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJDrTQS4fDk

Incident in Judea (opening scene is like a trailer)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcnPcFNT8WA

 

[rakovsky]

40 Nights (About the Temptation. 2016, Satan played by R. Howard has a Southern drawl)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GIY1YG0/ref=pd_cbs_318_8

Thomas: Close to Jesus (1999)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LTMKT90/ref=pd_cbs_318_1

Mary Magdalene: Close to Jesus (2000)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ID4IG06/ref=pd_cbs_318_3

Risen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_wKDajeohg

Peter and Paul (Anthony Hopkins, 1981)
https://vimeo.com/118960106

Paul the Apostle AKA Saint Paul (2000 or 2013, Roger Young , Director)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJQj3GrdRYc
(Full on Orthodox Christian channel)
http://philotimo-leventia.blogspot.com/2013/03/saint-paul-watch-free-full-movie-bible.html

Saul: Journey to Damascus(2015)
https://www.amazon.com/Saul-Journey-Damascus-John-Rhys-Davies/dp/B017HMKJHC

Paul the Emissary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4eUQ72lD8g

St. Peter (2005)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcQRkYbeV68
(longer trailer)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnL2sAi-j2k

Come Follow Me (About St. Peter)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7XMAo8HO44

Peter: The Redemption
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J6UT1XG/ref=pd_cbs_318_1

 

[rakovsky]

AD: The Bible Continues
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbbtufnuILU

AD: Anno Domini: Trials and Triumphs of the Early Church (1985, NBC miniseries)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0MHXUP3lFM

The Apocalypse (2002, Richard Harris)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qN2D0R3VBYo

Acts of the Apostles (Visual Bible)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GajoRNgZ7lg

St. John in Exile (1986,1988, Dean Jones as John)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LGi1iGZ5fw

 

[rakovsky]

Polycarp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IjPlffZVy8

Final Inquiry (topic is like Risen and The Robe)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFkj5gPzX-w

Quo Vadis (1951) (on 1st c. Roman Christians)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAdIwD3QItc

Quo Vadis (2001, Polish)
https://fdb.pl/film/4314-quo-vadis/trailers/11770
(Clips)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SWm17o6X6E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH6ZT4WJnJU

The Story of the 12 Apostles (History Channel Documentary)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGj38-e9BfI

Fabiola (1949/51, Italian, about pagan Rome & its Christians)
http://www.ivid.it/trailer/12857/FABIOLA/Clip%20Italiana

 

[RaphaCam]

Nice thread. From the ones available on YouTube, I can only think about the Egyptian movie on St. Moses the Black:

• Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFaP3KBp0DM
• Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HUgS267yrk

 

[rakovsky]

Nice thread. From the ones available on YouTube, I can only think about the Egyptian movie on St. Moses the Black:

Thanks.
I wish there was a trailer for it.
What language and country is that from? India?
Since they are painting their faces black, I doubt it's Ethiopia.

 

[RaphaCam]

The film is apparently Egyptian, but dubbed in Amharic. Funny thing is: there's at least one actually black actor in the film (one of the monks kept by Moses while a Pagan), but still they chose to blackface some white guy for the main character.

Also, just realised you forgot Ben-Hur trailers. 

• 1959 version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hrbRDAOF4k
• 2016 version (first trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BmeR9GYdDU
• 2016 version (second trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df2VrzS1HCs

 

[rakovsky]

^Thanks.

Masada (1981)
http://www.videodetective.com/movies/masada/284832
(Trailer 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWl1HrmWhV0

Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. Episode 4: Rebellion (miniseries, 2006)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KcVKQTarMc
(clip starts with promo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3E8ESMGm6s

Mysteries of the Bible (Episodes include: Last Revolt ; Messiahs; Masada - the Last Fortress)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_0QGCh2mBA

Dovekeepers (about Masada)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj2xNhsqg38

The Roman Empire in the First Century
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3vu8ap

 

[rakovsky]

Constantine and the Cross (1962) (I can't find the trailer, just the full version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUK_SXjXEus

Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire: Episode: Constantine (see above for miniseries trailer)
(Full version of "Constantine the Great". Intro is like a promo.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pETVZDAu98c
(Clearer version of full version, minus promo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deioHlBslEQ

Mary of Egypt (Arabic w/ English subtitles, about late 4th c. saint)(Full only)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-IgHyq07KA

