Don't forget to CAST YOUR VOTE! for the best films using the "Movie Recommendation Engine" in the links below! Also, go to the Each Movie or Movie Reviews web sites, tell them what you like in film, and they'll predict what movie you might like to see! Or check out the Movie Sounds Page which also includes TV theme songs!As Michael Medved points out, you can see at the Top Grossing Films that what most people would consider "objectionable" in film -- violence, sex, foul language, etc. -- doesn't seem to make money. And yet, even if it's a bad film, we're doomed to see it repeated over and over again as reruns on TV or exported worldwide to taint the image of America abroad.
Congratulations!
Sr. Helen Prejean, C.S.J.--the death penalty opponent whose book (on the N.Y. Times Best Seller's List) was made into the movie, "Dead Man Walking" will receive the 1996 Laetare Medal.The 56-year-old Sister of St. Joseph lives in New Orleans and serves as a spiritual counselor to prison inmates facing execution. Sr. Helen will receive the award at the University of Notre Dame graduation.
- "Quicktime" Interview of Susan Sarandon
- Academy Awards
- Film & Video: Dead Man Walking
- Online Foghorn: The Reel World
- Salon: Sr. Helen Prejean
- Film Review--Jonathan Richards
- Sr. Helen Prejean, C.S.J. talks about Death Penalty
- Ethics Updates on Death Penalty
The Laetare Medal, established in 1983 at Notre Dame, is awarded annually to a Catholic who illustrates the ideals of the Church and has enriched the heritage of humanity. Actress Susan Sarandon received an Academy Award this year for protraying Sr. Helen in a film based on her book.
Congratulations -- Sr. Helen Prejean, C.S.J.!1996 Laetare AwardAlso, on 5/19/96 Sr. Helen was awarded an honorary doctorate from Regis College in Weston, MA. and in 1997 was presented with an honorary Ph.D. from Amherst College in Amherst, MA.
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to get free movie reviews of leading box office attractions. You'll hear about the film's storyline, entertainment values and moral qualities. You'll also get the Catholic rating for each movie, in addition to the rating by the Motion Picture Association of America. Plus, you'll hear about a recommended video-of-the-week for your family! It's the best way to go to the movies!
Also, the USCC offers the following publication;
The Family Guide to Movies and Videos. Offers more than 7,500 reviews of movies and videos with ratings assigned by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the United States Catholic Conference (USCC), and the British Film Board (BFB). Includes virtually all motion pictures in national release to American theaters from 1966 to 1993, as well as nearly 1,500 movie classics now on videotape. No. 635-2, 660 pp., $11.95
(A project of the Catholic Communications Campaign in collaboration with the Office of Film and Broadcasting and the Catholic News Service of the U.S. Catholic Conference. 1-800-235-8722)
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If you want further information about the rating system please write:
The Classification and Rating Administration 15503 Ventura Boulevard Encino, CA. 91436
The National Association of Theatre Owners 4605 Lankershim Boulevard -- Suite 340 North Hollywood, CA. 91602
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"The Spitfire Grill"...opened last week to critical praise. In it, Alison Elliot plays Percy Talbott, a young woman who finishes a five-year sentence in a Maine prison and serves her parole in rural Gilead. She find a job in the diner owned by Hannah Ferguson (Ellen Burstyn) that gives the film its title, and she befriends a local woman named Shelby Goddard (Marcie Gay Harden).
The film's popularity at the Sundance film festival in January won it the Audience Award, though the movie industry was stunned when Castle Rock Entertianment paid $10 million for it, a Sundance record. The buzz turned to dismay in some quarters when it turned out that "The Spitfire Grill" had been made by a religious organization....
The film was financed by Gregory Productions, the for-profit arm of the Sacred Heart League, a Roman Catholic charitable organization based in Mississippi. Its mission statement says Gregory Productions exists to promote Judeo-Christian values, especially reverence for God.
Last fall, when Gregory invited major film distributors to Memphis to see the film, it distributed a brochure on the group's mission to the 40 representatives who attended. At Sundance, Gregory made no effort to hide or to publicize its affiliation, but the connection was not generally known and prompted some movie people to wonder if the film might be proselytism in disguise.
"That was the furthest thing from our mind," said Roger Courts, executive director of Gregory Productions and director of the Sacred Heart League, which made the film for $6.1 million. "Catholics are encouraged not to proselytize."
The writer and director of "The Spitfire Grill," Lee David Zlotoff, who is Jewish, said he told Gregory executives at the outset that he would not help them make a religious film. "I was more interested in telling a good story," Mr. Zlotoff said. "If a story has a lot of levels and possibilities of meaning. I say it's a good story."
As for the negative voices at Sundance, he said, "To me, it just seems to point to a very high level of cynicism these days."
