FAQ 12           
WHAT FILMS DO YOU RECOMMEND FOR TRADITIONAL CATHOLICS?

TRADITIO Traditional Roman Catholic Network
E-mail: traditio@traditio.com, Web Page: www.traditio.com
Copyright 1998-2021 CSM.  Reproduction prohibited without authorization.
Last Revised:  06/21/21


WARNING.
These films may be of particular interest to traditional Catholics.  This 
does not mean that every scene in them reflects traditional Catholicism, 
but that the films will stimulate thought and discussion about issues of 
interest to traditional Catholics.

Just like the best literature of our Roman and Greek classical tradition, 
they may have scenes that require the perspective of an educated adult mind.  
(We are not making recommendations here for children or for adults who have 
a narrow view of literature.)  The Catholic Fathers and Doctors of the 
Church, steeped in the Classical tradition, were quite broadminded 
when it came to literature and art, as they embraced the brilliance of 
Classical literature and art, even though it was not Christian.


	THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY (1965, C-2:20).  Charlton Heston and Rex 
Harrison bring life to Irving Stone's novel by a memorable portrayal of 
the idiosyncratic, but always Catholic, artist Michelangelo, and the 
exteriorly martial, but interiorly spiritual, Pope Julius II.  The 
action of the drama centers principally around Michelangelo's 
Renaissance approach to the painting of the Sistine Chapel and his 
personal conflicts with the pope.  Yet out of this ferment comes perhaps 
the greatest Catholic artwork ever created.

	BARABBAS (1961, C-2:14).  Anthony Quinn portrays the Jewish criminal 
that was freed when Christ was condemned.  A strong cast, including several 
greats of the golden years of film, participates in a lavish production 
based 
upon the Langerkvist novel.  The second part is set in Rome at the time of 
Nero, and unlike so many modern Roman-period films, which include hardly a 
single word of Latin, one sees and hears Latin all around.  Barabbas enters 
the catacombs to hear the Pater Noster being recited in Latin, and a funeral 
begins with the antiphonal chanting in Latin of Psalm 50, the Miserere.  In 
the background music, an only slightly-arranged version of Kyrie XI, Orbis 
Factor, is heard as a leit-motif.  These things do not occur to modern 
writers-directors, who longer have the classical sense that the writers-
directors of the 1950s did.

	BECKETT (1964, C-2:28).  Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole star as 
the contesting Archbishop of Canterbury and King Henry II of 12th-
century England.  St. Thomas a Beckett, whom the king's agents 
sacrilegiously kill during Vespers for his defense of the Church and its 
monasteries, is declared a saint, and the king is forced to do public 
penance for his assumed complicity in the act.

	BEN HUR (1959, C-3:32).  Epic-scale rendering of General Lew 
Wallace's novel of conflict in the time of Christ, with Charlton Heston  
playing the proud Jew Ben-Hur and Stephen Boyd playing his boyhood Roman 
friend Messala, who eventually turns against his friend converted to 
Christianity.  Won a record eleven Oscars.

	BLACK ROBE (1991-Canadian-Australian, C-1:41).  Based on Brian Moore's novel of a 17th-century Jesuit missionary who travels to the wilderness of Quebec to bring the faith to often savage Indian tribes.  Some scenes of the 
torture that the missionaries endured from the Indians are quite graphic 
(appropriately in this case) in showing the sufferings of the North 
American Jesuit Martyrs.

	CARDINAL (1963, C-2:55).  Tom Tryon stars with an outstanding 
supporting cast as the young Boston priest who is elevated to become a 
prince of the Church between the world wars.  Although all of the 
wonderful scenes in Henry Robinson's novel are not reproduced, the 
insights into the hierarchy of the Church and especially of the Roman 
Curia are fascinating.  The story is told as flashbacks in the life of 
the new cardinal, interspersed between the reading, in Latin at Rome, of 
the papal bull creating the cardinal.

	THE CATHOLICS (later renamed CONFLICT) (1973, C-1:37).  Stars traditional-leaning actor Martin Sheen with an outstanding supporting cast including Trevor Howard, Raf Vallone, and Cyril Cusack.  Based on Brian Moore's novel, "The Catholics," Sheen plays a Newvatican emissary who travels to a remote island off the coast of Ireland, where stands a monastery whose monks refuse to celebrate the "New Mess," but use a Mass Rock to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass for the people.  Sheen is eventually converted, while the monastery's abbot, played by Trevor Howard, knuckles under to the Newvatican and is stricken with agony over his loss of Faith. 

	CRUSADES (1935, B&W-2:06).  Cecil B. DeMille combines religious 
fervor and a stirring love story (Henry Wilcoxon and Loretta Young) in one 
of 
his greatest films.  This is the sweeping drama of England's King Richard 
the 
Lion-Hearted leading his armies into battle in the Holy Land against the 
Mohammedan forces of Saladin.  There is a lot of apologetic nonsense being 
circulated nowadays condemning the Holy Crusades.  This film gives the 
flavor 
of the historical, pro-Catholic reality.

