ABSTRACT
Jesus films have been the most popular type of Bible film. The first Jesus films coincided with cinema’s infancy in the late 19th century. This chapter examines 12 Jesus films whose significance is either in their shaping and influence of subsequent Jesus films – Intolerance, The King of Kings –, their status as “classic” Jesus films – The King of Kings, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Jesus of Nazareth –, or in their groundbreaking departure from traditional Jesus films – Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo, Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Passion of the Christ, Son of Man, The Last Days in the Desert. A year after his racist film Birth of a Nation, D. W. Griffith released Intolerance: Love’s Struggle Through the Ages. The film interweaves the four historical epochs of “love’s struggle against Intolerance,” and one of these features Jesus.