The Roman Empire - The First Christian Emperor (I am not sure of the title of this one. Documentary)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIxE332XQqA

St. George (Originally in Arabic, with Ethiopic dubbing?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP30kwI6aIY

Decline of an Empire/Fall of an Empire (2014, released under both titles)
(The Story of Katherine of Alexandria, early 4th c. martyr)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KH5iRb06Q0w
(Constantine)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKxvbSZ8t9M

Moses the Black (late 4th c. saint, Hat tip to Raphacam. See above)

Restless Heart - The Confessions Of Saint Augustine (late 4th c. saint)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrVV36ciTAI

Agora (about Hypatea, late 4th c. pagan Alexandrian philosopher)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOXKF1mb9Hc

 

[rakovsky]

Cyril and Methodius: Apostles to the Slavs (Czech)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuuPdVnTcCo

The Grand Inquisitor (Section about Jesus and the Inquisition in Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov)
(Section from Brothers Karamazov movie, Dir by Yuri Moroz, Russian)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkEe56DXwkQ&t=868s

The Grand Inquisitor (Play, Michael Ulyanov, Russian)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADwTXfR6Yvc&t=236s

The Grand Inquisitor (1975 play in English, John Gielgud)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om6HcUUa8DI

Inquisition (cinematization of Dostoevsky's story, starring A.Armstrong and Stephen Billington, Drama House UK )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oNmuMaAb5Q

Master and Margarita (2005, Russian. Half of it is set in 20th c. Moscow, another in Judea with an alternative telling of the Passion)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1SGO5zQZLk

Flight of Faith: The Jesus Story (aerial travel-style documentary about holy sites in the Holy Land)
https://vimeo.com/19707288

 

[rakovsky]

Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i_-ZtHKDLY

The Apostle (about a Charismatic preacher, played by Robert Duvall)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=fQe1Kehx110

My Search for Messiah
https://youtu.be/4HhjFR-ATHI

Book of Eli
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSMHmtaoXtI

 

[rakovsky]

Ratings include:

AD: The Bible Continues (series) (Rotten Tomatoes 4.78; Audience: 82%)

John in Exile (RT Audience Score: 4.1/5; 7.6/10 on IMDB)

AD.: Trials and Triumphs of the Early Church (7.5/10 on imdb)

Quo Vadis (1951) (RT: 6.4/10; Audience: 73%; 7.2 on imdb)

The Bible (History Channel series) (Rotten Tomatoes: 4.63/10 ; Audience Score: 70%)

Mysteries of the Bible (7.8 and 6.3 on IMDB)

Apostle Peter: Redemption, 6.8/10 on imdb

Full of Grace (6.8/10 on imdb)

Story of the Twelve Apostles (6.8/10, imdb)

The Apocalypse (RT Audience Score: 33%, but just 11 reviews; 6.3/10 on IMDB)

Quo Vadis (Polish) 63% Audience score on RT; 5.8/10 on IMDB

Polycarp (5.6/10 on imdb)

 

[RaphaCam]

I can't find a trailer in English, but since we're going for it, I also recommend strongly the comedy-drama movie A Dog's Will. It gives a very interesting picture of Latin American Catholicism, and explores concepts of poverty, humility, redemption and intercession. I'm specially fond of it giving the importance of this story in my education, to a point the death of the author of the original play really made me feel about.  You can probably find it with English subtitles online.

 

[rakovsky]

I can't find a trailer in English, but since we're going for it, I also recommend strongly the comedy-drama movie A Dog's Will. It gives a very interesting picture of Latin American Catholicism, and explores concepts of poverty, humility, redemption and intercession. I'm specially fond of it giving the importance of this story in my education, to a point the death of the author of the original play really made me feel about.  You can probably find it with English subtitles online.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Mor Ephrem]

I can't find a trailer in English, but since we're going for it, I also recommend strongly the comedy-drama movie A Dog's Will. It gives a very interesting picture of Latin American Catholicism, and explores concepts of poverty, humility, redemption and intercession. I'm specially fond of it giving the importance of this story in my education, to a point the death of the author of the original play really made me feel about.  You can probably find it with English subtitles online.

Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for your gratitude.

 

[RaphaCam]

I can't find a trailer in English, but since we're going for it, I also recommend strongly the comedy-drama movie A Dog's Will. It gives a very interesting picture of Latin American Catholicism, and explores concepts of poverty, humility, redemption and intercession. I'm specially fond of it giving the importance of this story in my education, to a point the death of the author of the original play really made me feel about.  You can probably find it with English subtitles online.

Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for your gratitude.

Thank you for your gratitude toward his gratitude.

 

[Mor Ephrem]

I can't find a trailer in English, but since we're going for it, I also recommend strongly the comedy-drama movie A Dog's Will. It gives a very interesting picture of Latin American Catholicism, and explores concepts of poverty, humility, redemption and intercession. I'm specially fond of it giving the importance of this story in my education, to a point the death of the author of the original play really made me feel about.  You can probably find it with English subtitles online.

Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for your gratitude.

Thank you for your gratitude toward his gratitude.

And I thank you for your gratitude. 

 

[rakovsky]

FULL VERSIONS CAN BE FOUND:
AMAZON:
The Apostles: 12 Ordinary Men, 2005, 4/5 stars on Amazon, Documentary, 4.8/10 stars on IMDB
(Trailers)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3gYuTbcH4Q
http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=KZGLNNNX

Biblical Prophecy of John - End Times Revelation & Message to the 7 Churches 1986  3.5/5 stars on Amazon
On Amazon prime. (I couldn't find trailers)

The Bible (History Channel series)
(Full on Netflix)

Online
AD: The Bible Continues
(E.11 Trailer, "Rise Up") https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5JajnFQVW4)
(Not sure if the forum wants me to post full free movie links)
Episode 12, "Abomination", summary:

Emperor Caligula's golden statue arrives in Jerusalem which draws everyone in rebellion against the Romans including the high priest. Pilate meets with Caiaphas and his wife Leah to tell them that the golden statue of Emperor Caligula must enter the Temple whether they like it or not.

There was at least a little bit of historical basis, per one review:

The first episode of A.D. The Bible Continues was basically a dramatization of the death and burial of Jesus with a few fictitious bits thrown in. The season finale is the almost complete opposite of that: it's a heavily fictionalized version of secular history that gets the biblical stuff out of the way as quickly as it can—and it leaves many of its most important plot threads unresolved, presumably in the hope that the series will get renewed for a second season.
...
The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that Petronius, the Roman governor in charge of Syria, was given the job of carrying out Caligula's orders, and that he was prepared to go to war to do so, but then tens of thousands of Jews met him in Galilee, bared their necks, and said they would rather be slain than live to see the temple desecrated. So Petronius stalled—and the only reason he got away with it was because Caligula's letter telling Petronius to kill himself arrived after news arrived that Caligula had been assassinated.

Very few of these historical details are used in A.D. The Bible Continues. The job of installing Caligula's statue falls not to Petronius but to Pilate. The statue doesn't stay in Phoenicia, where Petronius had it built, but actually seems to get as far as the temple's outer courtyards. The Roman governor in charge, rather than back down because it is the virtuous thing to do, stubbornly insists on killing every Jew who gets in the way. And rather than avert conflict, the Romans provoke a full-scale battle with the Zealots that results in lots of people dying.

The one detail the series does keep is the peaceful baring of necks by some Jews who were willing to submit to death—and here things get interesting.[bc it portrays them as the Christians]...
There are lots of potential problems that the show would have to overcome (not least the fact that the historical Caiaphas, Pilate and Herod Antipas were all out of the picture before Caligula sent his statue to Judea, yet those characters are all still very much a part of this series), but I rather enjoyed A.D.'s depiction of Saul, post-conversion

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/june-web-only/ad-bible-continues-concludes-for-now.html?start=2

 

[rakovsky]

You can find Ep.11 of AD The Bible Continues online free if you look enough.

While traveling with Philip, the Ethiopian believes and is baptized. After baptizing the Ethiopian believer, Philip is transported back to Samaria.
~Wikipedia

That's at 41:00-42:00 in the show. It's an unexpected moment not really explained in the show itself. It's as if he baptizes the Ethiopian and then gets raptured, disappearing in a shade of orange yellow light.

 

[rakovsky]

Wish I could find a history of the church documentary about the church after Acts ends up to, say, 200 AD.
Traditions of the early Church after the book of Acts was written is one of the things that sets the EOs and RCs apart from a lot of Protestant groups.

 

[rakovsky]

Unusual moment in the "John in Exile" movie was when he said a million people were killed by the Romans when they took Jerusalem.

