What Christian Movies Do You Find To Be The Most Rewatchable?

[FireDragon76]

I actually think Song of Bernadette is one of the best religious-themed films of all time . My pastor likes it, too.

Most of the other religious films of that time period (50's and 60's and before) were not very good. More shallow spectacle and pablum for the pious than good films.

I am a retired Methodist pastor. For 8 years, I showed well-attended monthly movies to a good crowd of visitors at my church after free dinners. So I've seen most movies on Christian themes. Here are my Top 5:

1. "The Mission" (Robert DeNiro, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson)
I've seen this movie about 20 times. It is based on true facts about enslavement of Amazon Indians at the same time the Jesuits were trying to convert them--and were martyred for their efforts. This movie has the most gripping conversion story ever put on the big screen. The dilemma confronted by the Jesuits about their proper Christian priorities are unequaled in profundity in movie history.

This is a good film, probably one of the best with a religious theme. Lots of Christian themes here like forgiveness and redemption.

2. "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" (Ingrid Bergman)
Many movie critics consider this Bergman's best ever performance in her role as Gladys Aylward, the most spiritually effective female Protestant missionary (to China) of all time. The movie chronicles her humiliating rejection as a missionary because she was dyslexic and unqualified, a rejection she stunningly overcomes with spectacular effect. Her heroic efforts to save Chinese orphans in the face of Japanese aggression in the 1930s are still studied by the U. S. military.

She's regarded as a hero still in China, though many Americans and British Christians have forgotten her.

I agree, it's a good film, worth watching.

I saw Hacksaw Ridge a few years ago and I thought it was good film and had a religious theme, though it was one that many American evangelicals probably would not be as familiar with, since it deals with conscientious objection and also a bit different take on masculinity. Mel Gibson is an artist at both portraying violence but also sensitively portraying religious perspectives (a theme in most of his movies in the past few decades).

 

[Bible Highlighter]

I got the DVD for Heaven's War to add it to my Christian DVD collection. In time, I will probably give it away to someone I know, and I will probably end up buying the movie a couple of times. For I really love movies that are professionally done and are entertaining that point us to Jesus Christ. We need more movies like this that share the love of Jesus Christ. The movie is biblically sound (With one small minor thing that is easy to explain or overlook, see my "Side Note" write up below).

I also watched the director's commentary that is available on the DVD, too. It made me appreciate the struggle they were under in regards to the budget. The movie was originally set to release in 2013. It went through the movies title names of: "Out of Darkness" and "Beyond the Darkness" to it's final name: "Heaven's War." (Which is a much better name). The movie is filmed in Austin, Texas, and Round Rock Texas. They pulled off a big production budget looking movie (Which I am sure was under a limited budget to other films). Movies like the recent Samson film (2018) by Pureflix (that had a big budget) had extremely poor special effects. What is odd is that Mutiny FX worked on both the recent Samson movie and this film. But the effects were amazing in this film. Why? Well, the director on Heaven's War was doing post special effects shots work additionally from 2013 to 2018 and he wanted to make the effects look like a big budget movie (along with a high film quality production).

While the movie is great, the DVD is super basic.
No animation or sound in any of the menus (Including the main menu). This is understandable because it sounded like they were on a very limited budget. It has 5.1 Surround Sound and Subtitles in English and in Spanish. The special features is only the "Director's Commentary" which I enjoyed listening to (Because I was involved in doing two independent films back in my home state).

The film website is really impressive looking.
Probably one of the best film websites I have seen in a long time. If you are interested, you can check that out here:

Heaven's War Movie

You can rent it via Amazon Prime Video for like 4 bucks. I initially bought the film outright online at Prime so as to watch the film later with my wife.

Anyways, thank you for reading, and may the Lord's goodness be upon you today.

Sincerely,

~ Jason.


Side Note:

The one small biblical thing they get wrong (Which is minor and understandable because most churches believe this) is that the angel character named "Gabriel" suggests that those in hell will experience "eternal torment."

I no longer believe in Eternal Conscious Torment (ECT) based on Scripture and the light of God's goodness. I believe the Bible teaches Dualistic Conditional Immortality; This is the biblical belief that hell is a real place of torment that exists, but after the Judgment, the wicked (including the devil and his minions) will be cast into the Lake of Fire and they will eventually be destroyed after they are punished fairly for the sins they committed.

This did not bother me that the film briefly suggests the view of Eternal Torment because Revelation 20:10 sounds like eternal torment when you read it at first glance. In fact, the words "for ever and ever" in Revelation 20:10 is talking in context to how long the Lake of Fire will exist (Which is for a limited time); For there are many things that are mentioned in the Bible as being "forever" that really do not last "forever." "Forever" (or it's related synonyms) can be in context to how long a covenant will last or in context to somebody's life here on this Earth and it does not mean for all eternity. To see the verses on this, see my Christian forum's post here (in another thread).

