Bible and Film

Illuminates Global Interpretations of Biblical Narratives Through Cinematic Storytelling and Critical Analysis

In a media landscape increasingly shaped by images, biblical narratives are now encountered more often through film than through text. Nevertheless, the interpretive frameworks needed to engage these portrayals critically are seldom developed with the same care as traditional textual analysis. In addition, discussions of Bible films largely engage American productions only. Bible and Film: An International and Intercultural Exploration situates cinematic adaptations of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament within a global conversation. Rather than centering only familiar American productions, the book draws together films from a wide range of cultural and historical contexts to reveal how particular settings, artistic traditions, and social assumptions shape the way biblical stories are visualized and understood.

Bible and Film offers a structured and accessible approach to film analysis designed for both classroom and independent study. Each chapter places multiple cinematic treatments of a single biblical narrative into dialogue, enabling comparative interpretation grounded in clearly defined analytical issues introduced at the outset. Technical elements of film form, such as sound, editing, and narrative framing, are integrated into the discussion and reinforced by an accompanying glossary, equipping readers with terminology and tools to articulate their insights.

Designed to strengthen readers' capacity to interpret biblical texts and films alike, Bible and Film:

• Examines seventy years of biblical filmmaking across multiple countries and production traditions.
• Covers lesser-known regional and non-Western films that are rarely discussed in English-language scholarship.
• Pairs international case studies with focused interpretive questions to reveal how the same biblical story shifts across cultures.
• Provides a curated framework of six analytical issues applied consistently throughout the book.
• Supports modular teaching, allowing individual chapters to stand alone in course design.

Emphasizing collaborative, dialogical approaches to film interpretation and discussion, Bible and Film: An International and Intercultural Exploration is ideal for upper-level undergraduates, seminary students, and graduate learners in theology, religious studies, and film studies.

Bible and Film is a most helpful resource for those who want to examine the interplay between film and the biblical text. From La Genese to The Ten Commandments to Jesus of Montreal, Melody Knowles invites readers to consider the cultures and contexts of filmmakers and their audiences as they navigate the cultures and contexts of the biblical world. The result is an engaging and critical review of films and the stories they tell. Filled with helpful guides and summaries, Bible and Film is informative and insightful, and encourages us to see through new lenses.

–Judy Fentress-Williams, Ph.D, Dodge Professor of Biblical Interpretation, Virginia Theological Seminary