Cynical Cinema

“No war is holy.”

Constantine’s Sword is a documentary that really makes me want to buy the book.  Because while I found every minute of this fantastic film incredibly interesting, I wanted more.  Constantine’s Sword is based on James Carroll’s book of the same name, and it deals with Christianity and the evil that has been done in the name of that religion throughout history.  The movie focuses almost exclusively on the treatment of Jewish people at the hands of Catholics over the years, but I have a feeling that the book would delve deeper - into dark periods in history, like slavery, apartheid, and leading up to the treatment of gay people today.

As it stands, the movie just doesn’t have enough time to get into all of that stuff.  Some early mention is made of the crusades, and their brutal treatment of other cultures through Christianity.  The title of the movie refers to the Roman emperor Constantine, who won some improbable battles and credited the vision of a cross that had come to him before the battles.  This led to Christianity being adopted universally as the religion of the Roman Empire, and also to the adoption of the cross as the symbol of Christianity.  Before that, the symbols of Christian faith were happy, uplifting ones.  Now, the symbol was a cross, a depressing symbol of the crucifixion of Christ, and a catalyst for anti-Jewish sentiment.  Although there is little or no historical plausibility in the idea that the Jews were the ones who had Jesus killed, this concept has become, for many Christians, gospel fact.  Pun intended.

The film deals extensively with the creation of the Jewish ghetto in Rome under orders from the pope in 1555.  It then moves on to the tragic and evil Catholic platform of non-involvement during the rise of the Nazis in Germany and the holocaust.  Carroll is a former Catholic priest who still believes in the bible, but he believes that the one thing the Catholic church needs to do is acknowledge that it has not always been a force for good in the world, and at times has done some pretty damn evil things.  Carroll reminds me very much of Michael Moriarty, the actor who played the district attorney in the original Law And Order.  This made the movie somewhat uncomfortable for me, because I just watched Moriarty play a nazi official in the terrific mini-series Holocaust.  (Download Holocaust)

Also featured prominently is the Vietnam war, and Carroll’s personal involvement in protesting that terrible event in the 70s.  Then Constantine’s Sword moves on to something that affects us more directly today.  The rise of evangelical Mega-Churches, which are being created in the States at a rate of one every two days, right now.  Specifically, the film talks about Colorado Springs, where the Air Force Training Academy was recently under investigation for the behaviour of evangelical Christians in that institution.  Jewish students in the Air Force Academy were harassed, bullied, and attacked simply because they were not Christian.  Flyers for The Passion Of The Christ were everywhere in the building, and institutional pressure was exerted to get everyone there to watch the film, which understandably made the Jewish students extremely uncomfortable.

This movement to attempt to put an evangelical stamp on the armed forces came from Ted Haggard, the (then) leader of the National Association of Evangelicals.  Haggard appears often in TV interviews, and he is just about the creepiest man ever to appear in a documentary.  His views on Christianity so closely mirror those of the pope during the holocaust that it’s deeply saddening.  (Of course, we all know he got his deliciously ironic yet fitting comeuppance later that same year, when it was revealed that he had carried on a three-year, drug-fueled relationship with a male prostitute.  You suck, Ted Haggard.)

As the movie ends, we are reminded how, under the Bush administration, the church and the state are becoming closer than they have ever been, and the place where this is happening most of all is in the armed forces.  Frankly, it’s a very bleak ending, and offers little hope for a reversal of this disturbing trend.  But it’s definitely worth seeing, because it raises a ton of issues that will be relevant to the world for the next thousand years.  When you think about Constantine, and his glorification of Jesus on the cross 1,700 years ago, and how that moment still affects us today, you really realize how the decisions that are made today can affect the world in the future. 

Without being anti-religious, or even anti-Christian, Constantine’s Sword is an eye-opening, heart-breaking look at some of the most evil deeds perpetrated in human history under the guise of “belief”.  I really hope people decide to watch this one.

That’s it, people. You can stop buying movies for the rest of your life. Because the ultimate movie item is now on sale. As of yesterday, September 23rd, DVDs have reached perfection, when Paramount Home Entertainment released The Godfather Trilogy on Blu-Ray. The greatest movie trilogy of all time is now available in the greatest Hi-Definition format of all time. And while you may not think at first that The Godfather movies are the kind that require Blu-Ray technology, you would be wrong. There are certain classic movies where Blu-Ray is an obvious improvement over the original transfers. Dark City, or Blade Runner. Movies that started out dark and require that crisp, clear picture.

But The Godfather really does change as well. These are three movies that I have seen dozens upon dozens of times, and yet watching them in Blu-Ray was a whole new experience. When you watch the scene where James Caan gets riddled with bullets, it’s like you’re one of the guys holding a machine gun. When Luca Brasi is rehearsing his speech outside Don Corleone’s office, you feel like he’s talking directly to you, the movie watcher, about this, the day of your daughter’s wedding. And when Michael takes Fredo out for a boat ride…well. You’ll just have to see to understand. And then you will agree. DVD movies have attained perfection with the release of The Godfather Trilogy on Blu-Ray. Throw out the rest of your collection. It is ALL now obsolete.

The Executioner’s Song was a book written by Norman Mailer that ranks with Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood in terms of true-crime novels. Both books are exhaustively researched novels about true-life criminal figures. Capote’s book was about Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, two lowlifes who slaughtered an entire family on a farm in Kansas. And Mailer’s book was about Gary Gilmore, a murderer who became famous in the late 1970s after he insisted upon being executed. He was the first person killed by the state in America after the re-instatement of the death penalty by the U.S. in 1976.

The film The Executioner’s Song, is a 1982 Lawrence Schiller made-for-TV true crime movie that ranks with Richard Brooks’ 1967 film In Cold Blood. And it’s being released on DVD for the first time Tuesday, August 5th, by Paramount Home Entertainment. Tommy Lee Jones plays Gilmore, and delivers a very good performance as a man who has no clue how to fit into society after being released from prison. He has spent 12 years in jail, and upon his release he goes to live with his cousin. He hooks up with a teenage divorcee, played by Rosanna Arquette, and makes a half-hearted attempt to go straight. But soon his inability to contain his natural tendency toward violence comes out, and he gets busted for murder and sent away.

The second half of the movie deals with Gilmore and his desire to be executed. Lawyers and family members carry on appeals on his behalf, against his wishes. And soon, we believe that perhaps he is right. He really does need to be put to death. His toxic, evil personality continues to do damage even while he is away in prison. The Executioner’s Song originally aired as a 157-minute two-part made for TV movie, and was later pared down to 97 minutes for a theatrical release. The version available on this DVD is somewhere in the middle. At 135 minutes, this “Director’s Cut” is just the right length. It’s more than long enough to create a powerful film experience, and Tommy Lee Jones is so good in the lead role that this movie is deservedly known as a classic.