The desire for knowledge of the divine principle is inherent in human nature, therefore, since ancient times, creators describe the gods in literature, depict in painting, sculpture, cinema. In cinema, this topic is considered very delicate. Filmmakers are quite cautious about religion, even touching on divine subjects, often avoid demonstrating the Christian Almighty. More often in the cinema, ancient Greek, Egyptian or Scandinavian gods shine. Nevertheless, films with the gods are released regularly, and their pantheon is very impressive.
List of the best films
The following films are traditionally included in the list of the best films in which divine essences appear:
- "Clash of the Titans";
- "Bruce Almighty";
- Dilogy about Percy Jackson;
- “Wars of the Gods: Immortals”;
- Thor
- "The Passion of Christ";
- "Ten Commandments";
- "Dogma".
Legends and myths
Since the time of the Peplums, Hollywood has had several more visits to the territory of Roman mythology and myths of Ancient Greece. Films about the gods of Olympus were not all successful, many were frankly failing. But there are successful projects, for example, “Clash of the Titans” (1981) by Desmond Davis. For all its naivety, the picture turned out to be pretty and quite inventive for its time. Which is not surprising, because Ray Harrihausen worked on special effects. Several Greek gods appear in the tape, but above all rises the great Zeus performed by Laurence Olivier.
In 2004, Fox decided to acquire the rights to film adaptation of books about the gods of Olympus and their descendants living in modern America. So there were films about Percy Jackson with the subtitles “The Thief of Lightning” (2010) and “Sea of ​​Monsters” (2013). There are many gods in these tapes; Steve Coogan in the image of Ares deserves special attention, unexpectedly replacing the usual role of a comedian.
Films with the gods often show their heroes as wise old men who gracefully perceive what is happening. But not Tarsem Singh, who directed the film “War of the Gods: Immortals” (2011). The ancient Greek deities of the Indian director are young athletes, fierce rivals, desperately fighting each other. M. Rourke, F. Pinto, L. Evans, S. Dorff, I. Lucas - this, according to Singh, looks like Olympus. Unfortunately, behind the special effects and divine battles, the main story of the film is completely lost - an adaptation of the myth of Theseus.
Egyptian force
Despite the impressive list of films about the gods, neither the ancient Greek pantheon of gods, nor the Hindu, nor Scandinavian, or any other cinematographers can clearly demonstrate. For example, the blockbuster Alex Proyas "Gods of Egypt" surpassed the darkest forecasts.
The topic is again not fully disclosed, and whether someone is destined to remove something really worthy in this niche is a moot point. Do not criticize the complete discrepancy in the relationship and the hierarchy of the gods in the work of Proyas with the canons declared by the researchers of Egyptian civilization. The director has every right to an author’s vision and a certain amount of fiction. From the ancient Greek pantheon, either Percy Jackson, then Immortals, or Anger of the Titans are also obtained. Another thing is surprising, why in the cinema the “divine” motive is childishly naive, and the characters from the world of people are surprisingly unattractive.
Marvel Comic Mythology
The Scandinavian gods Odin, Thor and Loki have long been an integral part of Marvel's comic mythology. In 2011, with the light hand of Kenneth Branagh, the rulers of Asgard appeared on movie screens. Perhaps these films about the gods are science fiction, but it is impossible to deny that Thor, Loki and Odin became part of world culture thanks to a series of films. “Thor” (2011), “Thor 2: The Kingdom of Darkness” (2013), “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017) and episodes of the movie adaptation of the avengers comics are proof of this. If Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston became world movie stars with a multi-million army of fans, then it means that they were not mistaken with the gods in these films.
Scripture Based
As you know, to film any book is, to put it mildly, hard work. And the Bible and even more so. Everyone interprets this work in their own way, she has many discrepancies and a colossal army of fans (not fanatics). Therefore, any film product based on the Holy Scripture has a lot of criticisms from the believing community.
Films with the gods were shot at the dawn of the film industry, among them the place of honor is occupied by the tape of Cecil B. DeMillle “The Ten Commandments”. This project is considered significant in cultural, historical and aesthetic terms. In addition, the film was very successful, he collected 131 million at the box office.
The next legend about the Exodus was the 1998 animated film “The Prince of Egypt” with musical content and an hour and a half timing. The cartoon is considered a landmark project of its time due to the use of innovative technology combining a computer, a brush and subsequent digitization.
Criticized and Approved
Almost every decade of the last century was marked by the release of films with gods. Sometimes the creators quite freely interpreted the books of the New Testament. For example, in the rock opera of E. L. Webber and T. Rice “Jesus Christ is a Superstar” (1972), the Christian god was portrayed as singing and dancing. Such a sight more than one believing granny could send to the kingdom of heaven ahead of schedule.
And the film by Martin Scorsese “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988) was criticized even at the first stages of the implementation of the plan. Religious organizations could not accept such a free interpretation of biblical events, especially the ending, hinting at the physical closeness of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.
Unlike the first paintings, Mel Gibson's film “Passion of Christ” (2004), the Catholic Church received with open arms, even the Pope, although unofficially, announced his approval.
Comedies
In 1999, Hollywood, who was usually cautious and scrupulous about demonstrating the Christian God, made a serious mistake by letting the sarcastic comedian and real-life cynic Kevin Smith make the film Dogma (1999). Not only did the director manage to demonstrate Jesus in the form of a playfully winking statue, he also made God the Father a woman. The courage to transform into such a provocative image was taken by the musician and singer Alanis Morissette.
Four years later, the artisans once again dared to give the Almighty a human appearance. In the comedy of Tom Shadyak "Bruce Almighty" (2003) in the image of God appeared a black actor Morgan Freeman. He appears at the beginning of the film as a janitor and transfers the reins to a journalist complaining to Heaven, in which the unrivaled comedian Jim Carrey reincarnated. By the way, a few years later the sequel “Evan Almighty” was released, but, unlike the original film, it is never included in the category “best films about the gods”.