The Historical Jesus and the Christ of early cinema: A complicated relationship

Abstract

When, at the beginning of the 20th century, the influential German theologian Albert Schweitzer published a historiographical account of the “historical Jesus”, a number of silent films devoted to the life and death of Christ had already appeared in Europe and the United States. This article analyses the rise of early silent films about Christ against the backdrop of the debate intensified by growing interest in the “historical Jesus”, presenting some of the similarities and divergences that representations of the life of Jesus produced in different media as mass culture became increasingly relevant.

Keywords

• historical jesus
• david friedrich strauss
• ernest renan
• jewish jesus
• passion play
• silent films