Merrill on Mormon Cinema

Kieth Merrill writes on The Bubbling Broth of Mormon Cinema over at Meridian Magazine. Cinema isn't my usual area of interest, but A Motley Vision seems to be on vacation and I actually liked Merrill's article so I'll give it a shot. Go read Merrill's list of 16 Mormon movies (I've seen only one, Other Side of Heaven) and tell me how many you've seen. Sorry, Napoleon Dynamite isn't on the list. Merrill notes two more movies "in progress" that will probably get some attention, God's Army II (the first Mormon sequel?) and Work and the Glory.

Merrill found The Book of Mormon Movie, Vol. I: The Journey to be "disturbingly disappointing." He recounts how a non-LDS movie friend of his rented a copy and was quite disappointed by the overall quality of the movie, but then recounts a letter from a young woman in Brazil who was deeply touched by it. He also cites President Kimball's call for talented Mormon filmmakers "to produce a masterpiece" and "give life and feeling and true perspective to a subject so worthy." I don't see it yet. But Merrill, an Academy Award winner, has "optimism that great things lay ahead."

How about documentaries? That's a rapidly emerging genre that offers a lot of promise given LDS interest and resources in history and journals and given how many interesting themes there are in Mormon history to work with. Here's one Mormon documentary I know of: Burying the Past, about Mountain Meadows, by Brian Patrick, a legitimate film guy. I think this is an area Mormon cinema can do a lot with.

Speaking of documentaries, I saw Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara last night on DVD and it's better than any Hollywood flicks I've seen lately. It was gripping. McNamara served under LeMay, ran the Ford Company, served as Secretary of Defense under Kennedy and Johnson, and ran the World Bank--he's like walking script for a talented documentary maker. So who are some good subjects for Mormon biographical documentaries: Steve Young? John D. Lee? D. Michael Quinn? Marriner Eccles?

Comments

[Kim Siever]

I've seen:

God's Army
The Other Side of Heaven
Brigham City
The Singles Ward
Jack Weyland's Charly
The R.M.

And I live in Canada to boot.

[Justin]

I've seen:

The RM
Singles Ward
God's Army
Brigham City

I'm going to try to see The Best Two Years soon.

Dave, here is a follow-up to Merrill's article:

http://www.meridianmagazine.com/arts/040915letter.html

Regarding documentaries, I enjoyed "Utah: The Struggle for Statehood." I've also seen "Truth & Conviction: The Helmuth Hubener Story." B.H. Roberts would be an interesting subject, as would George Q. Cannon, plural marriage (which could go in all sorts of directions), the Utah War, Porter Rockwell, the history of blacks in the LDS Church, Leonard Arrington, Missouri War, Nauvoo, the Smoot hearings, baseball baptisms era, the Godbeites, and the history of women in the LDS Church (a huge subject).

[danithew]

I saw God's Army, Brigham City, Singles Ward, Charly ... after that I kind of stopped paying too much attention, though I heard good things about The Best Two Years movie.

[William Morris]

A Motley Vision has been updated -- I wish it had been vacation. But no, just life intervening.

[William Morris]

I've answered Dave's query over on A Motley Vision.

The shocking truth: I haven't seen a single example of Mormon cinema.

[Grasshopper]

Of Merrill's list, I've seen God's Army, The Other Side of Heaven, and Brigham City. I enjoyed all of them.