Nonetheless, the concern raised by those movie executives was telling, suggesting that for some the perception that a film contains a subtle religious message renders it suspect. It is as it moviegoers must be protected from religious ideas or affiliations not explicitly identified as such, as if these ideas must be intellectually set apart rather than woven unobtrusively into the lives of a story's characters.
Because film makers are people with opinions, no movie can be value-neutral without risk of being utterly vacuous. Even if a film's producers describe it as "pure entertainment," it can hardly lack a viewpoint about human relations or say nothing about what sort of behavior wins the day.
[taken from "Spiritual Values Are In, but, Please No Sermonizing." in The New York Times, Sunday -- (9/1/96) p. 7]
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One hundred years ago (1895) the Lumiere brothers projected the first film at a Paris cafe. In honor of the cinema's cenenary, a Vatican committee has issued a document called, "Some Important Films." It names 45 movies that represent the best of cinema from a Catholic perspective. The reviewing committee was chosen by Archbishop John Foley, the head of the Pontifical Commission on Social Communications in Vatican City; it included 12 international movie scholars.
The committee subdivided their list into three categories--"Religion," "Values," and "Society". Each category contains 15 films. The list contains some surprises, such as directoy Roland Joffe's critical "The which depicted a cynical Church in 17th century South America, and directory Luis Buneul's atheistic satire "Nazarin," which graphically follows the grim exploits of peasants on their priest when he helps a prostitute.
"But Archbishop Foley noted that the Church wants critical filmgoers, not passive consumers. It wants Catholics who are able to take a sophisticated look at sophisticated films. "Individuals values can be influenced by what they see onscreen," he said "You either have an elevated culture or a degraded culture."
The Archbishop, who originally hails from Philadelphia, added that the list isn't designed to canonize film, but it was an attempt to indicate what some good films are." (taken from Loretta G. Seyer in "Catholic Twin Circles" )
RELIGION VALUES ART
Andrei Rublev Gandhi 2001: A Space
The Mission Intolerance Odyssey
The Passion of Joan of Arc Il Declogo Citizen Kane
La Passion Pathe Au Revoir, Les Enfants Metropolis
Francesco, Guilare de Dio Dersu Uzala Modern Times
(Flowers of St. Francis) The Tree of Wooden Clogs Napoleon
The Gospel According to Open City Grand Illusion
St. Matthew Smultronstallet Nosferatu
Therese Det Sjunde Inseglet (The Stagecoach
Ordet Seventh Seal) Il Gattapardo
The Sacrafice Chariots of Fire (The Leopard)
Francis of Assisi The Bicycle Thief The Wizard of Oz
Ben-Hur It's a Wonderful Life The Lavendar Hill
Babette's Feast Schindler's List Mob
Nazarin On the Waterfront 8 1/2
Monsieur Vincent Biruma No Tategoto( The Fantasia
A Man for All Seasons Burmese Harp) La Strada
Little Women
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In a statement, however, the entertainment company said there was "absolutely no connection" between the criticism and the appointment of Rev. Leo O'Donovan, president of the Jesuit-run Georgetown University, to its board
[taken from The Boston Globe, Sat. (6/29/96) p. 17.]
[Editor's Note: The Assemblies of God announced recently that it had urged its 2.5 million members to boycott Disney joining the Southern Baptists and the Knights of Columbus in their protest against Disney studios for publishing "Growing Up Gay" by its Hyperion Book division and releasing the movie, "Priest" about a homosexual clergyman as well as extending benefits to the companions of gay employees at Disney.)
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Many quality audio and video tapes as well as printed materials, etc. may be obtained from;
The Daughters of St. Paul
50 St. Paul's Avenue
Boston, MA. 02130
(617)-522-8911
see "link" to www.pauline.org
as well as,
or books, audiotapes, vintage radio dramas, award-winning videos featuring the actors Bing Crosby, Gregory Peck, Bob Hope, Loretta Young, Bob Newhart, William Shatner, James Dean, Frank Sinatra, Jane Wyatt and others can be ordered from;
In addition, many fine videos can also be obtained from;
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Why is Hollywood so intent on discrediting religion? Hollywood Vs. Religion uncovers the answer. Hosted by Michael Medved, this compelling video exposes the entertainment industry's ignorance, distrust and fear of organized religion -- especially evangelical Christianity, Catholicism and traditional Judaism. Using clips from well-known movies, Medved reveals:
Both videos are produced and distributed by;
Chatham Hill Foundation P.O. Box 7723 Dallas, TX 75209
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Distributed by;
Brentwood Home Video 31344 Via Colinas -- Suite 106 Westlake Village, CA 91362
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Go to Movie Links on WWW"
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