Best Religious Movies of all Time

Religion and movies are the two main medium of attracting people , masses and also motivating them . It has been practiced through ages that both these mediums can be merged together with a socio-economic motive.  Some movies with religious background have gained huge success both in India and the world. Opinions and questions are legion when it comes to a list. This list is offered from the unique insight of an aficionado of film who also works in the film and television industry. Movies on theme and religious beliefs often insist a sense of  affirmed belief in the minds of the viewers. Hundreds of people in a theatre will give hundreds of opinions regarding a movie but if its religious then opinions may differ but the faith in all is same. Banking on this human aspect numerous directors have developed various religious movies over the ages . This article sums up the top 10 religious movies of all time.

10)   DOGMA:-

This story written by Kevin Smith was written with a purpose , a motive to turn the conventional way of religious thinking. Some thought it was innovative and some thought it was irreligious but nobody could ignore it . The advantage that the flick played on other contemporary movies was that here God was portrayed as a woman. The simple aim of the story is to move the viewers eyes to the screen and keep it wide open. The story was basically a testament of faith. If you haven’t viewed it till now it is highly recommended due to the acting performed by the cast .

9) THE TEN COMMANDMENTS:-

The film is the ultimate presentation that holds the viewers mind with its sweeping vistas and emotive inspiring motivating music scores. It is a simple tale of 2 brothers who searches for truth and religious understanding over time . Charlton Heston became synonymous with the role of Moses.  Mr. Heston wanted to portray and embrace the role which had a sense of vigour and belief . Though the movie is camp at times but still it continues to be a holiday favourite for the viewers specially during the holiday of Passover .

8) BEN-HUR:-

In simple English this movie may be termed as one of the most brilliant movies ever developed in sense of story telling casting and direction. It featured a dozens of known faces of the industry and was based on the story of  Judah Ben-Hur and his quest for truth and salvation. A tale of two brothers , a plot shared by many other films, it offered a stunning sense of gravity the characters experience as the story is told . The story  was created in many versions but the 1959 version won the most number of academy awards in counting it counted up to 11. The flick still up holds the golden age of Hollywood for its sense of story telling, costume , set design and action scenes.

7)  JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR:-

A 1973 flick this film is a type of rock opera story telling that tells the story of Judas, with Jesus being the epicentre of focus and whose midas touch is not felt until the film reaches its climax. The flick delivers the plight of the Judas in a very heart touching way . The most prime factor that clicked for the flick was the decision of the production team to shoot the movie in all real locations throughout the holy land.  Jesus Christ  Superstar  casted a spell on its viewers and moved upto number 8 in terms of earnings of 1973 of Hollywood box office.

6) BRUCE ALMIGHTY:-

This 2003 Jim Carrey flick is a rare mix of comedy and religious belief. It truly is a movie to watch out with your kids and initializing a sense of faith in them. The funny man uses his powers and figures them all out. The movie had an impact on bollywood too. The “good tussi great ho” flick is a loose adaption of the flick.

5)   THE ROBE:-

The movie was released at a point when colour films were coming out of a shell , yet it offered the masses a side story of crucifixion. The  namesake for which the movie is titled such became a topic of controversy , later it became an symbol for the roman tribune :- truth and salvation. It depicts a journey to which many common people may connect . The matured acting of Richard burton and jean simmons made the movie even more joyful ride  to viewers. All these numerous reasons have made THE ROBE the all time best religious movie in the world.

4) THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST:-

The familiar story was told in a primitive and gritty tone that felt as real as if the audience were the performers helpless and standing in the midst of all actions. The plus point of the movie was the director and co-writer MEL GIBSON himself.  He developed a sense of tone of violence in the movie that made it to the pg 3 ratings . He wanted the story  to be as real and as unique as possible , so in lieu of that he rewrote the movie in LATIN and ARAMAIC , the 2 languages which were popular during the time of JESUS . But controversies did arrive with the film , the film showed Jesus being murdered by the Jews to which the catholic church strongly opposed  that Jesus was not assassinated by the Jews . Controversy and overstatement on the other side the movie has a gripping storyline which can keep the viewers glued to their seats and think about the Jesus and develop a feeling of  the passion with which Christ lived.

3) STIGMATA:-

What happens when there is a collision of faith and supernatural beliefs , no you need not need to search for religious epics to get the answer all you need is to watch out the stigmata . Loosely based on the genre of the search for the truth the movie portrays GABRIEL BYRNE  as a priest who embarks on a journey  or rather investigation into the claims of Stigmata , the sudden and inexplicable appearance of the wounds and cuts to the body that mirror those inflicted on Christ. The premise is based on views given by eye witnesses and first person accounts being collected over centuries. To add icing on the cake the film made references to the existence of gospels that do not appear in the New Testament of the BIBLE , creating a controversy that spawned the world  agreeing or defying the existence of such books. This reason particularly makes this movie a must watch.

2) RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK:-

A cocktail of roller coaster ride , greed and excess and with a pinch of moral this movie is bound to force the movie lovers to go and watch it for the second time. It is the story of an titular professor whose real job is of an archaeological hunter had young boys and men clamouring to sign up and women swooning, offered a classic globe-trekking tale surrounding the quest for what must surely be one of the most sought after religious icons of all time: The Ark of the Covenant.   The scene where Indy and Marion are held as captive and the ark is about to open is the best example of the saying “we should be careful what we wish for”. The movie provided an image of the god who does what is right .  Raiders of the lost ark provides an insight to the people that up to what extent people can go for religion. And it also meets the requirements of a blockbuster entertainer.

1)      LITTLE BUDDHA :-

The story of lord Buddha or king Siddhartha was criticised by many because Keanu Reeves was the lead character . But according to the director Reeves was the ultimate choice because he portrayed a sense  peace that he reflected in the movie as he moved closer to the goal of self detachment . The unique telling of the story within the story allows the viewer to connect at once to the origin and birth of this religious understanding and the relevance in contemporary times. The visual were stunning and the scene that caught the eyes was the scene when Buddha observes a lengthy period of meditation and remains exposed to the elements.  The Buddhists enjoyed the way their god was projected and even had 2 tibetian actors in the flick.