Top "Reformed" Movies?
Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 05:22PM 
National Review Online just released their top 25 "conservative" movies. I've only seen a couple of them, which means I'm not very conservative, or I have different tastes than John J. Miller, or I don't see as many movies.
In any case, the top NRO film was "Lives of Others." Hmmm . . . Here's their list. Click here: The Best Conservative Movies on National Review / Digital
If NRO can have a top 25 of "conservative" movies, maybe we Reformed types (OK, we'll let our Lutheran and evangelical friends participate as well) can come up with our own list.
So, if you can think of any movie which you think every Reformed Christian ought to see, post them in the comments section below, and after some times goes by, I'll post the list.
As for me, here are a few I can think of (in no particular order) . . . I'm sure I'll add more later on (as I think of them).
Tombstone (1993) -- What can I say? This is my all-time favorite movie. I'll never forget seeing Mike Horton, Rod Rosenbladt, and R.C. Sproul watching this on pay-per-view in the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver (during CBA). That scene of male-bonding is permanently etched in my memory. I'm sure RC can still recite the dialogue from memory.
Cromwell (1993) -- As a historical drama, its so-so. But it is rather chilling to see soldiers advance to battle while singing Psalms and holding banners with Bible verses. The scene of the Arminian king Charles I's execution (Alec Guinness) is haunting. As the executioner pulls the king's head from the basket and holds it up, he declares, "Behold! Your king." Man, is that powerful.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy -- Easily the most beautifully-done films I've ever seen. Doesn't the Dark Lord Sauron and his army of Orcs remind us of the totalitarian/fascist state?
Lady Jane (1985) -- Lady Jane Gray was Queen of England for a mere nine days. The scene when she's grilled about the number of sacraments is very powerful. A bit of a "chick flick" but still quite good.
To End All Wars (2001) -- A very powerful film which wrestles with the question, "what does it mean to love our enemies?" especially when the scene is the brutality of war and forced labor in a prison camp.
Luther (2003) -- OK, its not as good as the old black and white film Martin Luther (1953), and we can quibble about some of the content, but it does a great job of giving us a sense of the times.
Babette's Feast (1989) -- Two Danish girls (daughters of a Lutheran pastor) prepare a glorious feast in a drab Danish village of drab Danish people. The drab folks prefer their drab existence to the glorious meal freely offered them. The Lutheran and sacramental imagery is obvious--but even we Reformed folk can appreciate the point.
Reader Comments (58)
I've seen 3 items of your list--although I'd say 5 as you included a trilogy.
The Older B&W Luther is better, but they did do a reasonable job on the newer one, and there are some scenes that just made me want to cheer--the truth was expressed, and expressed well.
I agree on the Cromwell one as well--it took liberties, but was an engaging tale that again had scenes that inspired.
With a scene that seems to mock the misguided movement, I'm not sure how "Juno" is pro-life. I wonder if the same PoMo method of reading into authorial intent is being employed that actually finds "Horton Hears a Who" just as pro-life ("A person's a person no matter how small"). I suppose the need for cultural clout is so strong people see things that aren't really there. But just like Forrest Gump does Calvinism better than many Calvinists, Juno can hold her own:
Dad to Juno: "What's wrong with you?"
Juno to Dad: "I've lost faith in humanity."
Dad back to Juno: "Could you narrow that down a bit?"
While I have no idea what a "Reformed" film is either, good pick on "Babette's Feast."
A "Reformed" film? Not quite...but a magnificent piece of storytelling visually and morally. A glorius film - real men, fearing God on the open sea.
Robin
I don't know if I would call any of these 'Reformed movies' (not even sure what that means), but the following are definitely worth seeing:
The Straight Story
Sophie Scholl
Ponette
Godfather (I and II)
Searching For Bobby Fischer
Casablanca
12 Angry Men
Bridge on the River Kwai
The Princess Bride (just because)
To Kill a Mockingbird
Band of Brothers (not a typical movie, but a must-see)
The Usual Suspects
Hotel Rwanda
and last, but not least:
Napoleon Dynamite :-)
A Man For All Seasons (1966); C.S. Lewis: Through the Shadowlands (2004 British Version); Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)
I'd also like to add my votes for: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and Hotel Rwanda (2005).
