PA (Pope Approved)

Papal rating for films


by empire |
Published on

Not content to merely converse with the Almighty and save souls, it seems the Pope's preaching is reaching all-new heights - namely film ratings. There's a "Pope Approval" rating - and that's the absolute truth, according to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. Dubbed the "Pope's Oscars", a mere 45 films have been condoned by the Vatican as suitable flicks for the faithful. Incredibly however, the Lord's right hand man (a former actor, playwright and dedicated film buff) hasn't quite delivered unto the masses what might have been expected - citing Spielberg's Holocuast epic Schindler's List as number one, closely pursued by another Holocaust movie at number three, Roberto Benigni's comedy Life Is Beautiful (which Pope John Paul II screened at the Vatican recently). Inevitably, several religious-themed films cracked the Top Ten. Pier Paolo Pasolini's Jesus-as-Marxist-revolutionary, documentary-style The Gospel According to St. Matthew (No. 2), Franco Zeffirelli's incredulously long Jesus of Nazareth (No. 5), Charlton Heston's Christians vs. Romans epic Ben-Hur (No. 6) and the pro-Catholic, anti-King Henry VIII Oscar winner, A Man For All Seasons (No. 7) all made the cut. Curiously, Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, based in part on the secular writings of Friedrich "God is Dead" Nietzsche, landed at No. 8. while the more fortunate Charlie Chaplin's swansong Modern Times, one of the few comedies to make the list, came in fourth. The final top ten reads:

  1. Schindler's List
  2. The Gospel According To St. Matthew
  3. Life Is Beautiful
  4. Modern Times
  5. Jesus Of Nazereth
  6. Ben-Hur
  7. A Man For All Seasons
  8. 2001: A Space Odyssey
  9. 8 1/2
  10. The Leopard
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