The Best Christian Movies of All Time
http://www.christianmovies.biz/
Some of you may not realize that I own a web site dedicated to Christian movies. I majored in film criticism at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, back in the 1970s. Before the days of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, Hollywood was starting to look very much like an industry on its last leg; so I switched to art - a far, far more stable profession. 
Then the motion picture industry made its incredible comeback, thanks to independents like Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas. I don't regret my decision to switch professions; yet, film has remained one of my passions, and I have looked forward to the day when Christian films would be able to stand alongside non-Christian films and hold their own. With movies like Blindside and Soul Surfer, I think that day has come.
There wasn't always a need to distinguish Christian films from non-Christian, because most films before 1968 were Christian, in worldview if not in theme, thanks to the Hays Code. There was a genre called "Biblical Epics," which, technically speaking, is what we today would call Christian films. But there was as much Christianity in movies like Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, and It's A Wonderful Life as in any Biblical Epic. It seems unfortunate that this division between what is Christian and what is not exists today. It was The Passion Of The Christ and its $400 million gross sales that convinced us that this may not be a bad thing.
Three well-respected writers take issue with this dichotomous thinking:
My Favorite “Little” Movies
Independent, low-budget, big-hearted, well-written, well-acted, intimate little films that will bring a smile to your face and a tear to your eye.
Twice a year, in the summer and at Christmas time, Hollywood rolls out their big blockbuster movies, full of special effects, including 3D. But you know, I rarely go back to those films. The movies I keep coming back to are what I would call "little films": movies that are full of intimacy, a good story and memorable characters. Those are the films that last, and, if it's possible, change lives.
Here are some of my favorite "little" movies. For the most part they're independent, low-budget films; yet, they're all well-written, well-acted and full of heart. They're the kind of movie that puts a smile on your face and a tear in your eye. I hope you enjoy them. Happy New Year!
The Artist (2011)
5-Star Masterpiece - Romantic Comedy-Drama - starring Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo and John Goodman; written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius - Weinstein Company
Rarely do I see a movie that I would call "perfect"… but this one is. It has everything: a wonderfully touching story, great performances, beautiful cinematography and score. The one thing it lacks is sound. That's right - it's a silent film. Because it is about a silent movie star, the producers decided to make the film itself silent. When I first heard about it, I doubted that a silent film would work today, let alone get to me - but it did. It is the most delightful film I've seen in a long, long time. The details of late 1920s Hollywood, when sound movies were making their debut, are perfect: no film has ever been successful at capturing that period, in my opinion - until now.
With great charisma and charm, French actor Jean Dujardin portrays silent film star George Valentin (loosely based on Douglas Fairbanks), the hottest idol in Hollywood, and someone who really enjoys the spotlight. Then he meets Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), a young woman who wants to break into film herself. George is taken with her and decides to give her a break; in the process, they fall in love. Then sound enters the picture, and movies go from silent to talkies almost overnight. As George, who is unequipped for this change, watches his star fall, Peppy's rises meteorically. It's a classic love story set against the most turbulent years of Hollywood.
The filmmakers masterfully use the medium of silent film to tell their story in a very poignant and very clever way that I predict will take the Oscars this year by storm. (Dujardin has already won Best Actor at Cannes and the Golden Globes for his performance, and the film itself has won Best Comedy and Best Score at the Golden Globes.) There are many nods to Hollywood icons, including Singing In The Rain (which deals with the same time period), A Star Is Born (which, like The Artist, deals with the rise of a young actress and the fall of an older actor), Asta (the scene-stealing dog from The Thin Man series), etc. John Goodman is wonderfully cast against type as producer Al Zimmer. For those who love good movies, this one will steal your heart.
Rated PG-13
Dr. Waitsel’s COMEDY Rx – Part 2
Twenty More of the Funniest, Happiest, Most Entertaining Movies of All Time
Laughter is still the best medicine (Proverbs 17:22), and I think what many of us still need is just to laugh. I have twenty more films that I have seen dozens of times each, all of which have never failed to make me laugh and feel good. I hope they do the same for you. So, forget about the economy, your personal and relational problems, the upcoming elections, and just let the healing power of laughter take care of what ails you. It's all in God's hands anyway. So, while you're waiting for His answers, enjoy these light-hearted remedies.
