Vie et Passion du Christ (1903) Director: Ferdinand Zecca
★★★★☆
Predating the religious imagery of both The Ten Commandments as well as Ben-Hur, “The Life and Passion of Christ” is a wonderful silent French film by Ferdinand Zecca. It succinctly depicts the familiar Biblical story of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It lasts slightly longer than 40 minutes and has been called one of the first feature-length films ever made. The aesthetic for this film was clearly inspired by Gustave Doré’s drawings and, as such, it offers a surprising feast of visual delights. Vie et Passion du Christ is a truly impressive film on many accounts, I was perhaps most struck by the ornate set designs –many of the scenes feature a well-orchestrated tableaux vivant akin to a Renaissance painting. Additionally, I took note of several scenes in which the camera moves from left to right –at the time this was still a relative novelty. Each scene in the film is divided by an inter-title briefly explaining the action of the scene. The surviving footage also contains scenes which are stenciled over in order to appear in color, it almost looks like an early technicolor film.
Ferdinand Zecca (1864-1947) was an early French film pioneer. He developed new ways of capturing cinematic tricks, particularly with regard to short films showcasing fictionalized versions of the Wright Brothers. He worked for Pathé, the most celebrated early French film company. He had previously worked as an editor for many of George Melies’s films, but Vie et Passion du Christ remains his most notable work.