Wikipedia notes about this:

Josephus claims that 1.1 million people were killed during the siege, of which a majority were Jewish, and that 97,000 were captured and enslaved... His figures are rejected as impossible by modern scholarship, since around the time about a million people lived in Palestine, probably about half of them were Jews, and sizable Jewish populations remained in the area after the war was over, even in the hard-hit region of Judea

 

[rakovsky]

The Messiah (1975, Italian)
(clip)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IdL8LLm5WM

Power of the Resurrection (1958)
(opening scene)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CY4LekL2AM

Acts of the Apostles (1969, dir. by Rosselini)
(couldn't find a trailer, but some parts are online)

A review of the 1985 movie AD's Episode 5 says:

One of the key links in all of this is Roman soldier Julius Valerius, who now finds himself sent to Palestine to serve as Porcius Festus's second in command. Paul is not shown appearing in front of the Sanhedrin, and the interaction with Felix is also omitted. However, Festus visits the Jewish leaders (Acts 25) and Acts' unfortunate suggestion that the high priest is a key part of the plot to murder Paul is implied here as well. The veiled hatred in this scene is contrasted with the words of Paul in the next.
...
The persecution scenes in the latter part of the film are actually very disturbing. Peter is crucified upside down and Paul returns to Rome only to be executed by decapitation. This allows the film to support both strands of the traditions about Paul. Nero himself is present for Paul's execution which seems rather unlikely.

I don't know what the writer is talking about.
http://biblefilms.blogspot.com/search/label/A.D.%20%28Anno%20Domini%29

 

[Gunnarr]

I hardly have seen any movies that I can find recommendable which are actually set in the first century. So I am just going to supply movies with Christian themes being involved or in the centre, ALL MOVIES I WOULD RECOMMEND, minus perhaps those two nun movies:

"Diary of a Country Priest" (1951, France)
trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYN5thtjhUw  (no subtitles in trailer)

"Ordet" (1955, Denmark)
trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uQEPjRog84&t=45s

"Paisan" FIFTH EPISODE (1946, Italy)
Can't find a trailer

"The Song of Bernadette" (1943, United States)
trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdYaf9yZlls

"The Nun's Story" (1959, United States) not sure if worth watching
trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k94PTF2VMj0

"Black Narcissus" (1947, United States) even less recommended than the previous movie
trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpNECs_nMKg

"The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" (1958, United States)
trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHUSIJx3630

"The Keys of the Kingdom" (1944, United States)
trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmdXdrhL4UQ

"The Seventh Seal" everyone knows...

having trouble thinking of any more from Roman Catholics and Protestants.. but bad memory.... but on to any that have relation with Orthodox faith:

Орда/Orda/The Horde (2012, Russia)
trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKp7W18VNcI

Раскол/Raskol (2011, Russia)
can't find a trailer

Andrei Rublev/Андрей Рублёв (1966, Soviet Union)
trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbguowlkZ4g

 

[rakovsky]

Thanks Gunnarr.

 

[rakovsky]

At about 1 hr 4 min into Quo Vadis the Hollywood producers decide to depict a 1st c. Christian liturgy led by Peter and Paul:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3at8ph
(German dubbing)

To do this, they make it at night and have everyone dress in capes with hoods, have torches, and meet in Roman ruins. They start off and close with what sounds a lot like a slurred mix of Gregorian Chant, Antiochian EO "Ison" chant, and most of all 20th c. American Protestant hymns.

 

[NicholasMyra]

Calvary (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGM5rq_vX4U

 

[RaphaCam]

Calvary (2014)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGM5rq_vX4U

Very good movie, it inspired me to write.

 

[rakovsky]

Incident in Judea (opening scene is like a trailer)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcnPcFNT8WA

I need to clarify. What this is, is a compilation of the scenes about Jesus from Bulgakov's Master and Margarita I showed below. An Englishman loved the story and decided to make a dramatization of the Christ scenes. I think those clips actually need to be shown together with the Moscow scenes from the book. Why?

