In a film world full of junk that is cotton candy for the mind, I am providing here lists of movies with profound spiritual themes. These are Catholic lists.
These are movies in my book, Lights in the Darkness,Exploring Catholic Themes in Twelve Extraordinary Movies.
A Man for All Seasons
The Flowers of Saint Francis
The Mission
Diary of a Country Priest
Of Gods and Men
Babette’s Feast
Spitfire Grill
Au Revoir Les Enfants
Dead Man Walking
Entertaining Angels
Decalogue 1
GATTACA
Vatican—Pontifical Council for Social Communications
For the 100th Anniversary of Cinema (1995)
Religion
Andrei Rublev*Andrei Tarkowsky (1969, USSR)
The Mission*Roland Joffé (1986, UK)
La passion de Jeanne d’Arc(The Passion of Joan of Arc)* Carl T. Dreyer (1928, France)
La vie et la passion de Jésus Christ(Life and Passion of Christ)*Ferdinand Zecca and Lucien Nonguet (1905, France) Identified on the Vatican film list asLa Passion Pathé
Francesco, giullare di Dio(The Flowers of St. Francis/ Francis, God’s Jester)*Roberto Rossellini (1950, Italy)
Il Evangelo secondo Matteo(The Gospel According to Matthew)*Pier Paolo Pasolini (1964, France/Italy)
Thérèse*Alain Cavalier (1986, France)
Ordet(The Word)*Carl T. Dreyer (1955, Denmark)
Offret — Sacrificatio(The Sacrifice)*Andrei Tarkowsky (1986, Sweden/UK/France)
Francesco*Liliana Cavani (1989, Italy/Germany)
Ben-Hur [A Tale of the Christ]*William Wyler (1959, USA)
Babettes gæstebud(Babette’s Feast)*Gabriel Axel (1987, Denmark)
Nazarín*Luis Buñuel (1958, Mexico)
Monsieur Vincent*Maurice Cloche (1947, France)
A Man for All Seasons*Fred Zinnemann (1966, UK)
Values
Gandhi*Richard Attenborough (1982, UK/USA/India)
Intolerance*D. W. Griffith (1916, USA)
Dekalog(The Decalogue)*Krzysztof Kieslowski (1987, Poland) Identified on the Vatican film list asIl Decalogo
Au Revoir, Les Enfants(Goodbye, Children)*Louis Malle (1987, France)
Dersu Uzala*Akira Kurosawa (1974, Japan)
L’albero degli zoccoli(The Tree of the Wooden Clogs)*Ermanno Olmi (1978, Italy/France)
Roma, città aperta(Open City)*Roberto Rossellini (1946, Italy)
Smultronstället(Wild Strawberries)*Ingmar Bergman (1957, Sweden)
Det sjunde inseglet(The Seventh Seal)*Ingmar Bergman (1957, Sweden)
Chariots of Fire*Hugh Hudson (1981, UK)
Ladri di biciclette(The Bicycle Thief)*Vittorio de Sica (1948, Italy)
It’s a Wonderful Life*Frank Capra (1946, USA)
Schindler’s List*Steven Spielberg (1993, USA)
On the Waterfront*Elia Kazan (1954, USA)
Biruma No Tategoto(The Burmese Harp)*Kon Ichikawa (1956, Japan)
Art
2001: A Space Odyssey*Stanley Kubrick (1968, UK/USA)
La Strada*Federico Fellini (1954, Italy)
Citizen Kane*Orson Welles (1941, USA)
Metropolis*Fritz Lang (1927, Germany)
Modern Times*Charlie Chaplin (1936, USA)
Napoléon*Abel Gance (1927, Italy)
8½*Federico Fellini (1963, Italy)
La grande illusion(Grand Illusion)*Jean Renoir (1937, France)
Nosferatu*F. W. Murnau (1922, Germany)
Stagecoach*John Ford (1939, USA)
Il Gattopardo(The Leopard)*Luchino Visconti (1963, Italy/France)
The Wizard of Oz*Victor Fleming (1939, USA)
The Lavender Hill Mob*Charles Crichton (1951, UK)
Little Women*George Cukor (1933, USA)
Richard Leonard, S.J., author of Movies That Matter
Groundhog Day The Apostle
The Mission The Truman Show
A Man for All Seasons The Insider
Places in the Heart The Exorcist
Witness Billy Elliot
Hannah and Her Sisters Erin Brockovich
Babette’s Feast Gladiator
The Name of the Rose Chocolat
Gandhi The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Dead Poet’s Society Glory
Romero Bowling for Columbine
JFK In America
Unforgiven Vera Drake
Schindler’s List The Third Miracle
Shadowlands Italian for Beginners
Philadelphia Whale Rider
Three Colors Trilogy: Red, White, Blue The Hurricane
The Shawshank Redemption The Crime of Father Amaro
Dead Man Walking Finding Nemo
Life is Beautiful Bruce Almighty
The Godfather City of God
Men with Guns Gallipoli
Chariots of Fire Tender Mercies
The Road Home The Magdalene Sisters
The Passion of the Christ
National Catholic Register Top 100 Pro-Catholic Movies
In 2004, the National Catholic Register and Faith and Familymagazine gathered online nominations for films that best celebrate Catholic life.
