Author Topic: Any Orthodox Films? (Read 17332 times)

JamesR · « **on:** February 18, 2013, 06:35:40 PM »

I always enjoy watching the old films on television which re-tell stories from the Bible--like The Ten Commandments especially. However, I do not see very many which take place after the book of Acts. Such as films which would re-tell stories about certain inspirational Saints or events in the history of the Church. And among the very few that I have seen, they are usually told from a Roman Catholic perspective--and I find myself pointing out flaws in them the entire time. Are there are any films like this told from an Orthodox perspective? Preferably with English subtitles, since I'm assuming they would be in some Eastern European language.

Asteriktos · « **Reply #1 on:** February 18, 2013, 09:12:01 PM »

Do you want dramatic re-tellings only, or biography/documentary style ones as well?

mike · « **Reply #2 on:** February 18, 2013, 09:19:45 PM »

My father has made a film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WH0V6sA8S8

dzheremi · « **Reply #3 on:** February 18, 2013, 09:41:44 PM »

You mean you guys don't have 500,000 movies on the lives of the saints? Cos the Copts sure do.

The Coptic saint film industry page

(some subtitled, some not; some pre-Chalcedon, some not)

Hiwot · « **Reply #4 on:** February 18, 2013, 10:06:36 PM »

Quote from: dzheremi on February 18, 2013, 09:41:44 PM

You mean you guys don't have 500,000 movies on the lives of the saints? Cos the Copts sure do.

The Coptic saint film industry page (some subtitled, some not; some pre-Chalcedon, some not)

dzheremi hehehe, so true, now you have got to give me a list of favorites because I have seen very few of them. some are considerably well done while others well they are the sunday school drama club variety with lofty hagiographical language that is okay in writting but very weired when spoken.. u know

dzheremi · « **Reply #5 on:** February 18, 2013, 10:14:12 PM »

Yes, I definitely know what you mean, Hiwot.

I have only seen a few myself, and I only own St. Bishoy's (because it was a gift; one of the discs is defective, so I haven't even seen the whole thing). I liked the one of Abouna Abdelmasih el-Habashi (not the same as the one listed as "Abd El Masseh" on that website), but I didn't like St. George or St. Moses the Ethiopian's. So it's definitely hit-or-miss. Coptic Hollywood (Shoubrawood?) is not rich enough to be consistent, it seems.

If I remember correctly, I saw St. George's movie on YT with Ethiopian narration over what appears to be a Coptic movie (either that or Habesha actors are all very light-skinned

). Are there Ethiopian-made movies for Ethiopian saints? I'd like to see those, if they exist.

Shanghaiski · « **Reply #6 on:** February 18, 2013, 10:16:17 PM »

As far as dramatic performance Orthodox movies, there's Ostrov, as well as several other Russian movies of note such as "Repentance" and "Ne Goryuy (Don't Grieve)"

The Greek Archdiocese of America has several movies on select saints. Light and Life used to have a movie/video section back when people still had VHS.

A movie or miniseries on the life of St. Paul would be great. David Suchet (Poirot) did a two-part special as a documentary on St. Paul and hinted at his desire to play St. Paul. Not Orthodox, but may still be good.

Other movies of Christian theme and good cinematography are Ben-Hur, King of Kings, The Robe, Quo Vadis, Demetrius and the Gladiators, The Silver Chalice--all from the era when Hollywood did Jesus/Early Christian epics.

Hiwot · « **Reply #7 on:** February 18, 2013, 10:47:27 PM »

Quote from: dzheremi on February 18, 2013, 10:14:12 PM

Yes, I definitely know what you mean, Hiwot.

I have only seen a few myself, and I only own St. Bishoy's (because it was a gift; one of the discs is defective, so I haven't even seen the whole thing). I liked the one of Abouna Abdelmasih el-Habashi (not the same as the one listed as "Abd El Masseh" on that website), but I didn't like St. George or St. Moses the Ethiopian's. So it's definitely hit-or-miss. Coptic Hollywood (Shoubrawood?) is not rich enough to be consistent, it seems.

If I remember correctly, I saw St. George's movie on YT with Ethiopian narration over what appears to be a Coptic movie (either that or Habesha actors are all very light-skinned ). Are there Ethiopian-made movies for Ethiopian saints? I'd like to see those, if they exist.

LOL@ Shoubrawood!!

I liked Abouna abdelmasih el habashi's as well. but my favorite is about Abouna Anderawes el samuel, it is called Visitor from heaven.

Ethiopians love coptic movies, they have dozens of coptic movies with amharic narration. so far they have not made any ethiopian movies about the saints. just stage dramas.

