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Selected Resources: Documentary DVDs on directors and history of the film industry.   The Bible according to Hollywood (DVD, 1994, Phillip Dye, 120 min.). Although the narration and interpretation leave something to be desired, this film presents clips and brief survey of a wide array of films which represent biblical narratives. The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004, Wendy Apple, 99 min.) Very helpful film on how the stories are actually made, or rather, cut. This is a good way for the non-specialist to begin to read film in a new way.   Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (DVD, 2003, Kenneth Bowser, 119 min.). This documentary traces out the elements which converted the motion picture industry from its small and irrelevant place after the failure of the studio system in the 1960’s through the creation of “the new Hollywood” by means of many films, including Easy Riders, The Godfather, American Graffiti The Exorcist, Jaws, and Star Wars. The commentary and interviews, provided by several of the principle figures, focuses on the camaraderie and synergy between many of the significant new directors like Francis Ford Cappola, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg Gangland: Bullets Over Hollywood (DVD, 2005, Elaina Archer, 70 min.)  Perhaps what best summarizes this documentary on gangs in film is the opening quote by the narrator (Paul Sorvino), “Gangster films are the Westerns of modern times.” Various clips from D.W. Griffith to the Sopranos are used to highlight the dark image (and often lighthearted image) of the gangster phenomenon in cinema.   Hollywood: An Emire of Their Own (DVD, 1997, A&E, based on An Empire of Their Own by Neal Gabler, 100 min.). This documentary traces the dominant Jewish influence in creating Hollywood and the dominance of the studio system. The second part deals with the end of this era by, in large part, the attacks of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s (for a dramatization of these hearings, see Guilty by Suspicion [1991]). Click here for several significant quotations from Hollywoodism. Imaginary Witness (AMC, 2004; KOCH Lorber, 2009). This DVD documents film interpretations of the Holocaust. One of the surprising elements is when Steven Spielberg explains the meaning of the “red dress.” Tales from the Script (DVD, 2009, Peter Archer, 105 min.) Filled with some discouraging and often comical anecdotes about past experiences, various screenwriters share their life experiences concerning their rise to success in a relatively obscure market that the average moviegoer doesn’t recognize.   ScriptureWorkshop.com Copyright © 2004, 2008 Return to Film tab