Before we begin, I'd like to say two things. First, comedy is a matter of taste. I've provided movies from a lot of decades and a lot of comedy styles. Just because you don't like one of my choices, don't think you won't like others. Do yourself a favor and give them all at least one shot. Second, kids and especially teenagers are probably not going to like my black-and-white selections. Unless your kids are especially sophisticated, I would not expect them to enjoy any black-and-white movie, with two possible exceptions: Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers. You can try those and if they like them, try some others. But don't' start them out on a sophisticated Cary Grant or even a family-oriented Frank Capra comedy. Preston Sturges is somewhere in the middle: his work is fast-paced, loud and crazy enough that they may forget that they're watching black-and-white. Whatever you do, ease them in gradually. Remember: you're dealing with people that prefer a hamburger and fries to prime rib, asparagus and potatoes au gratin.
Waitsel’s Best Movies of 2010
Grab your popcorn and let's talk.
The Oscars are less than a week away, and before those "amateurs" in Hollywood pick the mediocre films upon whom to bestow their highest honors, I want to get my two cents in. So here's my "Best of 2010" movie list. Last year, my readers seemed to like it. I hope you will again. It is a labor of love. Among the values I look for in a film are artistic merit; spiritual, cultural and historical relevance; humanity; and just plain good story-telling.
Going in, let me say that the movies this year were a little short on love and laughs; but they made up for it in drama and action. Most of the laughs were in the family arena. After my list of the top ten best movies from 2010, I offer five more that are worth mentioning, and ten films to look forward to in 2010, with some final reflections on the film industry in general. So, without further adieu, roll the film.
The greatest athlete that has ever lived: the horse, Secretariat - greatest Triple Crown winner (1973) in history
MOST INSPIRING - Secretariat
5 Stars
This is The Blind Side for horseracing, with, again, a strong female lead in Diane Lane (Nights In Rodanthe, Must Love Dogs, Under The Tuscan Sun) who plays the owner of racing's most famous thoroughbred. Unlike the unknown company that produced Blind Side and made their budget opening weekend (and ten times that to date), Disney did this one, with less than spectacular boxoffice results. But I really believe this is a dark horse. It has everything that most discerning filmgoers want in a movie: a bigger-than-life hero (there has never been a greater athlete than the horse, Secretariat), a rivetting story (like most movies about athletes, he is discounted by the people who are supposed to know good horseflesh and overcomes incredible obstacles to prove himself), likable characters (with John Malkovich, as his quirky trainer, Lucien Laurin, stealing the show as usual), and a more than satisfying ending. Plus you get some of the finest racing footage ever shot, Seabiscuit not withstanding. What's really amazing is that this well-made, true-life story of the greatest Triple Crown winner in history has been overlooked by all the major motion picture award ceremonies, including the upcoming Oscars. I guess director Randall Wallace, who wrote Braveheart and wrote and directed We Were Soldiers, would agree with his star, Mel Gibson, that the Oscars are a nothing more than a celebration of mediocrity. I certainly do.
If you've never seen Secretariat run, do yourself the favor of looking at the 1973 Belmont Stakes on YouTube.
PG
Meet Me in Rome!
Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in William Wyler's Roman Holiday
Hepburn plays a princess of a small nation playing hooky from her duties, and Peck is a wiley reporter just trying to get a story.
The "Mouth of Truth" located in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome, Italy. This is the location of one of the best scenes in the movie.
Legend has it that if someone given to lying sticks his hand in the Mouth, it will bite it off. Both Joe and Anna have been telling a pack of lies about themselves, so neither is particularly eager to test the legend. But, unbeknownst to Hepburn, Peck had planned ahead to act like his hand had really been bitten off. When they shot the scene, and he screamed and then pulled out his arm with his hand up his sleeve, Hepburn's reaction of shock was real. It makes an unforgetable scene.