Cantor Krishnich · « **Reply #8 on:** February 18, 2013, 10:55:06 PM »

Here's a film based on the life of St. Mary of Egypt. Its in Arabic but has English subtitles. Its my favorite Orthodox film so far!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaWwn9mDAvY&list=PL2EA5D4073F66A9D4&index=1

dzheremi · « **Reply #9 on:** February 18, 2013, 11:05:33 PM »

Oh yeah! St. Mary of Egypt has a good one, too!

Hiwot: That's too bad. I think it would be good to have Ethiopian saints' movies to increase the knowledge of them among Ethiopians and non-Ethiopians alike. Pretty much the only saint from Ethiopia that anyone at my church knows is St. Tekla Haymanot, and I think that's mostly because there's a famous church named after the saint in Alexandria. One time I mentioned St. Yared to a friend from church and he had no idea who I was talking about.

Hiwot · « **Reply #10 on:** February 18, 2013, 11:18:02 PM »

Cantor,

dzheremi, yeah it would be great if they could, but I guess baby steps for now. a lot of work remains to familiarise the laity at least the prominent saints in each jurisdiction in our church. movies would be very effective for that purpose.

a hymn for Abona andrawes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMlOpg4GwIY

the movie in arabic, this one does not have subtitles, sorry. the one I saw had, but I could not find it now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlt3pnI189c

CoptoGeek · « **Reply #11 on:** February 20, 2013, 10:32:05 AM »

Quote from: Hiwot on February 18, 2013, 10:06:36 PM

Quote from: dzheremi on February 18, 2013, 09:41:44 PM
You mean you guys don't have 500,000 movies on the lives of the saints? Cos the Copts sure do.

The Coptic saint film industry page (some subtitled, some not; some pre-Chalcedon, some not)

dzheremi hehehe, so true, now you have got to give me a list of favorites because I have seen very few of them. some are considerably well done while others well they are the sunday school drama club variety with lofty hagiographical language that is okay in writting but very weired when spoken.. u know

Most of them are pure schlock, but you gotta start somewhere. In time, I'm sure they'll get better.

But all things considered, the one for St. Anba Abraam is quite good. It's a movie I think most anyone could enjoy.

CoptoGeek · « **Reply #12 on:** February 20, 2013, 10:39:47 AM »

Quote from: Shanghaiski on February 18, 2013, 10:16:17 PM

The Greek Archdiocese of America has several movies on select saints. Light and Life used to have a movie/video section back when people still had VHS.

There's one called "Maria the Nun" or similar that I saw a long time ago that's very nice. I believe its by the GOAA and in English. It was a VHS tape with Arabic subtitles.

CoptoGeek · « **Reply #13 on:** February 20, 2013, 10:45:48 AM »

has anyone seen Tsar? It stars Pyotr Mamonov who was in Ostrov. Would it fit this cateogry?

ma2000 · « **Reply #14 on:** February 20, 2013, 11:05:23 AM »

Quote from: Michał Kalina on February 18, 2013, 09:19:45 PM

My father has made a film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WH0V6sA8S8

The movie is very interesting

Andrey Rublyov is based on the life of Saint Andrey Rublyov.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060107/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Cyrillic · « **Reply #15 on:** February 20, 2013, 11:10:33 AM »

Quote from: CoptoGeek on February 20, 2013, 10:32:05 AM

Quote from: Hiwot on February 18, 2013, 10:06:36 PM
Quote from: dzheremi on February 18, 2013, 09:41:44 PM
You mean you guys don't have 500,000 movies on the lives of the saints? Cos the Copts sure do.

The Coptic saint film industry page (some subtitled, some not; some pre-Chalcedon, some not)

dzheremi hehehe, so true, now you have got to give me a list of favorites because I have seen very few of them. some are considerably well done while others well they are the sunday school drama club variety with lofty hagiographical language that is okay in writting but very weired when spoken.. u know

Most of them are pure schlock, but you gotta start somewhere. In time, I'm sure they'll get better.

But all things considered, the one for St. Anba Abraam is quite good. It's a movie I think most anyone could enjoy.

The one about Fr. Yostos, the silent monk, was good too.

ialmisry · « **Reply #16 on:** February 20, 2013, 11:24:52 AM »

Quote from: ma2000 on February 20, 2013, 11:05:23 AM

Quote from: Michał Kalina on February 18, 2013, 09:19:45 PM
My father has made a film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WH0V6sA8S8
The movie is very interesting

Andrey Rublyov is based on the life of Saint Andrey Rublyov.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060107/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

For some reason I was really taken by the ending of that one.

Ansgar · « **Reply #17 on:** February 20, 2013, 04:26:12 PM »

Quote from: CoptoGeek on February 20, 2013, 10:45:48 AM

has anyone seen Tsar? It stars Pyotr Mamonov who was in Ostrov. Would it fit this cateogry?

I think it would. It's a good film.

