Stop Trying To "Save Christmas", Kirk!

[godenver1]

Agreed. They'd have to be very careful that they didn't lose the "meat" of the story with over-publicized CGI stuff. That's one reason I really enjoyed the "Bible: Esther" movie. No floods, no plagues, no sweeping zooms over computer-generated vistas. Just people, buildings, and story. Loved it.

I think stories from scripture might suffer today because of the way Hollywood has gone with over the top effects. In their time 'The 10 Commandments' or 'Ben Hur' were cutting edge for epic action scenes, action but realistic. Now to be action a scene has to border on absurd. A tough balance for scripture based films.

If any of you are going to see the new Exodus film, it's probably for different reasons than me. I enjoy the CGI (obviously not overblown). It made me excited to see the recent Godzilla movie also (which admittedly I didn't like as much as I thought I would).

 

[parousia70]

I didn't know there was a war on X'mas until a few years ago when I stumbled onto Fox News and they told me about how I was being persecuted

Here's a handy flowchart to help you determine if your are being persecuted for your Christian faith or not:

 

[JustMeSee]

Special effects have their place in film. They have been used since the birth of still film. Film, being use loosely today.

Mattes and minor illusions are used in most movies. The problem is when they take over, and reduce the story and acting. There is a place for everything.

While I am a major digital effects and 3d enthusiast, I find many movies ruined or over reliant on computer effects. Story and performances are what really matter in my opinion.

Great movies don't need to rely on millions of yen spent on CGI. They need decent screenplays and crews.

Just my 2 pesos.

 

[FreeSpirit74]

I mean, you look at movies like "The Ten Commandments" which stuck very close to scripture; it was EPIC and audiences loved it, not just Christian fans.

My father, who is an atheist, watches that movie every year when it's on TV. He even has the DVD version of it. He also comes from a Jewish family, although he ID's with the "ethnic" rather than the "religious" side of it.

Of course, one reason he's watched that movie so much is because he is related to Henry Wilcoxon, who was the Associate Producer, and played a minor character in the film. When I watched him recently in Mrs. Miniver I was stunned to see how much he looks like my father, yet they are only supposed to be distant cousins. Before he knew Wilcoxon's name, he would watch the film scrutinize the faces to try to pick him out that way.

 

[jacknife]

If any of you are going to see the new Exodus film, it's probably for different reasons than me. I enjoy the CGI (obviously not overblown). It made me excited to see the recent Godzilla movie also (which admittedly I didn't like as much as I thought I would).

i know what you mean about that Godzilla film, it focused way to much on the G.I. who i didn't really care about i wanted to see Godzilla!

 

[Ada Lovelace]

I heard on the radio he's claiming that it's an atheist/pagan conspiracy to rate his movie poorly.

I don't know anyone who wants to see it, and I'm a Christian as are most of my family and many of my friends and co-workers. Perhaps the movie just sucks?

I read an article about this last week in which Kirk Cameron was quoted as stating that it was "all the atheists coming out of the woodwork" who were criticizing the movie and responsible for it having such a low rating and reviews. Um. Yeah. That's such a pathetically convenient scapegoat for him to abdicate all responsibility for the ludicrousness of the movie and blame atheists instead. He should just man up and admit his movie sucks. I heard that the filmmakers of "God's Not Dead" also blamed atheists for the low ratings on IMDB and Rotten Tomato when most Christians I know thought it was just an obnoxiously cliched and heavy-handed dud. *shudders* I gave it a 1/10 on IMDB.

 

[KitKatMatt]

I call for more masterpieces like DreamWorks' The Prince of Egypt.

You know it's a great movie when every one of your staunch, even militant atheist friends owns a copy and won't shut up about how great it is every time the subject comes up!

I do hunger for more Christian and religious movies that are true pieces of art. They seem few and far between. Many come off much too heavy or flat, and I agree, they just skip over the subtlety and artistic methods that are needed to make a great film.

 

[Inkachu]

I thought "Prince of Egypt" was very well done!

 

[Inkachu]

Anyone else seen "One Night With The King"? I think it is wayyyy over-romanticized. Xerxes didn't shun all the other girls so he could keep sneaking Esther back into his room cause he thought she was so witty and brilliant. He slept with all the other girls, including Esther, and chose her probably because she was beautiful and pleasant to be around. I doubt there was any romance or love blossoming at all in that situation. She was forced onto the throne, and quickly found out that all the Persians around her wanted her own Jewish people dead. Not exactly a festival of warm fuzzy feelings. Anyway. The romanticized glitz of that film irked me. The parts that actually stuck to the scriptures, however, were fairly decent.

 

[Glass*Soul]

Be careful what yuo ask for. remember Exit to Eden.