Hepburn and Peck playing cards between takes
Hepburn and Peck on a runaway skooter
Of course they end up in each other's arms
ROMAN HOLIDAY
Best Romance, 1953 - 5-Star Masterpiece
Perhaps the Most Perfect Romantic-Comedy Ever Made
That's not just my opinion - it seems to be universal. It was directed by one of the all time greats, William Wyler, who is known for such mega classics as Ben-Hur (1959), for which he won the Oscar for Best Director; Friendly Persuasion (1956), Detective Story (1951), The Big Country, The Heiress (1949); The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946), for which he was named Best Director; Mrs. Miniver (1942), for which he again won Best Director; The Little Foxes (1941), The Letter (1940), Wuthering Heights (1939) and Dodsworth (1936).
Wyler has more Oscar nominations than any other director (12), and only John Ford has more wins (4). Even without those nominations and wins, Wyler would have to be considered one of the top three directors of all time, along with John Ford and Frank Capra, for the sheer quality and quantity of his work. He is considered to be second only to Ford as a "master craftsmen of cinema." And even though Roman Holiday is a "little" film, as far as budget and scope, it has a huge heart and was probably a lot more fun to make than many of his larger productions. It's definitely more fun to watch.
I’m Taking You to Italy!
"We're not really talking about glass, are we?" You got that right. Katharine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi in David Lean's Summertime, an incredibly romantic film set in an incredibly romantic city - Venice
- Jane and Renato first see each other in a cafe in the Piazza San Marco
- Not knowing it is his, Jane stumbles into Renato's antique shop, attracted by a red goblet in the window. This shop is located in San Barnaba di Venezia.
- Jane and her self-appointed guide, Mauro, in Piscina Sant'Agnese in Dorsoduro. The photo in the corner shows how it looks in recent years. Italians preserve their past; which is why watching this 1955 film is almost like going there today.
- Jane falling into the canal on San Barnaba di Venezia while trying to film Renato's shop. Mauro saves the camera just in time. The photo in the corner is of the San Barnaba di Venezia in recent years, but from the opposite direction. The shop by the bridge in the lower left was used as Renato's shop in the movie, so Hepburn would have fallen into the canal in the foreground. She got an eye infection from that, and suffered from it for the rest of her life.
There are other places known for their charming waterways besides just Venice. One of them is San Antonio. If you go there, you will want to spend most of your time on the River Walk. Wonderful waterside cafes amidst gigantic cedars make this a very pleasant place to dine with a friend.
Best Films Set in Italy, Beginning with...
SUMMERTIME (aka, Summer Madness)
Best Romance, 1955 - 5 Stars
A very romantic film set in a very romantic city
This summer, I'm taking you to Italy... via your DVD player. There are some fabulous "vacation packages" out there, and they're only a click away. Each one is set in a different city, and they all make you feel like you're actually there. I'll finish up the summer with an Italian film that I consider to be their best.
Our first stop is Venice, and the movie is Summertime, starring Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi, Isa Miranda and Darren McGavin. It is 1955, and this is David Lean's last "little" movie, before directing such monumental classics as The Bridge Over The River Kwai, Lawrence Of Arabia, The Greatest Story Ever Told and Doctor Zhivago. But the ones preceding Summertime are no slouches either, including Oliver Twist, Great Expectations and Brief Encounter. So Summertime stands as a turning point in Lean's career - one last summer fling before getting down to some very serious work.
Field Of Dreams
Kevin Costner as Ray Kinsella; Amy Madigan as his wife, Annie; Gaby Hoffmann as his daughter, Karin; and Dwier Brown as Ray's father, John.
Most Inspiring Film, 1989 - 5-Star Masterpiece
Field Of Dreams is about Lost Dreams and the Place to Find Them
And it's about baseball; but baseball is just a metaphor for something bigger. It's about an Iowa farmer named Ray who hears a voice that tells him, "If you build it, he will come." He knows the Voice wants him to build a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield; which, oddly enough, he's willing to do because he thinks it will keep him from ending up like his dad - a man that "never did one spontaneous thing in his life." But he thinks the field is for "Shoeless" Joe Jackson - one of the infamous eight "Black Sox" that were barred from baseball for life in 1920 - so he will come and play baseball again... which he does, but that's not the reason for the field.
