The Living Bible

The life of the Virgin Mary from the Crucifixion (33AD) till her miraculous departure/death (44AD). It also describes the early years of the Christian Church community.

In 937 BC the great King Solomon is dying as all of Jerusalem awaits his word on who will be his heir. In a last-ditch attempt to right a wrong in his past, Solomon promises when his bastard son born to the Queen of Sheba is brought before him, he will then announce who shall succeed him. He tasks his First Lieutenant, Jeroboam, to find him and bring him safely home. Menelik, the son of Makeda the Queen of Sheba, is now an adult. Just as he begins to feel truly confident in the realities of his life, he discovers he is the son of a foreign king who is capable of doing great harm to his family. He struggles with his responsibility to his family as his mother and wives harbor secrets of their past.

Two pairs of Mormon missionaries from America live in a beaten-up apartment in the Dutch city of Haarlem. Their personalities are distinctly different. Elder Johnson is the District Leader and oversees their efforts. His companion, the vain Elder Van Pelt, seeks to become the assistant to the mission president (the top post available) as soon as possible. The capable Elder Rogers has become disillusioned and inattentive to his duties ever since a previous missionary companion returned to America and married Elder Roger's girlfriend. The three meet Elder Roger's new companion, Elder Calhoun, in the train station. This new elder is a nerdy but enthusiastic "greenie" that has just arrived from the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Utah. Unfortunately, his training did not give him much fluency in the Dutch language. But as luck would have it, the first person he approaches to proselytize is a fellow American named Kyle.

An expansive Russian drama, this film focuses on the life of revered religious icon painter Andrei Rublev. Drifting from place to place in a tumultuous era, the peace-seeking monk eventually gains a reputation for his art. But after Rublev witnesses a brutal battle and unintentionally becomes involved, he takes a vow of silence and spends time away from his work. As he begins to ease his troubled soul, he takes steps towards becoming a painter once again.

Singing Marseilles docker Joe is hired by wealthy English couple, the Oliphants, to find their missing son Gerald. When Joe finds him, he learns Gerald escaped of his own will and takes him to stay with a local singer, who offers a refuge from his repressed white parents.

Takes place at the Passover and the days that follow the crucifixion. A mix of scripture and Christian legend woven to try and create a more complete picture. It follows Longinus as the Roman soldier who put the spear to Jesus on the cross.

After his wife dies, a blacksmith named Balian is thrust into royalty, political intrigue and bloody holy wars during the Crusades.

In 25 AD, Judah Ben-Hur, a Jew in ancient Judea, opposes the occupying Roman empire. Falsely accused by a Roman childhood friend-turned-overlord of trying to kill the Roman governor, he is put into slavery and his mother and sister are taken away as prisoners.

A debate arises between Jesus Christ and a beautiful nun about her nightlife and whether the scriptures address any punishment for her sins.

Rossellini takes numerous liberties with the original source material, rearranging and omitting events at will, presenting everything in a highly undramatic fashion. The film begins in the time of the Old Testament, allowing Rossellini to present the story of Jesus in its ancient, historic context.

"Ufam Tobie" (Polish for "I Trust in You") is a film about God's mercy being poured out on the whole world because He is a loving God who seeks and wants to save every human being." From all My wounds, like from streams, mercy flows for souls, but the wound in My Heart is the fountain of unfathomable mercy. From this fountain spring all graces for souls. The flames of compassion burn Me. I desire greatly to pour them out upon souls. Speak to the whole world about My mercy." (Paragraph 1190 of the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska)