Page - 164 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 06/01

Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati Book Review Richard Walsh (ed.), T&T Clark Companion to the Bible and Film New York / London / Oxford / New Delhi / Sydney: t&tclark 2018, 416 pages, ISBN 978-0-5676-6620-8 “The strength of the Bible lies in the fact that it is a good screenplay”, wrote Jean- Luc Godard in 1985 in a press presentation of his film Je vous salue, Marie (FR/ CH 1985).1 The T&T Clark Companion to the Bible and Film, edited by Richard Walsh, demonstrates that Godard was absolutely right. The book is a treasure trove that can be used as an introduction to research in this field and for teaching at the uni- versity level. The volume is organized in three main sections, which focus on contexts, the- ories and texts respectively. In the first part, the emphasis is on genres and other constructs used to classify filmic narratives. The multi-layered relationship between the Bible and film is scrutinized through the lenses of film noir, science fiction, hor- ror, comedy and Western or by considering contexts of production such as cultural or national background, for example for the Jesus film in Germany or for adaptions of biblical material through the perspective of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The second part is dedicated to theoretical reflections. The collection of articles offers a wide range of approaches to the interplay of biblical traditions and audio-visual representation: formalism in cinema studies, the role of affects and emotions in dealing with cinematic productions, readings in light of gender and postcolonial theories, issues of translation and the themes of slavery and violence are some of the conceptual frames discussed in this section. The last part is dedicated to specific biblical themes in relation to film. Some chapters focus on biblical characters and re- lated narratives, for example, Noah, Salome or Jesus, while others deal with specific books, such as Exodus or Esther. Reflections on biblical topics such as the question of the canon or belief complete the third section. 1 Paini/Scarpetta 1985. DOI: 10.25364/05.06:2020.1.10 Book Review: T&T Clark Companion to the Bible and Film | 163www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/1, 163–165