Mary on the Silver Screen

The Silver Screen has also taken an interest in the Blessed Virgin, even if there still remains much to do in this field, especially in today's modern world with multi-media techniques develop so rapidly.

Several full-length motion pictures featuring Mary, the mother of Christ, have been produced, including the French movie by Jean Delannoy, "Mary of Nazareth", with the collaboration of Francis Lalanne. However, the first movies to represent the mystery of Mary were those focusing more on the life of Jesus Christ, such as "The Gospel According to St. Matthew" by Pier Paolo Pasolini. This well-known masterpiece was awarded the jury's Special Prize at the 1964 Festival of Venice. More recently, the American movie "Jesus" by John Heyman, awarded at the Cannes Festival, was inspired by St. Luke's Gospel, the biblical account that has the most references to the Virgin Mary. This movie has been released into over 40 languages and to this day nearly one billion people have seen it throughout the world.

We must not forget to mention the American film "The Passion" by Mel Gibson in 2003. The way of the Cross to Christ's crucifixion and His accompanied by the Virgin Mary, His mother, is a remarkably produced. This film was, popular from the moment it reached the Silver Screen, a great success.