"Official" list of 100 "must see" films for Catholics

Let the debates begin, as tmatt boards a plane for the long journey home from Down Under

If I haven’t said this before, let me stress this fact about the next few days: I cannot sleep on airplanes. Not a wink.

Also, the cheap seats in a packed, modern, long-range jet (steerage class for the 21st Century) contain zero room for a gravity challenged (think about it), 70something guy to work on a laptop computer. During the long flight Down Under, I barely had room for a can of Coke Zero, a paperback book and a yellow highlighter pen.

New Zealand to Texas will almost certainly be the longest flight of my life, topping Delhi to Chicago years ago. There will be a long layover in Dallas and I hope to get about half of this week’s “On Religion” column written. I sure wish I could afford a comfy passenger lounge.

The bottom line: The earliest Rational Sheep readers will hear from me is Wednesday and, even then, there will still be some driving to do to get home to Northeast Tennessee. In terms of energy, I’ll be in Zombie mode at that time — but I’ll try to get something online. At the very least, I can post the full text of the previous week’s “On Religion” column, which was referenced the other day in this “Crossroads” podcast post.

Obviously, what I need right now is something that Substack readers can discuss for several days while I am caught in the space-time continuum over the Pacific Ocean.

How about this?

After two years of thinking and writing, Cameron DeLaFleu and Joe Wilson have posted their full, final version of “The Official List of 100 Movies Every Catholic Should See.” They never took a week off in this process. The goal was to put a spotlight on “films which truly reach for the Good, True, and Beautiful in their themes as well as in their technical artistic prowess.”

The Big Question, of course, is “What is a Catholic movie?” Here is some additional background from the final essay:

All great films, regardless of genre, are “catholic” in the sense that they touch on universal themes of human existence. Our list reflects the wonderful diversity of cinematic history, including (we hope) something for everyone that can draw them into deeper contemplation of God, his truth, and the meaning and beauty of human life. There are many films with explicitly Catholic themes, including a couple saintly biopics (A Man for All Seasons, The Reluctant Saint), biblical stories (Prince of Egypt, The Passion of the Christ), and even a story written by a pope and saint himself (The Jeweller’s Shop). Catholicism’s rich symbolic tradition, complex doctrines, and well-known hierarchical structure have made it a common subject of filmmakers throughout the 130 year history of cinema. Even secular garbage like Conclave (not on the list) sees the power of Catholic symoblism and morality to make a dramatic story. We are proud to highlight some of the best of this tradition and hope to continue to do so in the future.

But many (in fact, most) of the films on our list do not deal with Catholicism explicitly. Rather, these films show us universal truths about humanity in other ways. Each film was chosen because they can tell us something about goodness, truth, beauty, virtue and vice, belief and unbelief, dignity and love.

If you want a different definition of “Catholic movie,” check out this National Catholic Register-related project — “The Top 5 Catholic Movies of all Time.”

Now, I will urge readers to at least visit the Wilson-DeLaFleu list long enough to scan it. It will only take a few moments. There are longer articles available about each movie, care of their full Substack website.

I know that reading the list will take time. To spur readers on, here is another quick summary of some of the contents:

They compass many genres; we have superhero films (Spider-Man 2), sci-fi epics (the Star Wars saga), animated children’s classics (Pinocchio), historical epics (Lawrence of Arabia), musicals (The Sound of Music), sports movies (Chariots of Fire), crime dramas (The Godfather trilogy), thrillers (Heat), horror films (A Quiet Place), westerns (Stagecoach), romantic comedies (A Shop around the Corner), literary adaptations (Pride and Prejudice), and Christmas movies (It’s a Wonderful Life).

There is no way for me to do the list justice. To keep my head from exploding, I decided to look at the list as a whole instead of asking myself if I agree with how they RANKED these films.

I mean, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” ranked higher than “Chariots of Fire”? And where is the classic drama “Tender Mercies,” starring Robert Duvall in his only Oscar winning performance? See this tribute to that movie at The Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation and Culture.

What can I do to suggest the range of this list?

How about this? Let’s start with the first film.

(1) A Man for All Seasons (1966) A Man for All Seasons deserves it place near the top of the list of great Catholic films. St. Thomas More’s many virtues, firm commitment to truth above all else, and deep love for God shine through every moment of this magnificent film. His example of courage, statesmanship, generosity and affection towards friends and dependents, steadfast faith, and love for God and family stand as noble models of Christian living. More’s faith and integrity, as much in the twenty-first century as the sixteenth, call us to hold steadfast to the truth no matter what the cost or how unreasonable the demands of the faith seem by worldly standards. After all, “finally, it is not a matter of reason,” as St. Thomas More tells his family while awaiting his trial. “It’s a matter of love.”

Now let’s jump all the way to the final movie, which is (#triggerwarning) ranked 16 slots below The Blues Brothers.

(100) Ben-Hur (1959) Ben-Hur is a masterpiece, one deserving of a spot on any list of greatest films of all time. Its beauty and power are undeniable, even by secular critics. However, its portrayal of Christ and its powerful Christian themes elevate it to the level of some of the greatest Christian works of art. Its compelling drama and masterfully played characters engross you in the story, but the power and majesty of its portrayal of Christ leaves you thirsting for more. It turns common Hollywood tropes on their head in favor of a more Christian understanding of human nature and morality. And it leaves us with a work of art which is unparalleled in film history.

Now, there are several movies on this list that I am sure will raise eyebrows.

For example, consider this item near the top.

(18) The Godfather Trilogy (1972-1990) The Godfather trilogy, even the controversial third film, stand together as cinematic giants. The story, music, acting, and themes create a beautiful story about the rise of one Italian-American family. But behind the incredible action and stereotypes is a real family story: a story that provides Catholics with a warning of the dangers of letting our desires cloud our decisions. Catholics should not watch this movie to glean any virtue knowledge but should watch it as a warning. Do not let your family fall apart. Keep your family close to virtue and lead them to their final destination, heaven. The Godfather movies are ones you cannot simply refuse!

OK, I think that it’s safe to say that we can agree that it’s genuinely orthodox to demonstrate, on the big screen, that the wages of sin is death. Right?

I will also ask this question: Where is “The Exorcist”?

I hope we get some interesting discussion on this one!