Priests, religious, and the Oscars
Two of this year’s eight best picture Academy Award nominees, “Spotlight” and “Brooklyn,” present dramatically different depictions of Catholic clergy — although neither gives a clerical character more...
View ArticleMardi Gras and movies: Easy riders, anthropomorphic frogs
Ash Wednesday is just around the corner, and of course that means so is Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras. New Orleans’ legendary Mardi Gras celebration has been depicted or used as a backdrop in scores of...
View ArticlePraying with Carmelites: 'No Greater Love'
“No Greater Love” is available on DVD from Ignatius Press and can be purchased via Amazon. At St. Charles Square in North Kensington, in west London’s trendy Notting Hill neighborhood, is an outpost of...
View ArticleHitchcock’s most Catholic films
“I Confess” (1953) is new on Blu-ray from Warner Archive Collection. “The Wrong Man” was recently released on Blu-ray and DVD from the Warner Archive Collection. NOTE: This column contains spoilers. *...
View ArticleJesus movies and anti-Semitism
“Jesus of Nazareth” is new on Blu-ray this week from Shout! Factory. “The Passion of the Christ” marked its 12th anniversary Thursday (Feb. 25). If Pope John Paul II really said “It is as it was” after...
View ArticleSilent rage against the machine: 'Metropolis' and 'Modern Times'
“The Complete Metropolis” and “Modern Times” are available on Blu-ray from, respectively, Kino Lorber and The Criterion Collection. They are also both available streaming from Amazon. This Sunday,...
View ArticleAnimation and the cultures of life and death
“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” That famous maxim of Dr. Seuss’s high-minded elephant Horton, hero of “Horton Hears a Who!” and “Horton Hatches the Egg,” has long been claimed by...
View ArticleBest Picture nominee 'Brooklyn' is a rare gem about ordinary life
“Brooklyn” is new this week on Blu-ray and DVD. “Brooklyn” is what seems like an increasingly rare gift: a film about the drama and discovery of an ordinary human life: about love and loss, sorrow and...
View Article'That’s a crucifixion!'
Some people think the Crucifixion only took place on Calvary. They better wise up! Taking Joey Doyle’s life to stop him from testifying is a crucifixion. And dropping a sling on Kayo Dugan because he...
View Article‘Bicycle Thieves’ and true poverty
One of the 45 films of the 1995 Vatican film list in the “Values” category, “Bicycle Thieves” (1948) is new on Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection. The enduring power of Vittorio De Sica’s...
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