List of films based on the Bible

This is a list of movies (including television movies) based on the Bible (Old Testament and New Testament), depicting characters or figures from the Bible, or broadly derived from the revelations or interpretations therein.

This film-related list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (October 2021)

Hebrew Bible

Genesis

Genesis in General

  • The Green Pastures (1936)
  • I patriarchi (1964) (Italy)
  • The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966)
  • Greatest Heroes of the Bible: Tower of Babel (1979, TV episode)
  • The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis (1979)
  • Genesis: The Creation and the Flood (1994)
  • In the Beginning (2000 miniseries)
  • Is Genesis History? (2017)
  • Genesis: Paradise Lost (2017)
  • The Covenant (2023)

Adam and Eve - Genesis 2-5

  • Adam and Eve (1912)
  • Adam Og Eva (1953) (Denmark)
  • Adán y Eva (1956) (Mexico)
  • El pecado de Adán y Eva (1967) (Mexico)
  • Ovoce stromů rajských jime (1970) (Czech Republic)
  • Allegro Non Troppo (1976) (Italy)
  • Adamo ed Eva, la prima storia d'amore (1983) (Italy)
  • Adipapam (1988) (India)
  • Tropico (2013)

The Flood - Genesis 6-9

Abraham - Genesis 11:26-25:10

  • Greatest Heroes of the Bible: Abraham's Sacrifice (1979, TV episode)
  • Animated Stories from the Bible: Abraham and Isaac (1992, TBN, TV episode)
  • Abraham (1993, TNT Bible Series)
  • Abraham: The Friend of God (2008) (Iran)
  • Abe and the Amazing Promise (2009)
  • Young Abraham (2011)
  • His Only Son (2023)

Sodom and Gomorrah - Genesis 19

  • Lot in Sodom (1933)
  • Sodom and Gomorrah (1962)
  • Greatest Heroes of the Bible: Sodom and Gomorrah (1979, TV episode)
  • Zohi Sdom (2010) (Israel)

Isaac and Rebecca - Genesis 24

  • Isaac and Rebecca (1953) (Israel)

Jacob - Genesis 25:26-49:33

  • Jacob: The Man Who Fought with God (1963) (Italy)
  • The Story of Jacob and Joseph (1974)
  • Greatest Heroes of the Bible: Jacob's Challenge (1979, TV episode)
  • Jacob (1994, TNT Bible Series)
  • La Genese (1999) (France)

Dinah - Genesis 34

  • The Red Tent (2014)

Joseph - Genesis 37-50

Moses (Exodus - Deuteronomy)

  • The Ten Commandments (1923)
  • The Ten Commandments (1956)
  • Moses the Lawgiver (1974)
  • Moses und Aron (1975) (Germany)
  • Greatest Heroes of the Bible: The Story of Moses (1978, TV episode)
  • Greatest Heroes of the Bible: The Ten Commandments (1978, TV episode)
  • Animated Stories from the Bible: Moses: From Birth to Burning Bush (1993, TBN, TV episode)
  • Moses (1995, TNT Bible Series)
  • The Prince of Egypt (1998)
  • The Ten Commandments: The Musical (2006)
  • The Ten Commandments (2007)
  • Moe and the Big Exit (2007)
  • Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
  • Patterns of Evidence: Exodus (2014)
  • Os Dez Mandamentos - O Filme (2016) (Brazil)
  • Testament: The Story of Moses (2024)

Judges Era

General Judges

  • Jephtah's Daughter: A Biblical Tragedy (1909)
  • Gideon and Samson: Great Leaders of the Bible (1965) (Italy)
  • Greatest Heroes of the Bible: Joshua & Jericho (1978, TV episode)
  • Josh and the Big Wall (1997) (VeggieTales video)
  • Gideon: Tuba Warrior (2006) (VeggieTales video)

Samson and Delilah - Judges 13-16

  • Samson et Delila [fr] (1902 film) France
  • Samson and Delilah (1922)
  • Samson and Delilah (1949)
  • Aurat (1953) (India)[1]
  • Samson (1964) (India)[2][3]
  • Greatest Heroes of the Bible: Samson and Delilah (1978, TV episode)
  • Samson and Delilah (1984, ABC TV film)
  • Aaj Ka Samson (1991) (India)[4]
  • Samson and Delilah (1996, TNT Bible Series)
  • Samson (2018)

Ruth

Kings and Queens of Israel

David - First Samuel 16:1-First Kings 2:11

Solomon - First Kings 1-11

  • The Queen of Sheba (1921)
  • Haring Solomon at Reyna Sheba (1952) (Philippines)
  • La Regina di Saba (1952) (Italy)
  • Solomon and Sheba (1959)
  • Solomon (TV Movie) (1973)
  • Greatest Heroes of the Bible: The Judgement of Solomon (1978, TV episode)
  • Solomon & Sheba (1995) (TV)
  • Solomon (1997, TNT Bible Series)
  • The Kingdom of Solomon (2010) (Iran)

