Vie et Passion du Christ

Vie et Passion du Christ
Directed byLucien Nonguet (co-director), Ferdinand Zecca (co-director)
StarringMadame Moreau (Virgin Mary)
Monsieur Moreau (Joseph)
Distributed byPathé Frères
Release dates
  • May 1903 (1903-05) (France)
  • June 1903 (1903-06) (U.S.)
Running time
44 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageSilent (French intertitles)

Vie et Passion du Christ (English: Life and Passion of the Christ) is a 44-minute French silent film that was produced and released in 1903. As such, it is considered the first feature-length narrative film.[1]

The film, with sequences made in the stencil color process Pathéchrome, takes a straightforward approach to its subject matter. All scenes are introduced by an inter-title giving the traditional name of the event (the Annunciation, the Nativity, etc.) followed by the actors playing out the familiar stories from the Gospels. Other than the scene titles, there are no other inter-titles. Many of the scenes attempt to recreate the illustrations of the life of Christ by Gustave Doré in detail.[2]

In 1932, the film was re-issued in the U.S., distributed on a states-rights basis. Instead of the stencil coloring effect, however, the film was printed on red-tinted stock, with a musical score compiled by James C. Bradford.

Multiple Pathé Passion Play films

The original French title for the film was La Vie et la passion de Jésus Christ (The Life and the Passion of Jesus Christ). At least ten different Passion Play films were released between 1897 and 1914, including three by Pathé in 1902, 1907, and 1914.[3] The 1902 version was expanded and revised several times by Pathé before an all-new remake was released in 1907.[4]

The Annunciation scene from the 1902-1905 film[5][6]
The Annunciation scene from the 1907 film[6]

Legacy

The film was included by the Vatican in a list of important films compiled in 1995, under the category of "Religion".[7] It is the oldest entry to make the list.

See also

References

  1. ^ S. Lubin released a different passion play film in the U.S. in January 1903, running 60 minutes. Some film historians disqualify both as feature films because they were released in multiple parts of one scene each, leaving the exhibitor the option of showing the scenes together.
  2. ^ Valentine, Robert (2014), "Cinema and the Work of Doré", in Kaenel, Philippe (ed.), Doré: Master of Imagination, Paris: Musée d'Orsay, p. 228, ISBN 978-2-0813-1643-0
  3. ^ Shepherd, David, ed. (2016). The Silents of Jesus in the Cinema (1897-1927). Routledge. pp. 3–9. ISBN 978-1-315-81516-9.
  4. ^ Shepherd, David, ed. (2016). The Silents of Jesus in the Cinema (1897-1927). Routledge. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-315-81516-9.
  5. ^ 1903 Pathé Film Catalog
  6. ^ a b Shepherd, David, ed. (2016). The Silents of Jesus in the Cinema (1897-1927). Routledge. pp. 34–37. ISBN 978-1-315-81516-9.
  7. ^ "Vatican Best Films List". Official website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Archived from the original on 2012-04-22. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
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