- The Passion of the Christ (2004)
- The Sound of Music (1965)
- A Man For All Seasons (1966)
- The Song of Bernadette (1943)
- It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
- The Ten Commandments (1956)
- The Scarlet and the Black (1983)
- Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
- Schindler’s List (1993)
- The Bells of St Mary’s (1945)
- Thérèse (2004)
- Braveheart (1995)
- The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima
- The Mission (1986)
- Lilies of the Field (1963)
- The Miracle of Marcelino (1955)
- Les Miserables (1998)
- The Quiet Man (1952)
- Ben Hur (1959)
- Rudy (1993) *
- The Robe (1953)
- Return to Me (2000)
- We Were Soldiers (2002)
- Becket (1964)
- Going My Way (1944)
- Romero (1989)
- Sister Act (1992)
- Pope John Paul II (1984)
- Jonah: a Veggie Tales Movie (2002)
- Shoes of the Fisherman (1986)
- Brideshead Revisited (1981)
- The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
- On the Waterfront (1954)
- I Confess (1953)
- Boys Town (1938)
- Molokai: the Story of Father Damien (1999)
- Quo Vadis (1951)
- The Trouble With Angels (1956)
- Babette’s Feast (1987)
- The Rookie (2002)
- The Reluctant Saint (1962)
- One Man’s Hero (1999)
- Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)
- The Exorcist (1973)
- Dead Man Walking (1995)
- Joan of Arc (1948)
- The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
- The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
- Angels In the Outfield (1951)
- Moonstruck (1987) *
- The Miracle Maker: the Story of Jesus (2000)
- Henry V (1989) *
- Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)
- Entertaining Angels: the Dorothy Day Story (1996)
- Knute Rockne: All American (1940)
- The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
- The Singing Nun (1966)
- Marty (1955)
- Monsieur Vincent (1948)
- The Assisi Underground (1985)
- Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987)
- Come to the Stable (1949)
- Diary of a Country Priest (1951)
- In This House of Brede (1975)
- The Jeweller’s Shop (1988)
- The Miracle of the Bells (1948)
- The Fighting Sullivans (1944)
- The Fourth Wiseman (1985)
- The Juggler of Notre Dame (1970)
- Barabbas (1962)
- King of Kings (1961)
- Francis of Assisi (1961)
- The Adventures of Robin Hood (1937)
- The Decalogue (1987)
- The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (1966)
- Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)
- The Fugitive (1947)
- The Longest Day (1962)
- Thérèse (1986)
- The Gospel of John (2003)
- A.D. (1985)
- Faustyna (1995)
- The Son (2002)
- Francesco (1989)
- The Flowers of St. Francis (1950)
- Brother Orchid (1940)
- Demetrius and the Gladiators
- Nazarin (1958)
- The Silver Chalice (1954)
- When In Rome (1952)
- Not of This World (1999)
- Open City (1945)
- 3 Godfathers (1948)
- Don Bosco (1988)
- Abraham (1994)
- The Detective (1954)
- The Hoodlum Saint (1946)
- The Sign of the Cross (1932)
- The Wrong Man (1956)
- Padre On Horseback (1977)