Top "Reformed" Movies?

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.

Comments

[PB]

Good one Zrim. And never get involved in a land war is Asia...

[C T Hall]

I enjoyed Babette's Feast, I watched once by myself in college and then watched it with some members from the RUF I attended.

Citizen Kane shows well our mortality and that 'He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vapour.'

I also liked The Royal Tennebaums for the relational aspects, i.e., seeing how we hurt each other in our sin.

[Chris]

The Devil's Advocate

I can't believe nobody has suggested this one. Granted it is anything but "conservative" in the civil political sense of the term. But it is richly theological. It has foul language and nudity -- but I'm still convinced that both serve a theological purpose.

Milton, the Devil (played wonderfully by Al Pacino), says, "Vanity... is DEFINITELY my favorite sin." And in a lengthy dialogue with Keanu Reeves (okay, he was the weak link in the movie) points out that he (the Devil) doesn't MAKE us do anything. We're curved inward; we sin because that's what we DESIRE to do. And Milton is proud of the fact that he has nurtured every desire man has had -- "I'm a FAN OF MAN!"

It's my favorite movie of all time.

[DB]

The Princess Bride. Because there IS a difference between "dead" and "almost dead". As Miracle Max said (as i recall), "dead, you can't do anything about dead -- now almost dead that's something different" and right here we have the difference between the Augustinian and the (Semi-)Pelagian.

You can't do anything about dead -- only God can, but the semi-pelagian insists on interpreting Ephesians 2:1 "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins..." as "And you were MOSTLY dead in trespasses and sins..."

[Matt Holst]

Unforgiven by Clint Eastwood. This is one of the best Westerns ever made and is a strong argument for Total Depravity. The best scene in the film is of a young, hot shot gunslinger who tries to rationalize killing a fellow man, all the while trying to soothe his conscience with whiskey. His best defense for killing the man was: "He had it coming." Eastwood's reply: "We all have it coming, kid."

Gran Torino (see Justin's remarks)

Signs: Shymalan's film is both haunting and incredibly touching as a pastor who loses his faith after what he sees as a pointless death of his wife, sees the hands of a Providential God working in even the little things to accomplish an amazing plan. No Open Theist (or even a true Arminian for that matter) could accept such a premise, that God works through all things as opposed to merely reacting.

Blade Runner
The Wild Bunch
The Godfather (Parts II and I in that order)

[reg]

If television were also included, I would have to add the Band of Brothers miniseries.

[DSY]

The Purple Rose Of Cairo. An escapist film about escaping, and in the end not escaping.
DSY

[Richard]

How about the The Shawshank Redemption, about a prison inmate who was convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. This inmate escapes the prison, and in his escape, he crawls through a sewer line until he makes it outside the prison walls. The narrator says: “He crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.” Good Reformed theology that, about what the Son of God did FOR us.

[Chris Sherman]

To End All Wars - ok, but the book (Through the Valley of the Kwai) was much better. Makes my top 10. Babette's Feast is always interesting to see who doesn't get it. Lord of The Rings, I never realized until recently that Tolkien wrote it as a myth for the English people, not as an allegory. It works much better that way.

[Steven Carr]

Tombstone was good, but I thought Kevin Costner's Wyatt Earp was better.

Four other great movies: Black Hawk Down, We Were Soldiers, Flags of Our Fathers, and the Great Raid.

Also a great movie is The Mission--not only does it have superb cinematography and storyline but the sound track is a winner.

[Steven Carr]

I forgot to mention some others:
Ron Howard's movie The Missing, which came out around the same time as Open Range, which was excellent as well. Also, everbody ought to see Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors. Hey, Chuck Colson liked it.
And finally, since everyone else is ashamed to put it down, Strange Brew. "Take off, ya hoser."--good stuff!

[Robin]

Amazing... "Jesus of Nazareth" hasn't been mentioned.

The story, acting and production are unmatched...I'd put it up with LOTR.

One gripping scene: Christ is on the cross, Nicodemus (Laurence Olivier) gazes on and begins to recite Is. 53 as the connection dawns on him. Other riveting scenes: Jesus and Martha at Lazarus' tomb; Peter realizes his cowardice after denying the Lord; John the Baptist and Herod.

Each and every actor (IMO) really "is" the character in the story. Oddly, over the 20 years I've watched the film, I don't imagine Jesus looking like Robert Powell, per se'. But his manner and delivery of the Text I think is right on for the most part. I mean, I think much of JoN portrays things as it may really have happened.

The entire (6 hour) film is simply stunning...especially when one realizes it was secularly made for TV.

If there must be a Jesus movie, this one is IT.

[John Holm]

I'll add another vote for Sophie Scholl, one of the best films I've seen in quite a while.

also agree with LOTR and Man For All Seasons.

[John D. Chitty]

Okay, since you brought up the fact that with the 2003 movie, Luther, "we can quibble about some of the content," I want to know if any one else ever noticed, in a couple of scenes, if the dialogue seems to imply universal salvation? I'm thinking primarily of the otherwise great sermon in which Luther tells his congregation that he was mistaken about God being the kind of God who's angry at sinners and sends them to hell. Anybody ever notice that, or is it just me?

[Raymond Coffey]

Clint Eastwood's new movie Gran Torino should make any list. I guess a motif of redemption/cross/substitution makes it 'reformed.' Also, Man on Fire.

[James Paul]

To mention the western "Tombstone" but to then not mention "Unforgiven"
or "The Good the Bad & the Ugly" or "The Outlaw Josey Wales" is terrible.

I'll take the latter three, as well as "For a Few Dollars More" anyday over Tombstone. That movie disappointed me because I expected too much.
I was hoping for a Clint Eastwood type quality and I guess my expectations were too high.
It certainly did not deliver that.
I thought maybe it was my mood and subsequently watched it again many months later, but I still felt cheated. It just left me cold, something any of the pre-mentioned Clint Eastwood movies never did, even after seeing them multiple times.
I can still sit down and get goose bumps watching the Good the Bad & the Ugly. Even "Unforgiven" is awesome the 5th time around. Maybe some day I'll give Tombstone another shot, but I doubt I'll ever really enjoy it very much.

[Wes]

All I can think of is one particular movie line, that from Toy Story.
"The claw chooses who will stay and who will go."

[Steve M]

Magnolia - Man's best efforts to save himself only result in heightening the crisis. Something from outside you must intervene to rescue you. And the same thing that rescues is <i>by the same action</i> able to damn as well.

Aside from being one of the most brilliantly acted/directed/written movies ever, the message is not to be missed - even if the writer/director himself didn't get it. If you are afraid of profanity though, you might want to move on - though even that serves a not insignificant purpose in the film.

[John Y]

George C. Scott who was Reformed and Dutch himself acted in a number of movies with reformed themes. I like to call a movie reformed if its main plot involves man the sinner struggling with his depravity in an interesting and honest way. It not only shows his saintly side but his sinful side also. In the end he does overcome his depravity but the story shows that it is only by the grace of God that he is able to. Of course redemption plays a huge part in the plot also. Shawshank Redemption is a wonderful example of this type of film. Check out some of George C. Scott's movies- he was a wonderful actor and played a number of powerful roles in his movies- Patton is worth watching too.

[C T Hall]

The Incredibles has a great line where the father (Mr Incredible) comes home from work upset. A neighbour kid is waiting outside their home on a tricycle. Mr Incredible gruffly says to him 'What are you waiting for?' to which the kid replies, 'I dunno ... something amazing, I guess.' Mr Incredible responds, 'Me too kid, me too.'