There were things in that movie that I cannot un-see.

 

[dgiharris]

...
I do hunger for more Christian and religious movies that are true pieces of art. They seem few and far between. Many come off much too heavy or flat, and I agree, they just skip over the subtlety and artistic methods that are needed to make a great film.

I think one problem is that if you make a Christian movie, you have almost no license for being creative. If you don't follow a strict interpretation of the bible you get blasted by the Christian community.

I enjoyed this movie

obviously it also made use of a lot of creative license

but ultimately, I think this sort of movie makes the audience think about God and isn't that what is important?

In the Prophecy, there are strong themes about God's will being beyond understanding and that you have to trust in it, believe in him. I also like the theme about the pain and despair Micheal finds himself in because he has been separated from God and no longer hears him...

There are other decent movies out there that have a God Theme though these movies make use of a fair amount of creative license. I would argue that if a movie makes you think about God and has themes of sacrifice and accepting God and listening to God... then I would argue that is a Christian movie...

 

[Inkachu]

IMO you can still be quite creative and stick to scripture. Look at "Ten Commandments". They were able to imagine the grandeur of Pharaoh's palace, they were able to give Ramses this arrogant, haughty attitude and some great lines, you could go wild with creativity in the way of costumes and sets, they could imagine what the plagues might've been like. You can still be creative and add details like personality quirks, costumes, building sets, lines that you imagine might've been said (in keeping with what we know from the Bible), without totally straying from what's feasible and realistic.

I can't agree with your last line, though, Dgi. You can take a movie and put the idea of "God" in it somewhere, and it doesn't make it a Christian movie. Take the awful hot mess of the movie "Michael" that starred John Travolta. He was supposed to be Michael the archangel, and that movie was filled to the brim with stuff that was nothing short of sacrilege. Sure, that movie was full of "God" themes, but was it a movie that represented the truth of God or Jesus Christ? Umm, no.

 

[keith99]

I read an article about this last week in which Kirk Cameron was quoted as stating that it was "all the atheists coming out of the woodwork" who were criticizing the movie and responsible for it having such a low rating and reviews. Um. Yeah. That's such a pathetically convenient scapegoat for him to abdicate all responsibility for the ludicrousness of the movie and blame atheists instead. He should just man up and admit his movie sucks. I heard that the filmmakers of "God's Not Dead" also blamed atheists for the low ratings on IMDB and Rotten Tomato when most Christians I know thought it was just an obnoxiously cliched and heavy-handed dud. *shudders* I gave it a 1/10 on IMDB.

Many atheists are giving "God's Not Dead" backhanded compliments.

If an atheist made a film like that there would be howling that the Christians were Charactures, and rightly so.

 

[keith99]

IMO you can still be quite creative and stick to scripture. Look at "Ten Commandments". They were able to imagine the grandeur of Pharaoh's palace, they were able to give Ramses this arrogant, haughty attitude and some great lines, you could go wild with creativity in the way of costumes and sets, they could imagine what the plagues might've been like. You can still be creative and add details like personality quirks, costumes, building sets, lines that you imagine might've been said (in keeping with what we know from the Bible), without totally straying from what's feasible and realistic.

I can't agree with your last line, though, Dgi. You can take a movie and put the idea of "God" in it somewhere, and it doesn't make it a Christian movie. Take the awful hot mess of the movie "Michael" that starred John Travolta. He was supposed to be Michael the archangel, and that movie was filled to the brim with stuff that was nothing short of sacrilege. Sure, that movie was full of "God" themes, but was it a movie that represented the truth of God or Jesus Christ? Umm, no.

Or one can go with areas tied to scripture but not of Scripture. Ben Hur and The Robe come to mind. An issue with Scriptural accuracy arises when one goes with a major character and decide they need to make changes.

 

[JustMeSee]

To make any full length biblical movie about a section of The Holy Bible, some creative licence must take place, even if it includes non cannon sources.

Dialogue and filler has to written to get 90 to 120 minutes of story. Not necessarily wild departure, but some extrapolation to tie the biblical points together.

Strict biblical text would likely make for much shorter movies.

 

[Inkachu]

You don't think a 5 minute movie would be a hit?

 

[Paulos23]

You don't think a 5 minute movie would be a hit?

Only on YouTube.

 

[Inkachu]

I can see it now. Bible vines.

 

[keith99]

You don't think a 5 minute movie would be a hit?

Well I can think of one much shorter that launched a TV series.

It the phrase "What would Brian Boytano do" means something to you then you likely know the series.

Probably should not have mentioned it as someone will consider it part of the war on Christmas.

 

[Supreme]

Only on YouTube.

YouTube has a lot to answer for regarding shortening my attention span.