Popcorn with the Pope: A Guide to the Vatican Film List

In 1995-one hundred years after the birth of cinema in Paris-a Vatican-appointed commission compiled a list of forty-five significant films. The entries vary widely, ranging from light-hearted favorites like The Wizard of Oz to challenging arthouse features such as The Seventh Seal.
This list, released under Pope St. John Paul II, was an important milestone in the dialogue between the Church and the wider culture. Yet for many Catholics and cinephiles alike, it remains undiscovered or unclear. What was the list for? And why did the commission choose these particular titles?
In this groundbreaking study, David Paul Baird, Andrew Petiprin, and Michael Ward walk readers through the entire Vatican List, film by film. The authors show that its aim was not to serve as a “best-ever” register, nor as an anthology of approved works; rather, it was to guide people in an appreciation of cinema as an artistic language and a bearer of spiritual and moral messages.
In addition to theologically and historically informed commentary, each chapter includes film stills, quotations, fun facts, and questions for further reflection and discussion. Elevated yet entertaining, “Popcorn with the Pope” is perfect for anyone interested in delving deeper into a Christian approach to movies.
Get the book or learn more at wordonfire.org/popcorn.

[@Barbara-zp8iu]

I'm so glad to see Wizard of Oz on the list. I've seen it get a lot of flack from some religious circles; seems due to its use of fantasy and witches and wizards and such. But it's got some wonderful moments and 'seeds of the kingdom' contained therein. One of the best being the scene where Dorothy tells the phony Oz behind the curtain, "You're a very bad man." And he replies sheepishly, 'Oh no.. I'm a good man.. I'm just a really bad wizard.' It's like he's realizing, in that very moment, that he wants to be a good man, but when he tries to play God, he fails completely in both endeavors. Beautifully played scene.

[@joshuamoore8278]

Excellent! I’ve watched a third of the list as I have been working through it slowly for about five or six years now. It’s very hard to get all of them; someone needs to make a box set. Someone also needs to ask the Vatican to update the list to include the last 30 years of film on 2025.

[@CatholicWithaBiblePodcast]

I noticed that clip from the Passion of Joan of Arc. I've never felt more kicked in the chest by a film that when I watched that in the wee hours of the morning.

[@crushtheserpent]

Werner Hertzog's 1979 remake of Nosferatu is also very good. Of late I've watched the 1981 TV series of Brideshead Revisited. Superb! And the recent 'horror' film Nefarious is the best demonic possession film ever made and theologically brilliant!

[@alonsogonzalez1169]

I wonder when Brokeback Mountain will be added to the list? probably soon