Dcn. Kuraev explains that the book was written as a Seventh proof of God's existence. Bulgakov asks if someone believes in love, and if not, then here is a story of love. The story is meant as an inversion, according to Kuraev.
http://predanie.ru/kuraev-andrey-protodiakon/book/71834-quot-master-i-margarita-quot-za-hrista-ili-protiv/

The story begins where a writer, Bezdomny, has a story denigrating Jesus. Berlioz, another writer argues with him that Jesus didn't even exist. It shows two sides to the atheistic debate at the time. How best is it to betray Jesus? Dcn Kuraev notes an important part of the theme - "Manuscripts don't burn", a statement by "The Master", the story's hero. Berlioz would have it that Bezdomny's and the Master's story of Jesus was not even written. The devil, on the other hand, wanted his own story of Jesus to get published. The devil couldn't create a story denigrating Jesus, since the devil lacks creative artistic power, so he needed Bezdomny or the Master to do it. The devil however was able to deceive people. So the story the devil made was one denigrating Christ.

An example of this denigration was how Jesus asks Pilate not to beat him because he already got beaten. Jesus also stutters.

So Kuraev's idea is that Bulgakov is not portraying Jesus in the book the way Bulgakov really believes Jesus was like, but rather that the story about Jesus in the novel is a "Gospel according to Satan", since it is the devil who is the only one who in the novel saw Christ and could be the source of Bezdomny's and the Master's version. Kuraev sees different allusions to this in the novel and sees the novel as holding a reference to Faust, wherein Mephistopheles gave knowledge to Faust.

In agreement with what Kuraev is saying, I think it's best if people need to read some Orthodox review of Master and Margarita like Kuraev's if they are going to see either of the movies, like "Incident in Judea."

 

[rakovsky]

In Bulgakov's story, Jesus says "all people are good", but Kuraev believes that Bulgakov rejects this all-forgiving image of Jesus as fraudulent.  Kuraev quotes in his novel a place where Ivanushka, after coming to some faith, rejects someone telling him to calm down and to have mercy on him. What happens is that Ivanushka rushes, looking for the devil to catch the devil, and a writer tells Ivanushka that this is just being hysterical over a recent friend's death and to calm down, then to have mercy and that doctors will take him away and he can forget about the hysterics' source. Ivanushka gets mad and says he will have mercy on someone , but not on the writer and he slaps the writer who wants everyone to have "calm".

In Kuraev's mind, Bulgakov's idea is that there is good light calm and a dark bad calm, like a calm grave. Bulgakov is rejecting the idea that prefers being calm that opposes looking hysterically for the devil hurting people. Bulgakov wants to penalize this kind of calm.

OK... so if someone is running around hysterically trying to look for a physical devil with an ikon pierced into their bare chest with a candle, is it normal to want them to calm down and treat it like mental hysterics to be cared for?
....
Kuraev thinks that there was a tendency in the past to automatically think that if a character is antiSoviet, that the character is good, funny, positive, or supreme. But he doesn't think that there are any actual positive figures in the novel in the author's view, even if they were antisoviet. He thinks that this includes Jesus("Yeshua"), the Master, Bezdomny, and the others. The only good character Kuraev mentions is a marginal one named Bosoy who takes bribes and says he repents and is ready to go to prison.

Kuraev thinks that Bulgakov added some traits of himself to the Master, but that this doesn't make the hero of the story good in the author's eyes, because the author might not have had a wonderfully positive view of himself either.

I am starting to see how this inversion works. Bulgakov calls Jesus "Yeshua" and Jerusalem "Yershalaim" as a critique of the depiction of the denigrated figure the atheists and occultists give of the "real" "historic" Jesus, rather than the Jesus of faith, "Iisus".

 

[rakovsky]

I, Claudius (1975 series about emperors from Augustus to Claudius)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB3YiO8l-JM

Caligula (1979)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuwEvy5Krxs

The Caesars (1968, B and W, Series from Augustus to Claudius, opening is like a promo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7HHrkoac0o

Hail, Caesar! (Uses an in-movie movie called "Hail, Caesar: A Tale of the Christ" , 2016)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMqeoW3XRa0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMUUKtF_BF0

Imperium: Augustus (2003), Peter O'Toole.
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1052246297

Imperium: Nero (2004)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0383790/?ref_=tt_rec_tt

 

[rakovsky]

Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954, about Christian gladiators, sequel to The Robe, 66% Audience score on RT, 6.6/10 on IMDB)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tbMCMS0ovI

 

[rakovsky]

Is "Hail Caesar!" a spoof of Christianity, a spoof of making Christian films, a Christian allegory about actors, a commentary on Christianity, or all four?