Ersaia · « **Reply #18 on:** February 20, 2013, 04:37:03 PM »

yesterday I watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eew6oJTmrgk I have no idea about the russian title, it has greek subtitles but I think someone from here can tell you the real title and search it with english subtitles

OCTΡOB is good also

and another russian is this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPYU51WbmJc (I have no idea about the russian title also)

In Greek we have mostly documentaries if you want

Iconodule · « **Reply #19 on:** February 20, 2013, 04:45:46 PM »

The Colour of Pomegranates, undoubtedly the most Orthodox film ever made.

ma2000 · « **Reply #20 on:** February 20, 2013, 06:40:12 PM »

Quote from: Iconodule on February 20, 2013, 04:45:46 PM

The Colour of Pomegranates, undoubtedly the most Orthodox film ever made.

That's not quite a movie... it's more like poetry in moving images. But it is very interesting..

Cyrillic · « **Reply #21 on:** February 21, 2013, 02:01:06 PM »

I'd love to see a movie about St. Anthony the Great once.

ialmisry · « **Reply #22 on:** February 21, 2013, 02:45:50 PM »

Quote from: Iconodule on February 20, 2013, 04:45:46 PM

The Colour of Pomegranates, undoubtedly the most Orthodox film ever made.

An Iconodule type of answer.

But I came across this on the way:Shadows of our forgotten ancestors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=5GoXMSAMOyg

Not exactly an Orthodox film-about as Orthodox as Zorba the Greek-but of interest perhaps to Carpathian folk.

Iconodule · « **Reply #23 on:** February 21, 2013, 03:28:16 PM »

The Legend of Suram Fortress

Iconodule · « **Reply #24 on:** February 21, 2013, 03:30:01 PM »

Hey check it out, the animated film Prince Vladimir is now on Youtube with English subtitles

Romaios · « **Reply #25 on:** February 21, 2013, 03:58:16 PM »

Quote from: Iconodule on February 21, 2013, 03:30:01 PM

Hey check it out, the animated film Prince Vladimir is now on Youtube with English subtitles

Russian animation isn't what it used to be back in the Soviet days:

Hedgehog in the fog

Nina Shorina made interesting animation using texts from the great Russian novelists - I liked this one best, but they've taken the subtitled version off Youtube, unfortunately.

Ansgar · « **Reply #26 on:** February 21, 2013, 04:18:28 PM »

Quote from: Iconodule on February 21, 2013, 03:28:16 PM

The Legend of Suram Fortress

That was very interesting, even if I didn't understand any of it.

Antonis · « **Reply #27 on:** February 21, 2013, 04:46:07 PM »

Quote from: Cyrillic on February 21, 2013, 02:01:06 PM

I'd love to see a movie about St. Anthony the Great once.

Yea, this.

Putnik Namernik · « **Reply #28 on:** February 26, 2013, 03:16:25 PM »

Here are some documentaries that might interest you:

http://www.stnectariospress.com/catalog/multi-media.htm
The Creed DVD by father Panteleimon - 15.00
On the Divinity of Christ by father Panteleimon - 15.00
The Marriage Service as a part of Eucharist - 15.00
We Believe in One God by father Haralambos - 15.00
The Mother of God by father Panteleimon - 15.00
Why should we live a virtuous life by Metropolitan Ephraim - 15.00
The way of the cross: the path to santification by Bishop Demetrios - 15.00
An evening with Metropolitan Ephraim - 15.00
Enter in: Exploring the feasts of the Church by the Greek Archiodese of North America (4DVDS) - 35.00
Life of St. John Maximovitch - 20.00

http://www.newgracanica.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=10&products_id=20
His Holiness Patriarch Pavle DVD - 15
Ikona - The Icon DVD - 18
Susret pod Ostrogom -The Ostrog Encounter - 12
Sveti Nikolaj Srpski - 12
A Pilgrim's Way - 16

Has anyone seen any of this dvds? I have seen one about St. (Sveti) Nikolaj Velimirovic - it's amazing and is available in various language

NightOwl · « **Reply #29 on:** March 06, 2013, 03:09:19 PM »

I second "Repentance." I also liked "Solaris" by Tarkovsky, which has some undertones that are arguably Orthodox.

mabsoota · « **Reply #30 on:** March 07, 2013, 03:38:13 PM »

saint bola (paul)'s movie on the coptic me site has a lot about saint antony in it as well.
sadly, this version is not subtitled; i have seen it subtitled, but i borrowed it from the church library.

watching many saint movies is part of the process of integrating into the coptic church!

i love saint movies a lot!

Phanouria · « **Reply #31 on:** March 28, 2013, 10:05:15 PM »

OCTPOB!

