THE CELLULOID MADONNA

The Celluloid Madonna is the first book to present an in-depth analysis of the life of the Virgin Mary on screen, from the silent era through to the twenty-first century. The story of a Jewish woman from Nazareth has caught the imagination of filmmakers from a range of backgrounds – Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Marxists and atheists. When theology intersects with secular culture, film directors are at liberty to follow their creative inclinations. Consequently, the figure of the Madonna has inspired many of the most singular – and some of the most controversial – images in cinema. Exploring the difficulties of transforming Scripture into a screenplay, this volume focuses on filmic visions of the world’s significant female religious icon. Films discussed include Cecil B. DeMille’s The King of Kings, Pier Paolo Pasolini’s The Gospel according to St Matthew, Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth, Jean-Luc Godard’s Hail Mary, Jean Delannoy’s Mary of Nazareth, Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, Catherine Hardwicke’s The Nativity Story and Mark Dornford-May’s Son of Man.

February 2010
224 pages

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Catherine O’Brien is Senior Lecturer in Film Studies and French at Kingston University (UK). She has published widely on intersections between Marian theology and secular culture.