Jezebel - First Kings 16:29-Second Kings 9:37

Prophets

  • Jeremiah (1998, TNT Bible Series)
  • Greatest Heroes and Legends of the Bible: Jonah and the Whale (1998, direct-to-video)
  • Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002)
  • Blast and Whisper: Elijah's Story (2010)
  • Amazing Love: The Story of Hosea (2012)

Exile

Daniel

  • Slaves of Babylon (1953)
  • Greatest Heroes of the Bible: Daniel in the Lion's Den (1978, TV episode)
  • Greatest Heroes of the Bible: Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar (1979, TV episode)
  • The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible: Daniel and the Lion's Den (1986, direct-to-video)
  • Animated Stories from the Bible: Daniel (1993, TBN, TV episode)
  • VeggieTales: Where's God When I'm S-Scared? (1993)
  • Rack, Shack, and Benny (1995)
  • Greatest Heroes and Legends of the Bible: Daniel and the Lion's Den (1998, direct-to-video)
  • Daniel and the Lions (2006, Liken Bible Series)
  • The Book of Daniel (2013)

Esther

Deuterocanonical / Apocrypha

Christian Bible

Life of Christ

Arabic

  • The Savior (2014) (Palestinian-Bulgarian-Jordanian production)

Aramaic/Latin

English

Filipino

  • Kristo (1996) (Philippines)

French

German

Italian

  • Christus (1916) (Italy)
  • Pontius Pilate (1962) (Italy)
  • Il vangelo secondo Matteo (1964) (Italy)
  • The Messiah (1975) (Italy)
  • L'inchiesta (1986) (Italy)
  • Un bambino di nome Gesù [it] (1987) (Italy)
  • L'inchiesta (2006) (Italy)

Malayalam

Persian

  • The Messiah (2007) (Iran)

Sinhala

  • Christhu Charithaya (1990) (Sri Lanka)
  • Jayathu Kristhu (TV 1999) (Sri Lanka)
  • Jesu Kristhu Yuga Peraliya (TV 2013) (Sri Lanka)

Spanish

  • Jesús de Nazareth (1942) (Mexico)
  • María Magdalena: Pecadora de Magdala (1945) (Mexico)
  • Reina de reinas: La Virgen María (1945) (Mexico)
  • El Mártir del Calvario (1952) (Mexico)
  • El Beso de Judas (1953) (Spain)
  • El Redentor (1957) (Spain)
  • El Proceso de Cristo (1965) (Mexico)
  • Jesús, el niño Dios (1969) (Mexico)
  • Jesús, María y José (1969) (Mexico)
  • Jesús, nuestro Señor (1970) (Mexico)
  • La Vida de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo (1986) (Mexico)
  • El discípulo (2010) (Spain)

Telugu

Animated movies

Mary, Mother of Jesus

  • Saint Mary (2000) (Iran)
  • Mary, Mother of Jesus (1999, TV)
  • Marie de Nazareth (1995) (France)
  • Mary of Nazareth 2012 (Italy)
  • Full of Grace (2015)

Herod the Great

  • Erode il Grande (1959) (Italy)

Mary Magdalene

  • Magdalanaattu Mary (1957) (India)[12]
  • The Friends of Jesus - Mary Magdalene[13] (2000)
  • Mary Magdalene (2018)

John the Baptist

Salome

  • Salome (1908)
  • Salomè (1910) (Italy)
  • Salomé (1918)
  • Salomé (1923)
  • Salome (1953)
  • Salome (1972) (Italy)
  • Salome (1978) (Spain)
  • Salomè (1986) (Italy-France)
  • Salome's Last Dance (1988) (UK)
  • Salomé (2002) (Spain)
  • Salome (2007)
  • Wilde Salomé (2011) (documentary-drama film)
  • Salomé (2013)

Judas Iscariot

Barabbas

  • Barabbas (1953) (Sweden)
  • Give Us Barabbas[15] (1961-TV)
  • Barabbas (1961)
  • Barabbas (1964) (Belgium)
  • Barabbas (2005 - TV) (India)[16][17]
  • Barabbas (2012 - TV)

Parable of the Prodigal Son

  • L'Enfant prodigue (1907) (France)
  • L'Enfant prodigue (1916) (France)
  • The Prodigal (1955)

Life of the Apostles

Creative

  • The Fourth Wise Man (1985)
  • Jesus of Montreal (French-Canadian) (1989)
  • Joshua (2002)
  • Mary (2005)
  • Jesus Loves Me [de] (2012)
  • He Knows My Name (2015)