Nikolai Sergeev · « **Reply #32 on:** April 02, 2013, 04:11:07 PM »

Quo Vadis is one great movie. Polish, I believe.
Also Russian movie "Pop" is very good http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn0ke6DhCr4

mike · « **Reply #33 on:** April 02, 2013, 04:17:18 PM »

Quote from: Nikolai Sergeev on April 02, 2013, 04:11:07 PM

Quo Vadis is one great movie. Polish, I believe.

Boring and amateur. One of 3 movies I've fallen asleep in the cinema.

Nikolai Sergeev · « **Reply #34 on:** April 02, 2013, 04:21:42 PM »

Quote from: Michał Kalina on April 02, 2013, 04:17:18 PM

Quote from: Nikolai Sergeev on April 02, 2013, 04:11:07 PM
Quo Vadis is one great movie. Polish, I believe.

Boring and amateur. One of 3 movies I've fallen asleep in the cinema.

I watched it like ten years ago, when I actually wasn't in orthodox church yet, so maybe it produced a wrong impression on me then. But as far as I remember I quite liked the movie.

mike · « **Reply #35 on:** April 02, 2013, 04:28:41 PM »

Quote from: Nikolai Sergeev on April 02, 2013, 04:21:42 PM

Quote from: Michał Kalina on April 02, 2013, 04:17:18 PM
Quote from: Nikolai Sergeev on April 02, 2013, 04:11:07 PM
Quo Vadis is one great movie. Polish, I believe.

Boring and amateur. One of 3 movies I've fallen asleep in the cinema.

I watched it like ten years ago, when I actually wasn't in orthodox church yet, so maybe it produced a wrong impression on me then. But as far as I remember I quite liked the movie.

I watched it 10 years ago or something like that. I remember only styrofoam columns burning.

Book is better a bit but still more fiction, like historical one. As all Sienkiewicz' books.

Nikolai Sergeev · « **Reply #36 on:** April 02, 2013, 04:49:20 PM »

I guess I need to watch again someday, and read the book

.

There is also one very good movie "One day in the life of a men's monastery" about a monastery in Abkhazia. 25 min, no translation required https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxZqfd-0smM

NightOwl · « **Reply #37 on:** April 21, 2013, 11:52:05 PM »

Quote from: CoptoGeek on February 20, 2013, 10:45:48 AM

has anyone seen Tsar? It stars Pyotr Mamonov who was in Ostrov. Would it fit this cateogry?

Just watched it and really liked it.

Gebre Menfes Kidus · « **Reply #38 on:** June 22, 2013, 11:02:44 AM »

***subscribed***

Putnik Namernik · « **Reply #39 on:** June 23, 2013, 09:37:58 PM »

Has anyone seen this new Romanian movie "Beyond the hills"?
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_the_Hills

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=Pnn3PSfE_qg&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DPnn3PSfE_qg
Is it any good or anti-Orthodox?

mike · « **Reply #40 on:** June 24, 2013, 01:59:29 AM »

Watch it and make your own opinion.

Putnik Namernik · « **Reply #41 on:** June 24, 2013, 06:21:13 PM »

Quote from: Michał Kalina on June 24, 2013, 01:59:29 AM

Watch it and make your own opinion.

I was planning to do so, but figured to ask the impression of others as well since this is the review forum...

Stepan · « **Reply #42 on:** July 16, 2013, 02:07:19 PM »

Quote from: Shanghaiski on February 18, 2013, 10:16:17 PM

As far as dramatic performance Orthodox movies, there's Ostrov, as well as several other Russian movies of note such as "Repentance" and "Ne Goryuy (Don't Grieve)"

The Greek Archdiocese of America has several movies on select saints. Light and Life used to have a movie/video section back when people still had VHS.

A movie or miniseries on the life of St. Paul would be great. David Suchet (Poirot) did a two-part special as a documentary on St. Paul and hinted at his desire to play St. Paul. Not Orthodox, but may still be good.

Other movies of Christian theme and good cinematography are Ben-Hur, King of Kings, The Robe, Quo Vadis, Demetrius and the Gladiators, The Silver Chalice--all from the era when Hollywood did Jesus/Early Christian epics.

I just watched Ostrov over the weekend - REALLY liked it. Will have to check out Repentance and Don't Grieve.

Ansgar · « **Reply #43 on:** July 31, 2013, 12:53:49 PM »

I found this film about St. Mary of Egypt on a greek orthodox channel, but I can't tell if it was made by eastern or oriental orthodox.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aEJQCAl-z0

Oh wait, watched some more. Definately oriental.

mabsoota · « **Reply #44 on:** August 02, 2013, 04:45:03 PM »

it's an egyptian dialect, so it will be coptic.
will go and watch more when i have time!

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Author Topic: Any Orthodox Films? (Read 17332 times)