	DON BOSCO (Year unknown-Italian, C-1:50).  True story of St. John 
Bosco, with Ben Gazarra in the title role.  Memorable scenes include Dom 
Bosco's confrontation with his archbishop, who strips Dom Bosco of his 
faculties, at which point the saint appeals directly to Pope Pius IX, 
who supports him against the powerful archbishop.

      FOR GREATER GLORY:  THE TRUE STORY OF CHRISTIADA (2012, C-2:25).  
Exposes a hidden period in the history of the Church in Mexico, when 
parishes 
were shut down and Catholic priests and laypeople were hung by the thousands 
on telephone polls.  This fascinating historical account, which is not 
easily 
found in the history books because it embarrasses the Mexican government, 
and 
even the Church, becomes a parable for the destruction of the true Church in 
our own time.
      In Mexico in the late 1920s, Plutarco Calles, the tyrant-president of 
Mexico, an atheist and Freemason, instituted a murderous pogrom against 
Catholics, which resulted in many deaths and spawned many Holy Martyrs for 
the Faith, including 4,000 priests, who were hung for standing by their 
people against the tyrant Calles. Unlike most Catholics of the 1960s, 
however, who saw their churches and Faith taken over by an anti-Catholic 
group, the Newchurch of the New Order, some 50,000 Mexicans took up arms to 
reclaim their religion from the hands of the tyrant.
      This mass popular uprising by many Mexicans against the atheistic 
Mexican government and its president, is called the Cristeros War, or 
Christiada (1926-1929), and its adherents were called Christeros, because 
they invoked the name of Jesus Christ under the title of "Cristo Rey," 
Christ 
the King. On June 27, 1929, the church bells rang out in Mexico for the 
first 
time in almost three years. The war had claimed the lives of some 90,000 
people: 56,882 on the Calles side and 30,000 Cristeros.  But the Christeros 
got their churches and Faith back.
      The film's excellent cast is led by Andy Garcia as Enrique Gorostieta, 
the General of the Christeros, who fights to preserve religious freedom 
against Calles and his atheistic government. The venerable Peter O'Toole 
plays one of the Martyr Priests.  Directed by Dean Wright.

	FRANCIS OF ASSISI (1961, C-1:51).  Lavish religious epic of St. 
Francis, the founder of the Order of Friars Minor.  Sympathetic performance 
and religious atmosphere by the cast.  Bradford Dillman (as Francis), 
Dolores 
Hart, Stuart Whitman, Cecil Kellaway, Finlay Currie, Pedro Armendariz.  
Directed by Michael Curtiz.

	GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD (1965, C-2:21).  The Bible told in sometimes 
spectacular scenes and featuring some of Hollywood's most noted actors as 
co-
stars or cameos (Max von Sydow, Charlton Heston, Angela Lansbury, Sidney 
Poitier, Shelley Winters, John Wayne, Jose Ferrer, and Claude Rains, among 
others).

	I CONFESS.  (1953, C-1:35).  Alfred Hitchcock's compelling tale about 
a 
parish priest (Montgomery Clift), who hears a killer's confession and 
plunges 
into peril.  Circumstantial evidence and eyewitness accounts point to the 
priest as the slayer -- and the seal of the confessional forbids him to 
speak 
out.  He is determined to honor the sanctity of the confessional even at the 
risk of his own life.

	KEYS OF THE KINGDOM (1944, BW-2:17).  A little-known, but 
wonderful film version of A.J. Cronin's novel, starring Gregory Peck as 
a missionary priest in China.  It is a practical instruction about how 
to work with Protestants and even atheists, while still remaining 
Catholic.  Vincent Price is excellent as the puffed-up monsignor whose 
haughtiness pales in comparison to the humble Catholicism of the simple 
priest.

	KING OF KINGS (1961, C-2:48).  Devout and beautifully-filmed 
presentation of the life of Christ.  The principal role is played by 
Jeffrey Hunter, with some of Hollywood's most noted actors playing 
supporting roles and a magnificent musical score by the noted film 
composer Miklos Rosza.

	MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966-British, C-2:00).  Paul Scofield stars 
with a superb cast as St. Thomas More in what is perhaps the best single 
film on a Catholic subject, based closely on the stage play by Robert 
Bolt.  Although he is the Lord Chancellor of King Henry VIII of England, 
St. Thomas More refuses to accept publicly the validity of the king's 
divorce from Queen Catherine and eventually suffers martyrdom for his 
faith.  The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor, Director, Picture, 
Screenplay, Cinematography, and Costumes.  My vote for best religious film 
ever.

	MASS APPEAL (1984, C-1:40).  Consummate serio-comic actor Jack Lemmon 
portrays a popular parish priest, whose Vatican II attitude is challenged by 
a conservative young seminarian (Ivanek Zeljko).  Charles During is 
wonderful 
as the authority-mad seminary rector.  The film is based on the witty stage 
play by Bill Davis, though many of the lines critical of Vatican II have 
been 
expunged.  Although this film at times is "untraditional," the satire of 
Vatican II liberalism at times is quite witty.  If you enjoy good writing 
and 
good acting even if you don't agree with every line, you will likely enjoy 
this one.  Otherwise, you will prefer other films.

