Tuesday, October 6, 2009

100 best pro-Catholic films

It's not a new list, but it's a good one to revisit from time to time!

In 2004, the National Catholic Register and Faith & Family magazine gathered online nominations for films that best celebrate Catholic life. These are movies with specific Catholic references, not simply with Catholic themes.

More than 1,000 people voted for their favorites. Here are the results.

WARNING: Not all of these movies are family-friendly. Movies with asterisks are known to have adult content. However, readers are advised to preview all films to determine if they’re appropriate for your children.


1. The Passion of the Christ (2004)*
2. The Sound of Music (1965)
3. A Man For All Seasons (1966)
4. The Song of Bernadette (1943)
5. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
6. The Ten Commandments (1956)
7. The Scarlet and the Black (1983)
8. Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
9. Schindler’s List (1993) *
10. The Bells of St Mary’s (1945)
11. Thérèse (2004)
12. Braveheart (1995) *
13. The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima
14. The Mission (1986) *
15. Lilies of the Field (1963)
16. The Miracle of Marcelino (1955)
17. Les Miserables (1998) *
18. The Quiet Man (1952)
19. Ben Hur (1959)
20. Rudy (1993) *
21. The Robe (1953)
22. Return to Me (2000) *
23. We Were Soldiers (2002) *
24. Becket (1964) *
25. Going My Way (1944)
26. Romero (1989)
27. Sister Act (1992) *
28. Pope John Paul II (1984)
29. Jonah: a Veggie Tales Movie (2002)
30. Shoes of the Fisherman (1986)
31. Brideshead Revisited (1981) *
32. The Keys of the Kingdom (1944)
33. On the Waterfront (1954)
34. I Confess (1953)
35. Boys Town (1938)
36. Molokai: the Story of Father Damien (1999) *
37. Quo Vadis (1951)
38. The Trouble With Angels (1956)
39. Babette’s Feast (1987)
40. The Rookie (2002) * S
41. The Reluctant Saint (1962)
42. One Man’s Hero (1999)
43. Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)
44. The Exorcist (1973) *
45. Dead Man Walking (1995) *
46. Joan of Arc (1948)
47. The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965) *
48. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) *
49. Angels In the Outfield (1951)
50. Moonstruck (1987) *
51. The Miracle Maker: the Story of Jesus (2000)
52. Henry V (1989) *
53. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)
54. Entertaining Angels: the Dorothy Day Story (1996)
55. Knute Rockne: All American (1940)
56. The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
57. The Singing Nun (1966)
58. Marty (1955)
59. Monsieur Vincent (1948)
60. The Assisi Underground (1985)
61. Au Revoir Les Infants (1987) *
62. Come to the Stable (1949)
63. Diary of a Country Priest (1951)
64. In This House of Brede (1975)
65. The Jeweller’s Shop (1988)
66. The Miracle of the Bells (1948)
67. The Fighting Sullivans (1944)
68. The Fourth Wiseman (1985)
69. The Juggler of Notre Dame (1970)
70. Barabbas (1962)
71. King of Kings (1961)
72. Francis of Assisi (1961)
73. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1937)
74. The Decalogue (1987) *
75. The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (1966)
76. Angels With Dirty Faces (1938)
77. The Fugitive (1947)
78. The Longest Day (1962)
79. Thérèse (1986)
80. The Gospel of John (2003)
81. A.D. (1985)
82. Faustyna (1995)
83. The Son (2002)
84. Francesco (1989) *
85. The Flowers of St. Francis (1950)
86. Brother Orchid (1940)
87. Demetrius and the Gladiators
88. Nazarin (1958)
89. The Silver Chalice (1954)
90. When In Rome (1952)
91. Not of This World (1999)
92. Open City (1945) *
93. 3 Godfathers (1948)
94. Don Bosco (1988)
95. Abraham (1994)
96. The Detective (1954)
97. The Hoodlum Saint (1946)
98. The Sign of the Cross (1932)
99. The Wrong Man (1956)
100. Padre On Horseback (1977)


4 comments:

love2learnmom said...

Cool list - thanks for sharing it!

John and I just happened to watch "The Sign of the Cross" and I'd put an asterisk next to that one too. Good movie, but rather mature/sensual in places, and some people might be over-trusting of old movies.

This movie in fact dates from before the Code of Decency. It was made in 1932 and the Code of Decency dates from 1934.

love2learnmom said...

Ah, and one very pro-Catholic film, that came out after this list was made (also falls into the mature category) is the foreign film "Joyeux Noel", about the World War I Christmas truce. It's amazing.

Candise and Crew said...

I kept a print-out of this list to check off which we've viewed! Last Christmas, I sent this list to friends, too.

Blogger said...

Hi, there is a translation to spanish of the list here: http://cineparacatolicos.blogspot.com/2009/05/100-peliculas-pro-catolicismo-romano.html

And a lot more of catholic theme films.