May God bless you, and I hope that you will enjoy the film.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

I actually think Song of Bernadette is one of the best religious-themed films of all time . My pastor likes it, too.

Well, I am not sure I will be watching this one (Seeing it is a Catholic film).

I saw Hacksaw Ridge a few years ago and I thought it was good film and had a religious theme, though it was one that many American evangelicals probably would not be as familiar with, since it deals with conscientious objection and also a bit different take on masculinity. Mel Gibson is an artist at both portraying violence but also sensitively portraying religious perspectives (a theme in most of his movies in the past few decades).

I liked Hacksaw Ridge. My one minor problem with the film is that there was no tie in ending scene involving his love interest. They built up the relationship in the movie, and they did not tie it up with a proper ending. But besides that, it was really well done. I used to own this film in my Christian DVD collection. But I eventually took it out because I do not agree with Seventh Day Adventism.

 

[RDKirk]

I haven't liked most Christian movies I've seen. Most are cheesy and contrived, and a number are downright objectionable in their cultural presumptions.

But these I've found re-watchable:

The Prince of Egypt [Nothing to dislike here.]
Ben-Hur (Remake) [The "magical Negro" Morgan Freeman was the weak part of this one]
Risen [The only thing I didn't like in this was Peter's acceptance of the Roman at the end. That's not the Peter of scripture.]

Notice that none of these are set in the modern day, which avoids much of what I don't like in Christian movies.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

I haven't liked most Christian movies I've seen. Most are cheesy and contrived, and a number are downright objectionable in their cultural presumptions.

But these I've found re-watchable:

The Prince of Egypt [Nothing to dislike here.]
Ben-Hur (Remake) [The "magical Negro" Morgan Freeman was the weak part of this one]
Risen [The only thing I didn't like in this was Peter's acceptance of the Roman at the end. That's not the Peter of scripture.]

Notice that none of these are set in the modern day, which avoids much of what I don't like in Christian movies.

Did you see you any of the other Christian films on my list?

 

[FireDragon76]

I think most of the God's Not Dead series were horrible but the third in the series was a bit more thoughtful and well done.

I am also partial to Luther (2003) and Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace (2000). Both were produced by Thrivent. The acting in both is good, and they have similar treatments of their subjects as biopics- they are more than just being hagiography.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

I think most of the God's Not Dead series were horrible but the third in the series was a bit more thoughtful and well done.

I am not a fan of the God's Not Dead series, either. First of all, the name of the series is negative (Which is a response to atheistic claims). It is stating something that was never true to begin with. So I hate the title of this movie series and I dislike the punk look of the lead singer and the song even more.

Second, I did not like the first movie because it promoted Duck Dynasty characters as an example of Christianity. Their net worth is over 15 million. So they obviously believe in a prosperity gospel of some kind. However, 1 Timothy 6 dispels any idea of being rich (along with the words of Jesus in Matthew 19). The character played by Kevin Sorbo is a former believer turned atheist. Yet, when he is about to die, he is encouraged to accept Jesus Christ again and he does. While I am not discounting the possibility of super rare cases (of a person who may not have truly believed), I do not think that such a thing should be promoted because of Hebrews 6.

4"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."
(Hebrews 6:4-6).​

In other words, this character in the film was either never truly saved to begin with whereby he could accept the Lord, or the creators of this film are promoting something that is simply not possible according to Scripture.

The second film I only enjoyed because of the court room scene. They defended the existence of Jesus Christ and made a good case for him. Besides that, the rest of the film is pretty forgetful. But the court room scene is what makes this movie worthwhile. Pretty much I would recommend to just watch the courtroom scene and skip the other parts of the movie.

In reflection, the third installment I was not wild about. The strength of the movie was between the two brothers and I did enjoy their interaction. Besides that, it was all about the protagonist being all upset and mopey. Yes, he lost his church and his best friend, but we never truly got to feel the emotional attachment to his loss. I also did not like the whole world peace candle prayer thingy. On the national day of prayer, folks are to light a candle, too. Yet, there is no stipulation what religion you are of so as to participate. Things like the national day of prayer is no different than a gathering of all religions together. This is clearly against the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus was not about the acceptance of other religions.

But yes. The God Not Dead Series is pretty bad overall with only a few scenes of enjoyment.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

I
I am also partial to Luther (2003) and Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace (2000). Both were produced by Thrivent. The acting in both is good, and they have similar treatments of their subjects as biopics- they are more than just being hagiography.