The Hiding Place (1975)
Very, very impressive, especially the way her christian convictions are portrayed.
I didn't like the other two, so I'm only suggesting the first.
Gee, now I have to re-watch all my movies to see if they can be considered "reformed". There goes my vacation! :-)
GGM
Fargo. I loved the juxtaposition of a simple, "good" couple to the utter deparvity around them and how in the face of that depravity they hold on to each other and what is right.
The Apostle- While I am not drawn to pentecostal worship, Robert Duvall does an amazing job at portraying the justified but still a sinner dichotomy. Also the conversion scene in front of the church is pretty powerful
Tender Mercies, again Duvall portrays a person who loves because he was loved first-by God and by the woman who takes him in.
Run Lola Run, This movie is visually stunning and I love the fact that the only time of the three repetitions of events when things work out okay is when the lead charachter prays as she runs-it is only one or two words, like "please" but it was powerful.
With respect to Kim's favorite movie-Tombstone, my favoorit lines are Doc Haliday's calling one of the bad guys "huckleberry " with a wink, thereby resulting in a shootout and his statement that what Ringo wants is not so much revenge as a "reckoning".
LOTR is probably the most unbelievable film making I have seen.
Juno, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Arsenic and Old Lace (Raymond Massey is scarey), Casablanca, Maltese Falcon, High Noon, Robin Hood (Errol Flynn version), Sliverado, Dances with Wolves, Quigley Down Under, A Soldiers Storey, The Haunting (1962 version with Julie Christie), Any Three Stooges short with Curley.
Signs seems to have been overlooked. Is everything by chance or does everything have a purpose?
Also, I recently have seen the Kill Bill movies. The ending conversation was great. Can a leopard change its spots? Yet she chose to have a new life and break from the old.
There is a sci-fi horror movie called Event Horizon that ends with an interesting conversation. "Are we going to hell?" To which the demon responds, "Hell...hell is just a word. The reality is much worse." It is a movie in which the "Darkness" shows men what is truly in them (sin and massive guilt, Total Depravity).
Castaway is clearly about choice verses determinism.
A few others came and went in my mind. If I re-think of them I'll post them. I have been amazed over the past few years how many movies are discussing freewill and determinism among other reformed ideas.
Thanks for the idea Pastor Riddlebarger!
Pfaaaah! "He's only mostly dead." Sounds Arminian to me. :-).
That's incontheivable.
The depravity of the Pirates and the suggested "goodness" of the British throughout all three films speaks to the depravity in us all. Some go hog wild into their depravity, others assume to be righteous for their wickedness is hidden by class. Of course Barbosa's line to Miss Swan in Curse of the Black Pearl is amazing... "The drink would not satisfy, food turned to ash in our mouths, and all the pleasurable company in the world could not slake our lust. We are cursed men, Miss Turner. Compelled by greed, we were, but now we are consumed by it" If only we would realize that humanity is not "Pre-Pirate Miss Swan" (purely innocent, yet dabbling with danger), but we are the cursed ones.
Batman: Dark Knight
The depravity of the underbelly is amazingly obvious, as is the Joker. The innocent Harvey Dent shows his true colors. Batman is portrayed as he truly is - Dark Knight. The boat scenes where humanity shows there "goodness" is a great conversation startere on what is truly "good". Of course, Batman sacrificing himself and bearing Harvey's guilt and shame to "save" the people of Gotham has some strong illusions to Christ.
Speaking of illusions to Christ... Gran Turino! If you haven't seen it, it is a must see. Refreshingly un-politically correct and real, bashing fresh out of Seminary ministers as not really knowing life, redemption and reconciliation, and an ending that screams Christ's sacrifice... outstanding.
Starring Paul Newman and Jessica Tandy (in what was to be one of her last roles before she died), the story has no real plot, but simply follows the development of the characters' lives throughout the film. The role Newman plays, "Sully" Sullivan, reflects self-centered, aging construction worker who has pretty much lived his life however he pleased without much regard for the plight of his fellow man, or family for that matter. Various circumstances lead Sully to realize that his life is very much involved with others, whether he likes it or not.
It's certainly not a film with any kind of "religious" implications, but is a nice story nonetheless, and a film that contained what Newman himself called one of his favorite roles as an actor.