	THE MIRACLE (OF OUR LADY) OF FATIMA (1952, C-1:42).  The story of 
the famous 1917 apparition is treated devoutly, but at times somewhat 
facilely.  It gives a moving account of the Blessed Virgin Mary's 
appearances, the Miracle of the Sun, and the events surrounding the 
apparitions.

	MISSION (1986-British, C-2:05).  Robert DeNiro and Jeremy 
Irons star in Robert Bolt's screenplay as two Jesuit priests who take 
different paths in dealing with the church politics of 18th-century 
Brazil that threaten a jungle mission.  The final scene, in which Irons 
carries the Blessed Sacrament in procession to ward off the slaughter of 
Indians at the mission is electrifying.  The film won an Academy Award 
for its breathtaking cinematography of the Brazilian forest.

	NAME OF THE ROSE (1986-Italian-German-French, C-2:10).  Sean 
Connery stars as the 13th-century Franciscan monk who, while visiting a 
remote Italian monastery for a disputation together with a young novice, 
solves a series of puzzling murders.  Umberto Eco's novel is beautifully 
filmed in a way that portrays vividly aspects of monastery life of the 
time.  Some may object to a scene in which the young novice commits a 
sin of the flesh, though it is not inconsistent with the characterization.  
If you are squeamish about such things, you will prefer other films.

	NUN'S STORY (1959, C-2:29).  Audrey Hepburn stars in Kathryn 
Hulme's true story of a nun from her entry into a Belgian convent, 
through her service as a nursing sister in the Belgian Congo, and her 
final departure from the religious life at the beginning of World War 
II.  The scenes of the traditional life and ceremonial at the convent 
are fascinating.

	PASSION OF THE CHRIST.  (2004, C-120?)  Mel Gibson's blockbuster 
depicting the Passion from Scriptural and other sources.  James Caviezel 
plays the title role.  The brutality is perhaps overplayed, and the 
background is often not well explained, but the portrayal of Pontius Pilate 
and his dilemma is exceptionally well done.  Subtitles are given for some of 
the Latin, Hebrew, and Aramean, but who needs them?

	QUO VADIS (1951, C-2:51).  Epic adaptation of Henryk Sienkiewicz' 
novel set during the reign of Nero.  Robert Taylor stars as the Roman 
soldier attracted to a Christian woman.  Excellent musical score by 
Miklos Rozsa, based on the music of the era.

	ROBE (1953, C-2:15).  Richard Burton stars in Lloyd C. 
Douglas's novel about a Roman centurion who presides over Christ's 
crucifixion and is deeply troubled as a result, finally converting to 
the Christian faith in spite of his friendship with the Roman emperor.

	RUNNER STUMBLES (1979, C-1:49).  Dick Van Dyke stars in this film 
version of the hit Broadway play by Milan Stitts, well handling a delicate 
subject in its treatment of a disillusioned parish priest in a small, 
poverty-stricken 1920s Washington mining town.

	SCARLET AND THE BLACK (1983, 2:35).  Gregory Peck stars in the 
story of a priest matching wits with the German colonel (Christopher 
Plummer) in control of occupied Rome during the Second World War.  Sir John 
Gielgud plays Pope Pius XII.  This is a fair portrayal of the rescue work 
done by the Vatican during the war, while allowing room for debate about 
what 
is the best thing to do, morally and prudently, under very difficult 
circumstances.

	SHOES OF THE FISHERMAN (1968, C-2:37).  Anthony Quinn stars in 
the film based on Morris West's novel of a patriarch who is freed from 
Communist Russia and becomes pope.  Although the secular politics of the 
film are liberal, the many detailed scenes of the traditional ceremonial 
of a papal funeral, conclave, and coronation make the film worthwhile in 
themselves.

	SONG OF BERNADETTE (1943, BW-2:36).  Jennifer Jones, in her first 
starring role, portrays as St. Bernadette Subirous in this story of the 
apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes, France, from Franz Werfel's novel.  
The scenes after St. Bernadette enters the convent to live a life of 
retreat after the notariety of the apparitions are highly dramatic and 
show how this sainted soul was truly touched by God, not just to see the 
famous apparitions, but to suffer for Christ.  Vincent Price is 
outstanding as the unbelieving local magistrate who doubts the 
apparition to his dying day.  The film received Academy Awards for Best 
Film, Cinematography, and Score, in addition to Best Actress for Jones.

	TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956, C-3:50).  Cecil B. DeMille's classic 
biblical epic, starring Charlton Heston as Moses from birth to manhood, 
slavery, and trials leading the Jews out of Egypt.  Co-stars many of 
Hollywood's greats.  Oscar-winning special effects, such as the 
depiction of the parting of the Red Sea.