Page - 103 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 04/01

Review: The Bible in Motion | 103www.jrfm.eu 2018, 4/1, 103–105 Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati Book Review Rhonda Burnette-Bletsch (ed.), The Bible in Motion A Handbook of the Bible and its Reception in Film, 2 volumes, Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter 2015, 896 pages, ISBN: 978-1-61451-561-6 This Handbook offers an illuminating insight into one of the most fascinating aspects of the history of the reception of the Bible. The two volumes explore many facets of the filmic adaptation of the Bible across cultures, religious and cinematic traditions and genres. The expression in the title in Motion refers to different aspects of the mutual influence of the Bible and film. On the one hand, in Motion focuses on film as the technology of moving images, which relates to the entanglement of religious traditions and media innovation. On the other hand, in Motion highlights the dynamics that keep alive a sacred text: transmis- sion processes are possible only if each generation re-reads and adapts the text. Film can thus be understood as a crucial language in which biblical narratives have been re-read and received since the end of the 19th century. The rich col- lection of contributions is organised in two volumes, each with three parts. In this review, I will limit myself to introducing the main sections. The first volume begins with “Biblical Characters and Stories (Hebrew Bible)”. In this part, filmic adaptations of principal characters and narratives from the Hebrew Bible are discussed: the articles focus on Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses, Samson and Delilah, David and Esther. The next part, “Film Genres and Stories”, is dedicated to the influence of the Bible on moving images in specific film gen- res. This section reaches from productions from the silent era to Western, hor- ror film and comedy to anime, to name just a few examples. “Biblical Themes and Genres” analyses filmic contributions to central topics in the reception of the Bible: God, Satan, creation, theodicy, lament, afterlife and apocalypse. The second volume starts with “Biblical Character and Stories (New Testa- ment)”, with articles on Jesus, Judas and female characters in the Gospels, Paul and the early church, as well as Revelation. A chapter on Jews and Judaism com- pletes this part. “Cinema and Auteurs” collects a highly interesting selection of studies on influential directors from different film traditions and the impact of DOI: 10.25364/05.4:2018.1.7