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The Celluloid Madonna Rh
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FROM SCRIPTURE TO SCREEN C Catherine O’Brien
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The Celluloid Madonna is the first book to analyze the life of the Virgin Mary on screen Ui
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from the silent era through to the present. For decades, Mary has caught the imagination of E
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filmmakers from a range of religious backgrounds, whether Catholic, Protestant, Muslim,
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Marxist or atheist, and film’s intersection of theology and secular culture has inspired some Sd The Celluloid Madonna
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of the most singular and controversial visions of this icon in cinema history. Focusing on R
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the challenge of adapting Scripture to the screen, this volume discusses a wide range of films En
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including Cecil B. DeMille’s The King of Kings (1927), Pier Paolo Pasolini’s The Gospel According F R O M S C R I P T U R E T O S C R E E N
to St. Matthew (1964), Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth (1977), Jean-Luc Godard’s Hail Mary
(1984), Jean Delannoy’s Mary of Nazareth (1994), Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ (2004),
Catherine Hardwicke’s The Nativity Story (2006) and Mark Dornford-May’s Son of Man (2006).
catherine o’brien is Senior Lecturer in Film Studies and French at Kingston University, UK.
She has published widely on the intersections between Marian theology and secular culture.
‘This volume has taken up the challenge not only of listing and commenting on movies
about Mary, the Mother of Jesus, but offers solid biblical and theological contexts for the key
presentations of Mary on screen, mostly from the Gospel narratives but also from the long C
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traditions of tales about Mary (including from the Koran) and the centuries of apparition t
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stories. The author uses meticulous scholarship in examining the often quite different ways in e
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which Mary episodes have been portrayed for more than a century of filmmaking.’ i
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– peter malone, signis, the world catholic association for communication e
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‘This a thorough and engaging study of the portrayal of the Virgin Mary in film, understanding B
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its subject in relation to both religious and secular contexts. It should be read by anyone i
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interested in gender or religion in film, and equally by anyone concerned with the reception of
religion in modernity; and will become a staple item in the reading lists for my own students.’
– sarah boss, director, uk centre for marian studies
ISBN 978-1-906660-27-7
WALLFLOWER cover image
The Passion of the Christ (2004) 9 781906 660277
www.wallflowerpress.co.uk © Icon Distribution
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The Celluloid Madonna
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Catherine O’Brien
The Celluloid Madonna
F RO M S C R I P T U R E T O S C R E E N
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Catherine O’Brien
The Celluloid Madonna
F RO M S C R I P T U R E T O S C R E E N
WALLFLOWER PRESS
LONDON & NEW YORK
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A Wallflower Book
Published by
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York • Chichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu
Copyright © Catherine O’Brien 2011
All rights reserved.
A complete CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 978-1-906660-28-4 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-906660-27-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-231-50181-1 (e-book)
Book design by Elsa Mathern
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Abbreviations ix
Introduction 1
Chapter 1: Contexts 9
Chapter 2: Announcement and Commission 33
Chapter 3: Mary and Joseph 71
Chapter 4: Virgin and Mother 95
Chapter 5: Mother and Disciple 123
Conclusion 157
Notes 163
Filmography 171
Bibliography 174
Index 187
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Acknowledgements
I am obviously very indebted to Yoram Allon, who showed an interest in
this project and has been extremely patient and supportive throughout its
gestation, and to all the staff at Wallflower Press: Del Cullen, Tom Cabot,
and particularly Jodie Taylor. Ian Cooper provided his excellent copy-edit-
ing skills, which are very much appreciated.
Many thanks to my stimulating colleagues in the departments of Film
Studies and French at Kingston University, especially to Frank Whately,
Carol Gartrell, Carrie Tarr, Noëlle Brick, Will Brooker and Simon Brown
for sustaining my research efforts. Stephen Barber offered valuable guid-
ance, and Lieve Spaas and Keith Reader have also kept me focused.
Some of the research that informed this monograph was undertaken
during a sabbatical funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board
(now the Arts and Humanities Research Council), for which I am very
grateful.
My desire to learn more about the Virgin Mary in film has taken me
to the British Film Institute National Library and the British Library in
London; the Bibliothèque Nationale and the Bibliothèque de Film in Paris;
the National Library of Congress in Washington; the Margaret Herrick
Library and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles; and the
International Marian Research Institute at the University of Dayton in
Ohio. During all my travels, I have received advice and untiring help from
librarians and archivists. Mike Witt also kindly lent me material on Jean-
Luc Godard.
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THE CELLULOID MADONNA
Matt Page’s Bible Films Blog at http://www.biblefilms.blogspot.com/
has been discovered as a superb source of news and film criticism.
I have discussed my work with Sarah Boss, the director of the UK
Centre for Marian Studies, and members of the Mariological Society of
America. The work of Fr Johann Roten is always a major source of in-
spiration. Although I have benefited personally from the vast knowledge
of these experts in Marian Studies, they bear no responsibility for any
mistakes that I have subsequently generated and may not necessarily agree
with my approach.
Most sincere appreciation to Michael Duricy, who is a pioneer in the
field and whose database of Marian films at the University of Dayton is an
invaluable resource. Michael very generously gave his time to make many
worthwhile suggestions for corrections to portions of the manuscript. He
should be credited for any improvements to the original text but he is not
accountable for any errors of fact or judgement that remain.
Finally, the more emotional thanks go to Andrea Rinke (my ‘cell mate’
and constant source of good cheer in difficult times); to Jan Hurst, loyal
friend and fellow sufferer of deadlines; to my wonderful mother-in-law,
who has always taken an interest in my work; to my beloved parents, who
have never failed to support me in all my endeavours; and, it goes without
saying (but should always be emphasised), to Tom Ennis. I would certainly
exceed my word limit if I were to try to record his contribution on paper.
viii
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Abbreviations
The following abbreviations are used for books of the Bible:
Dt Deuteronomy
Gal Galatians
Gn Genesis
Is Isaiah
Jn John
Lk Luke
Lv Leviticus
Mi Micah
Mk Mark
Mt Matthew
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible with
Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confra-
ternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permis-
sion of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New
American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in
writing from the copyright owner.
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