Archive - June 22, 2010

I would have never thought that The Blues Brothers and The Passion of the Christ would ever be considered as similar movies but on the 30th anniversary of the release of The Blues Brothers, L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s official newspaper, called the film a Catholic classic and said it should be recommended viewing for Catholics everywhere.

Really?

I remember going with some friends to see The Blues Brothers at Cinema City in Perth for the first time shortly after it opened. It was my friends’ choice of film and I really wasn’t expecting much. That was a Saturday night and I loved the movie so much I took some other friends the following Saturday night. Since then I’ve seen that movie about twenty times. I was a fan well before the movie became the cult classic that it is today. I can quote most of the dialogue if you really want me to.

The film is based on a skit from “Saturday Night Live.” In the story, Jake and Elwood — played by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, respectively — embark on an unlikely road trip featuring concerts, car chases, clashes with the police and neo-Nazi groups, and attempts at revenge from a spurned lover, all, ostensibly, to raise money for the church-run orphanage where they grew up.

But aside from a brief appearance from Kathleen Freeman as a wrist-slapping nun referred to as “The Penguin” and the brothers’ periodic claim that they were on a mission from God, spirituality does not play a significant role in the film.

In addition to Belushi and Aykroyd, the film featured an all-star cast including musicians James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, and Chaka Khan, in addition to noted actors John Candy, Carrie Fisher, Charles Napier, and Henry Gibson, and cameo roles for Frank Oz, Steven Spielberg, Landis, Mr. T, and Paul Reubens.

With the recommendation, “The Blues Brothers” joins the list of dozens of films recommended by Catholic authorities that includes Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments,” “Jesus of Nazareth” from Franco Zeffirelli,” Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of The Christ,” Victor Flemming’s “Joan of Arc,” and “It’s a Wonderful Life” from Frank Capra. – Reuters

What other movies do you think should qualify as Catholic classics? Do you draw spiritual meaning from the movies you see or are you simply interested in a couple of hours of good entertainment?

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