framptonhollis
This silent film from 1906 is one of the earliest films about Jesus Christ (although it isn't THE FIRST, which would be "The Passion Play" from 1903), whose possibly the most well known figure of all mankind.Whether you're particularly religious or not matter, because any work of cinema this old is at least somewhat interesting, and it's amazing seeing how well made this film is when you consider the fact that it was made 110 years ago! There's actual extras, sets, and multiple sequences, rather than just being a couple seconds of a man drinking a glass of water. It's probably the highest scale film of the 1900's (other than "A Trip to the Moon" and "The Great Train Robbery", two more popular and, somewhat, superior films), and it is really amazing how successful they were able to tell this story.The film is also pretty dramatic and emotional for its time, showing how cruel the death of Christ really was (but it doesn't go nearly as in depth as, say, "The Passion of Christ").Anybody with a strong interest of the history of silent and classic cinema should really take a look, because it truly is amazing.
classicsoncall
Director Alice Guy brought a significant attention to detail to this early silent film depicting the life of Christ. Done in a series of vignettes, the picture is remarkable considering the period in which it was made, using over a hundred extras and utilizing a creative double exposure technique to simulate a floating Jesus during the Resurrection scene. That special effect was really quite stunning to see considering all the enhanced CGI that's brought to bear in modern day films. The movie is purportedly the first to have actors enter and exit from camera view, and the sheer number of players and animals involved required a fair amount of orchestration. Costuming as well seemed to have been carefully planned, as the exotic visitors from faraway lands to participate in the birth of Christ would have made it spectacular in color. But for 1906, that would have been well beyond the curve for the technology available. Overall though, a significant achievement for the era and for this early female pioneer film maker.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"La vie du Christ" is a black-and-white silent film from almost 100 years ago. At 33 minutes, it is definitely very long for that era, but the first female filmmaker Alice Guy certainly explored her possibilities here. Unfortunately, for somebody like me, who is only vaguely familiar with the details of the story of Jesus Christ, this was not a good watch. More intertitles may have helped for sure, but we only see them to describe the different locations where this film takes place. This movie drags a bit and is not among the best from the era or among the best from what Alice Guy has done. And looking at what some of the biggest names of the silent films came up with only 10 years later, this film looks really bad in comparison. Actually, it does not look better than some of the stuff from the really early years, the 19th century. Thumbs down and only worth the watch for people with a huge interest in religious movies.
xrellerx
i embraced the opportunity to watch this early Pathé film with both arms wide open. The story of Christ is told here in 22 sequences. At that time this was an expensive project. There are maybe two basic camera moves through the whole movie and for that time this movie has SPECIAL EFFECTS! yes indeed, some of the things are "colored" (the star for example) but the people who did the effects did an incredible job if you ask me. We can't even imagine what it took to create FX at that time! If a movie from 1906 can hold someone's attention from 2000 than you can be sure this is a strong film! Of course, in every scene there are things that were meant to be serious, but now just seem hilarious (talking about over-acting!). Recommended for all real film addicts, since there were people sleeping in the audience...
AD