Later, Ray gets a second message that tells him, "Ease his pain," which sends him off on a road trip to pick up Terence Mann - really J. D. Salinger, author of Catcher In The Rye, according to Shoeless Joe, the book on which the film is based - and a small town doctor named Archibald "Moonlight" Graham. Kevin Costner plays Ray, Amy Madigan plays his wife Annie, Ray Liotta play Shoeless Joe, James Earl Jones plays Terence Mann, and Burt Lancaster plays Moonlight Graham. Together they find their dreams on a baseball diamond in the middle of an Iowa cornfield. But, as wonderful as all this is, that is still not why Ray was told to build the field.
At the climax of the film, Ray has to make a choice between selling his farm in order to keep from being foreclosed on, and risking everything in order to keep the baseball diamond. At that point, Terence Mann makes a little speech about what is best about America, and how baseball has marked the time throughout the years and helped keep us on track. Both he and Ray's daughter, Karin (played by Gaby Hoffmann), tell Ray that if he keeps the baseball diamond, people will come and pay to see it, and that will save the farm.
But what is the baseball diamond, really?
Waitsel’s Best Movies of 2009
Grab your popcorn and drink and let's talk.
It's that time of year, when everybody and their brother publishes a "Best of 2009" movie list. It's really becoming annoying. What makes my list different, I hope, is that I try to have a certain amount of objectivity and discernment about it. Just because I personally like certain aspects of a film or certain actors that are in it isn't enough to include it on my list: the film has to have some major redeeming values; which, today, is becoming increasingly more difficult to find. But, there are still some good movies out there, and I hope at some point there will be more. Among the values I look for are artistic merit; spiritual, cultural and historical relevance; humanity; and just plain good story-telling.
I apologize for the length of this article, but it contains a lot of information I think you will find interesting. After my list of the nine movies I liked best from 2009, I offer my comments on six films I was supposed to like but didn't, ten films to look forward to in 2010, and some reflections on the film industry in general. So, here we go.
BEST DRAMA / MOST INSPIRING - The Blind Side - 5-Star Masterpiece
If you don't see any other film from 2009, you have to see this one. Not only is it good drama and even inspiring, Sandra Bullock (The Proposal, Crash, Miss Congeniality) is to die for. She plays Leigh Anne Tuohy, a real-life, very high-mainteance, incredibly focused, tenacious wife, mother and interior designer, living a very wealthy lifestyle with her family in Memphis, Tennessee. One fateful rainy night, the family meets and decides to help a young, homeless black student from their children's private Christian school. He is Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), future All-American and first round NFL draft pick; but at the time, an introverted, poor student with only two qualities that might possibly help him to become a football player: his size and his protective instincts. Leigh Anne, with the help of husband Sean (Tim McGraw), son S.J. (Jae Head) and daughter Collins (Lily Collins), along with coach Burt Cotton (Ray McKinnon), help Michael to see his potential and use it to become, not only a talented football player, but a good student and an honorable man. So that, by the end of the film, he has coaches from all over the South vying for his recruitment.
This is a true story, based on the book by Michael Lewis (The Blind Side: Evolution Of A Game), and directed by John Lee Hancock (The Alamo, Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil, A Perfect World), who also co-wrote the screenplay with Lewis. Country music recording artist Tim McGraw is enjoyable as good-natured husband Sean, and also does the soundtrack. But Sandra Bullock steals the film. I know how good she is because I grew up in a Southern family with interior designers, and they're all high-maintenance, focused and tenacious like that. What makes Bullock's character extraordinary is the courage, heart and vision she adds to those qualities. But she never smiles... until the end of the film, and it's a classic moment. Another terrific scene is when the coaches from different universities are looking at a video of Oher blocking an opposing player that has been antagonizing him all game, and pushing him all the way down the field, into the end zone and over the fence. That's just one of the many times you'll laugh and cry simultaneously. This movie makes me glad there is still a movie industry.
PG-13