The SF review sees it as a spoof of Christian filmmaking:

The studio here is Capitol Pictures, but it’s patterned on MGM, with Mannix taking orders from a Mr. Schenck out of New York (that is, Nicholas Schenck). When we first meet him, his studio is funneling lots of money into its latest biblical epic, “Hail, Caesar!” — a sort of combination of the real-life films “Ben-Hur” and “The Robe.”

The magnificence was in the Technicolor camera work and the completely uncynical way in which stars were presented as glorious — such as when George Clooney, as a dim-witted actor playing a centurion, sits on a horse, framed against the sky. A more ironic take on the era comes when the centurion, in the desert, cuts through to the front of a line of slaves to get water — and then melts at the sight of Jesus, seen only from behind. Clooney is very funny, playing the scene with a completely unconvincing look of astonishment and transformation. What makes it funnier is that this is a stock scene that can be found, in one form another, in every biblical epic of the era.

As the film star, Clooney has the fun of playing a frivolous, happy airhead in the offscreen scenes — a motormouth with nothing to say — and a screen idol in the film within a film. If he ever dreamed of being Kirk Douglas, here he gets his chance.

http://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Hail-Caesar-an-entertaining-spoof-of-old-6804292.php

This "Ruthless Reviews" website review sees it as an allegory:

Public reaction, and even Coen Fan reaction, based on a highly un-scientific study of various review forums, appears to be :

• * It seems like there’s something going on with [the main character] Eddie Mannix in a kind of Jesus role and kind of sort of half-wrestling over the value of what he does, but why are all the movie-in-movie bits so long when they have nothing to do with Eddie’s problem? Why the h... is [some scene] even there?

Hail, Caesar! is a master work, hyper-focused on a single central theme. All of the characters and action you see on the screen – and this is not hyperbole: Every. Single. Little. Piece of action and dialog – is reflecting, refracting, and bending back in on this theme like Light Everlasting trapped on the surface of some weird fiber optic Mobius strip.

Finding this theme is part of the puzzle of the movie. The fractal nature of the narrative in this movie begins to emerge when you feel like you don’t understand what you’ve just seen. What some of us feel compelled to do when we’re confused by something is: we go looking for answers, or the truth about what the movie is saying, and remember, this is a Coen Brother’s movie. If you’re a fan, you know that the Coens have an interest in exploring the big existential questions of life in an odd and often humorous way. So, it just so happens that this movie is about People looking for Truth. Not just some people. Not just people in Hollywood. All people. Mankind.
http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/31259/four-key-questions-at-the-heart-of-hail-caesar/

Here is what the review sees as key to unlocking the puzzle:

To help you experience this yourself (if you haven’t already), without mansplaining it, there are these four questions that can lead you into the theme. It requires only that you watch the movie (again if you’ve already seen it) and evaluate what you see by asking these four questions. What you see here means not only what you see Mannix do. Its what you see everybody doing.

The Four Questions
    Who has been given a role?
    To whom (or to what institution) do they look in order to understand their role?
    Who tells them what their role should be?
    Are they fulfilling their role?

Quotable Quotes:
    “The nature of the Christ is not quite as simple as your photo play would have it.” – Priest
    ” So God is…split?” -Mannix “Yes…and no!” -Priest
    “So Man is….split?” – Baird Whitlock

http://www.ruthlessreviews.com/31259/four-key-questions-at-the-heart-of-hail-caesar/

What do you think?

 

[rakovsky]

The Man Who Wasn't There (This is a criminal trial film involving a capital case. But it begins with a reference to the cross or Church and is about dying for someone else's crime. It's by the same directors as "Hail Caesar!")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htxvLcSnOU0

 

[rakovsky]

The Story of Jesus (BBC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYudb7oehQw

Jesus the Preacher (Nat. Geographic: Science of the Bible Series)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-H2grCRYgk

Miracles of Jesus (1991)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRkUN9J9szI

Finding Jesus (CNN)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmAE8jdnY7k

Secret Lives Of Jesus Christ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfOXkg9_2mw

Secrets of Mary Magdalene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0hZMM8WvqU

Jesus Rise to Power ( National Geographic, about Christianity's rise to Rome's religion, series )
(Ep. 1 of 3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1XuyWoRUc0

From Jesus To Christ. The First Christians (PBS)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZPKCDOeyMg

Secret Lives Of The Apostles (National Geographic)
http://natgeotv.com/int/secret-lives-of-the-apostles/videos/rome-and-christianity
http://natgeotv.com/int/secret-lives-of-the-apostles/videos/persecutor-to-apostle