I may check out Bonhoeffer sometime.
Thank you for suggesting it.

 

[FireDragon76]

The things you see as weaknesses in God's Not Dead 3, I tend to see as its strengths. I didn't find the focus on the pastors reaction all that problematic, especially because the film is taking a self-critical look at some of the cliches in evangelical religion, especially the feelings of victimization and entitlement.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

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[Albion]

The Bishop's Wife (1947)

 

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[Bible Highlighter]

Update:

I did a clean up of some of my posts, and updated my original list of movies.

#1. I included links on where to rent my recommended movies. You can check that out in post #2, post #3, and post #4.

#2. I included promo videos for certain films.

(a) To see the first 7 minutes of "Heaven's War" (Formerly called "Beyond the Darkness"), check out post #35.

(b) To see a video clip of the first 3 and a half minutes of
"77 Chances," see post #8.

(c) To check out a nice music video for "Champion," see post #38.
​

#3. I changed the quality of a few of the trailers to be in HD quality.

#4. I re-arranged the order of my movie list slightly.

#5. I added a few comments to certain films in posts 2-4.

I hope this helps.

Oh, and I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to check out the promo videos and or trailers for my recommended films.

I hope you will rent them some time and that you will like them as much as I did and that Christ will be magnified by such films.

Anyways, may the Lord Jesus Christ bless you all.

With loving kindness to you in Christ:

Sincerely,

~ Jason.

 

[Sophrosyne]

I just got through watching Woodlawn..... was better than expected for a movie with Football at the center and that deal with racism showing the power of the Gospel.
Amazing Grace is a good movie, about William Wilberforce and his fight to end slavery in England in the 1800s.
Barrabas (1962) with Anthony Quinn is another good movie.
I have Bonhoeffer and liked it too.
I liked Facing the Giants better than Courageous and Flywheel even better.
King of Kings is another good one
One Night With the King

 

[Bible Highlighter]

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[mama2one]

liked this movie which saw last year

All Saints - About The Movie

 

[ProjectExodus]

I've got membership on ChristianCinema. I love renting there. I haven't really found many Christian movies to be re-watchable in the conventional sense. I enjoy renting different films each time, especially docs. Instead I'll share what I would definitely watch again.

1. Is Genesis History?
2. Patterns of Evidence: Exodus (Tim Mahoney.)
3. Moses (Sight and Sound Theaters)

I really like all of those. The first is mind blowing evidence of Genesis. The second is really good proof of Exodus, the proper way. The play about Moses was really, really, good looking.

One can't put a price on education, outside the system. It is priceless.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

I've got membership on ChristianCinema. I love renting there. I haven't really found many Christian movies to be re-watchable in the conventional sense. I enjoy renting different films each time, especially docs. Instead I'll share what I would definitely watch again.

1. Is Genesis History?
2. Patterns of Evidence: Exodus (Tim Mahoney.)
3. Moses (Sight and Sound Theaters)

I really like all of those. The first is mind blowing evidence of Genesis. The second is really good proof of Exodus, the proper way. The play about Moses was really, really, good looking.

One can't put a price on education, outside the system. It is priceless.

Did you see any of the movies on my list in post #1?

If not, I would highly recommend them.

Note: You can check out the poster artwork, trailers, or video previews, where to rent in post #2, post #3, and post #4.

Anyways, may God bless you.

 

[sunshineforJesus]

A new favorite of mine is the war room,and Left Behind is really good too.

 

[keith99]

I haven't liked most Christian movies I've seen. Most are cheesy and contrived, and a number are downright objectionable in their cultural presumptions.

But these I've found re-watchable:

The Prince of Egypt [Nothing to dislike here.]
Ben-Hur (Remake) [The "magical Negro" Morgan Freeman was the weak part of this one]
Risen [The only thing I didn't like in this was Peter's acceptance of the Roman at the end. That's not the Peter of scripture.]

Notice that none of these are set in the modern day, which avoids much of what I don't like in Christian movies.

I thought the remake of Ben Hur pretty much turned your Christ into a footnote. I would call the insertion of Morgan Freeman as a magic negro was more than a weak point, it was outright offensive. That offence is doubled as he more or less replaces an Arab character. Can't have any good Arabs in a Christian film. It also pretty much cuts out the subplot regarding Judah Ben Hur's mother and sister. Not to mention turning the part where Judah Ben Hur escapes death then the ship he was a galley slave on is sunk into something absurd when the original is both believable and something one could argue was an example of reaping what you sow and God working in mysterious ways.