Revelation / Apocalypse

  • A Thief in the Night (1972)
  • A Distant Thunder (1978)
  • The Late, Great Planet Earth (1979)
  • Image of the Beast (1980)
  • Years of the Beast (1981)
  • Early Warning (1981)
  • The Prodigal Planet (1983)
  • The Seventh Sign (1988)
  • The Rapture (1991)
  • Apocalypse (1998)
  • Apocalypse II: Revelation (1999)
  • Apocalypse III: Tribulation (1999)
  • The Moment After (1999)
  • The Omega Code (1999)
  • The Apocalypse (2000, TNT Bible Series)
  • Left Behind: The Movie (2000) (V)
  • Apocalypse IV: Judgment (2001)
  • Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001)
  • Left Behind II: Tribulation Force (2002) (V)
  • Apocalypse (2002, TNT Bible Series)
  • Six: The Mark Unleashed (2004)
  • Left Behind: World at War (2005)
  • The Poor Ones in the Paradise (2005)
  • The Moment After 2 (2006)
  • The Book of Eli (2010)
  • This Is The End (2013)
  • Left Behind (2014)
  • JeruZalem (2015)

Fictional Interpolations

Adam and Eve

Moses

Samson

Esther

  • Megillas Lester (2014)

Ben-Hur

  • Ben Hur (1907 short)
  • Ben-Hur (1925)
  • Ben-Hur (1959)
  • Ben Hur (2003)
  • Ben Hur (2010)
  • Ben Hur (2016)

Early Christians

  • Quo Vadis? (1901) (France)
  • Quo Vadis? (1910) (France)
  • Quo Vadis? (1913) (Italy)
  • The Sign of the Cross (1914)
  • Quo Vadis? (1924) (Germany)
  • The Sign of the Cross (1932)
  • Quo Vadis? (1951)
  • Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)
  • The Silver Chalice (1954)
  • Punitha Anthoniyar (1977) (India)[23]
  • Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) (UK)
  • Deux Heures moins le quart avant Jésus-Christ (1982) (France)
  • Quo Vadis? (2001) (Poland)
  • Agora (2009) (Spain)

Opus Dei

  • The Da Vinci Code (2006)

See also

  • Bible portal
  • Film portal

References

  1. ^ Liddle, Madhulika (22 July 2009). "Aurat (1953)". Dustedoff.
  2. ^ Ernest Mathijs; Jamie Sexton (22 November 2019). The Routledge Companion to Cult Cinema. Taylor & Francis. p. 227. ISBN 978-1-317-36223-4.
  3. ^ Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1999). Encyclopaedia of Indian cinema. British Film Institute. ISBN 9780851706696. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  4. ^ "Aaj Ka Samson". Eros Now.
  5. ^ a b c d e Rhonda Burnette-Bletsch (12 September 2016). The Bible in Motion: A Handbook of the Bible and Its Reception in Film. De Gruyter. p. 1068. ISBN 978-1-5015-0016-9.
  6. ^ "Jesus". Disney+ Hotstar.
  7. ^ Hervé Dumont (2009). L'Antiquité au cinéma: vérités, légendes et manipulations. Nouveau Monde. p. 429. ISBN 978-2-84736-476-7.
  8. ^ "Rajadhi Raju 1980". MX Player.
  9. ^ "Shanti Sandesham 2004". MX Player.
  10. ^ "Mulla Kireetam". Eros Now.
  11. ^ "The Animated Bible Series". revelationmedia.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved Sep 24, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Vijayakumar, B. (12 August 2012). "Snapaka Yohannan, 1963". The Hindu.
  13. ^ "Mary Magdalene (TV Movie 2000) - IMDb". IMDb.
  14. ^ "The Friends of Jesus - Judas (TV Movie 2001) - IMDb". IMDb.
  15. ^ "Give Us Barabbas!". IMDb.
  16. ^ Aneesh Daniel on LinkedIn
  17. ^ Holyfire Ministry (April 30, 2009). Story of Barabbas - 1/3 (Hindi). Archived from the original on 2021-12-12.
  18. ^ "Thomasleeha". Eros Now.
  19. ^ "Dayamayudu 1987". MX Player.
  20. ^ "The Emissary: A Biblical Epic". IMDb.
  21. ^ "San Paolo". IMDb.
  22. ^ "The Friends of Jesus - Thomas (TV Movie 2001) - IMDb". IMDb.
  23. ^ "Punitha Anthoniyar/Kuzhandhai Yesu/Annai Velankani". Amazon India.

Print sources

  • Reinhartz, Adele (2016). Bible and Cinema: Fifty Key Films. De Gruyter. ISBN 978-1-61451-561-6.
  • Burnette-Bletsch, Rhonda (2013). The Bible in Motion. A Handbook of the Bible and Its Reception in Film. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415677202.
  • Baugh, Lloyd (1997). Imaging the Divine: Jesus and Christ-figures in Film. Sheed & Ward. ISBN 1556128630.