Big-Screen Bible

The Bible has served filmmakers as a source of inspiration -- for believers and non-believers alike -- since moving pictures came into being. The Celluloid Bible: Marketing Films Inspired by Scripture, an exhibition of promotional posters for movies set in the biblical era, documents not just the history of the scripture on the silver screen, but also the changing styles in graphic design and the various approaches studios have taken in marketing the Bible to the film-going public. The 53 posters in the show span a century of film (from an 1898 release to a 2004 picture) and are culled from the collection of Reverend Michael Morris. Reverend Morris delivers a 2 p.m. lecture about the work on Sunday, September 16, at the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art on the campus of Saint Louis University (3700 West Pine Mall; 314-977-7170 or mocra.slu.edu), which is followed immediately by a free public reception from 3 to 5 p.m. The Celluloid Bible remains up through Sunday, December 9; the gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday, and a $5 donation is recommended at the door.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: Sept. 16. Continues through Dec. 9, 2007