ABSTRACT
Many films incorporate the Bible by citing or alluding to specific biblical texts, including a biblical character or image, or featuring a physical Bible as a prop. This chapter explores some of the various ways in which biblical texts, characters, images, and Bibles appear in cinema. It examines six films: exploring the powerful role of sex and gender in Jesus’ movement, Mary Magdalene portrays a Mary who departs from her typical depiction in most Jesus films. Pulp Fiction illustrates how a film misquotes, interprets, and reinterprets a biblical text. The use of a biblical text in Magnolia illuminates central themes of the film, and invites reconsideration of the text’s potential meanings. Dead Man Walking and Hacksaw Ridge highlight debates over how to understand and apply the Bible to contemporary and contested ethical issues. The Book of Eli illustrates different ways in which the Bible operates and functions as a physical object.
