There is only one fictional character who embodies the American spirit in its essence and its entirety, and who is real enough that it seems he should have existed: Indiana Jones, the swashbuckling American archaeologist. Forty years ago today, Raiders of the Lost Ark—perhaps the greatest action-adventure movie of all time—was released. A people, a [...]
The original “Star Wars” trilogy explored the crises of identity, love, and redemption in the midst of a technologically tyrannical world. The prequel trilogy, by contrast, is primarily concerned with themes of decadence, corporate domination, political corruption, and the insidious influence that these forces have on love. Star Wars is one of most successful film [...]
In the 1984 film “The Karate Kid,” Mr. Miyagi’s teaching method may seem scandalous to Western eyes: Either Daniel does things his way, or not at all. The wise mentor refuses to reveal to Daniel the reason for his menial exercises. But it is precisely the virtue of submission and obedience that is essential for [...]
Set in the period after the completion of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the film, “Sin,” paints a rounded characterization of Michelangelo rather than the hoary cliché of the solitary misanthropic genius holed up in his studio. This episode of the artist’s career has never been so dramatically or so convincingly told. Il Peccato (Sin), the [...]
It is inadequate to describe Mel Gibson’s masterpiece, “The Passion of the Christ,” as a film; it is much more than that. It would be more accurate to describe it as a moving icon. It calls us to prayer and leads us to the contemplation that takes us into the presence of Christ Himself. It’s [...]
Just as the advent of the Savior at Christmastime did not eliminate the consequences of human sin and foolishness but opened a new way forward, so too the vision of Jack Campbell in “The Family Man” does not change his wasted last thirteen years but opens up the possibility of a very different future for [...]
Using dramatic license, “The Crown” features the romance between Charles, Prince of Wales, and his future queen. Though appearing to be in a sense a real-life Cinderella, Diana, Princess of Wales, is a kind of symbol of our dysfunctional modern Western society. We were living in England in 1997, when Diana, Princess of Wales, was [...]
I worry that a society that ceases to marvel at the actions of daredevils is in danger. Though their moral calculus is not always straightforward and though I have no wish to imitate such actors, I view them at the end of the current year with new eyes. We should watch, listen, and ask if [...]
The 2019 film “Fighting With My Family,” though not life-changing, is a nice change of pace from the movies where doing one’s own thing is depicted as the heroic, authentic thing. It is pleasantly anti-modern in its conception of family and work, as the family’s good is portrayed as more important than self-doubts about “what [...]
“Raphael Revealed” offers abundant opportunities to view an array of Raphael’s masterpieces up close in the context of the Rome of the early 16th century. One of the richest achievements of European art and culture once again becomes accessible and understandable. Exhibition on Screen, the long-running and highly popular series of high-definition documentary films about [...]
Larry Elder’s film “Uncle Tom” is a must-see for anybody who thinks all black people think alike or that American black history is simply a history of victimhood. They’re black, they’re proud, and they’re all-American—just like the film they’re in. While it is unlikely that blacks will vote as a majority for Donald Trump or [...]
The struggle between good and evil that Frank Capra depicts in "Mr. Smith" is clearly understood by viewers as reflecting timeless truths about citizenship and living together in a free society. Even in the fractured public square we inhabit today, members of opposing political tribes can recognize our common humanity in the heroic and humble [...]
Commissioned by Adolf Hitler, “Triumph of the Will” is a terrifying film. It is as if, for a moment, something infernal took control of the camera and caused the audience to be entranced, as it projected a lie into Germany’s consciousness, and then beyond to an unwilling world. As a consequence, 85 million people were [...]
Perhaps we should be grateful to John Williams and Howard Shore for showing us that we can still use the tonal language to create music that resonates in the hearts of ordinary people. Perhaps we should be suspicious of those musical censors who leap to dismiss whatever is spontaneously likeable as cliché, and whatever touches [...]