Films of Lucas: Redemption of the Father

June 25, 2015 | Charissa Fenton From Darth Vader’s infamous line “I am your father” to the dynamic interplay of Indiana Jones and Henry Jones Sr., father-son relationships have played an integral part in George Lucas’ most famous films. “Almost all of our films are about fathers and sons,” Lucas once commented, referring also to the works of his longtime friend and collaborator...

The Cinema of Capra, Part 3: Guts & Stardust

May 30, 2015 | Charissa Fenton Art is a homily, or at least it can be for the artist who strives to show truth, goodness, and beauty in his work. In our modern world, where Christian films are often stereotyped and written off as preachy, sentimental, unrealistic, and corny it might be a good idea to take a look back at a man whose films were nicknamed “Capracorn” for some of the very same reasons...

The Cinema of Capra, Part 2: Glimpses of Paradise

May 22, 2015 | Charissa Fenton In 1937 Frank Capra made his most expensive feature film to that date, the $2 million extravagant production of Lost Horizon. A year later he returned to a more modest production with You Can’t Take it With You. While the two films could not be more different with setting and atmosphere they have one very prominent feature in common...

The Cinema of Capra, Part 1: Pride & Humility

May 16, 2015 | Charissa Fenton “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” This excerpt from the book of James could very well describe any Frank Capra movie. Humility is a strong theme running through the moral center of each of his films. Capra’s own life story recalls the many times he himself was humbled. Growing up as a poor immigrant, he determined at a young age that an education was the way out of poverty...