Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)

Antonio Monda

Mary Lea Bandy

Gramercy Theatre

The Hidden God: Film and Faith, which accompanies a MoMA Film at the Gramercy Theatre program in the winter of 2003-2004, offers a range of approaches to cinema's explorations of a hidden God. Its thirty-five authors include filmmakers, magazine and newspaper critics, film scholars, curators of The Museum of Modern Art's Department of Film and Media, and others; together they discuss over fifty films, some more or less explicitly religious in theme, others from a gamut of genres not always connected with questions of faith: the western, the thriller, the policier, the costume drama, science fiction, horror, comedy. The films come from Africa, the Middle East, and Japan as well as Europe and the United States, but even so, the book and exhibition are intended not as an encyclopedic anthology but, more humbly, as starting points in the study of an eternal theme.

Film and Faith

The Hidden God

Raymond Bellour

Son + Image, 1974-1991

Jean-Luc Godard

Kevin Stoehr

This comprehensive study of the Western covers its history from the early silent era to recent spins on the genre in films such as No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, True Grit, and Cowboys & Aliens. While providing fresh perspectives on landmarks such as Stagecoach, Red River, The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and The Wild Bunch, the authors also pay tribute to many under-appreciated Westerns. Ride, Boldly Ride explores major phases of the Western’s development, including silent era oaters, A-production classics of the 1930s and early 1940s, and the more psychologically complex portrayals of the Westerner that emerged after World War II. The authors also examine various forms of genre-revival and genre-revisionism that have recurred over the past half-century, culminating especially in the masterworks of Clint Eastwood. They consider themes such as the inner life of the Western hero, the importance of the natural landscape, the roles played by women, the tension between myth and history, the depiction of the Native American, and the juxtaposing of comedy and tragedy. Written in clear, engaging prose, this is the only survey that encompasses the entire history of this long-lived and much-loved genre.

The Evolution of the American Western

Ride, Boldly Ride

"This book is a survey of the movie Western that covers its history from the early silent era to recent spins on the genre in films such as No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, True Grit, and Cowboys & Aliens. The authors provide fresh perspectives on landmark films such Stagecoach, Red River, The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and The Wild Bunch, and they also pay tribute to many underappreciated Westerns including 3 Bad Men, The Wind, The Big Trail, Ruggles of Red Gap, Northwest Passage, The Westerner, The Furies, Jubal, and Comanche Station. The book explores major phases of the Western's development--silent era oaters, A-production classics of the 1930s and early 1940s, and the more psychologically complex presentations of the Westerner that emerged in the post-World War II period.. They examine various forms of genre-revival and genre-revisionism that have recurred over the past half-century, culminating especially in the masterworks of Clint Eastwood. Central themes of the book include the inner life of the Western hero, the importance of the natural landscape, the tension between myth and history, the depiction of the Native American, and the juxtaposing of comedy and tragedy"--Provided by publisher.

Essays discuss the history of French motion pictures and examine the careers of French film directors and actors

Mary Lea Bandy

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