@ReaderJohn I was an English major as an undergrad and took a class called “Victorian Literature” and we didn’t read Middlemarch in the class. So, when COVID happened and I came down with it around Christmastime, I decided to read it while quarantined. It helped me have focused time to read it.
@lukemperez Oh, man, I love the spaghetti westerns like Fist Full of Dollars, but I just couldn’t put it on my list.
@gregmoore I love these selections but have never seen Ed Wood. Adding it to the list!
@JohnBrady With some of these filmmakers, it is hard to consider what not to include!
@mwerickson Okay, so @joshuapsteele asked me to list my own top 5 movies. I didn’t realize how hard this would be to answer, but today I would say: Stalker - Andrei Tarkovsky is probably my all-time favorite filmmaker; The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick is a close second; Perfect Days - I think I could watch this film every month and not get tired of it; Au Hasard Balthasar - Robert Bresson is not to everyone’s tastes but I just love this film; Seven Samurai - Akira Kurosawa is a master.
@lukemperez Wow, I love how in-depth you went on this post. So much to explore and enjoy.
@JohnBrady Good point. Maybe “up till now” would have been better.
@ayjay This is a huge loss. Amen and amen.
@JohnBrady The Taste of Things is a gorgeous film. When I watched it the first time, I immediately wanted to watch it again. So evocative throughout that I felt I could almost smell the aromas in the kitchen.
@ablerism Okay…now I want to know what sort of class it was in which you assigned it.
@tinyroofnail Perfect Days is in my current top 10 movies of all time.
@drwalt All are welcome. Thanks for joining the conversation. I love these selections. I remember watching The Sting as a kid with my Dad, and loving the story and the music. I realized later it was a “made for television” adaptation. I love Branagh’s film renderings of Shakespeare, including Hamelt, and our family favorite as we raised our kids was Much Ado About Nothing.
@ayjay Thank you so much for graciously endorsing my book, Alan!
@tinyroofnail Oh, wow. I’m not sure I’ve seen any of these but Logan Lucky and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Adding to my list of “to-watch” movies. Thanks!
@ablerism I absolutely LOVE that movie. I showed it to my kids when it first came out and it really moved all of us so deeply.
@ReaderJohn Thank you so much for sharing this. I love it!
@ReaderJohn Yes, the literal aspects of that in Orthodox worship spaces is beautiful.
@ReaderJohn Beautiful. Thank you for sharing this view into the space.
@tinyroofnail Congratulations!
@bbowman Congratulations!
@ayjay Please share the link to your review when it’s live!
@scottjeffries I’m very interested in hearing more about your work on the Jesus Prayer in your doctoral studies. It has been transformational in my life of prayer over the past few years. Everything on “tears” there has helped me realize a different approach to emotional range or depth in spirituality. Having experienced a lot of the charismatic/Pentecostal side of that in my youth and college years, I’ve been surprised at how Eastern Orthodox spirituality has overlapping similarities and differences with that tradition.
In terms of “best translation,” I’m pretty sure the standard and only complete English translation available is this one: www.faber.co.uk/product-c…
Although not strictly from The Philokalia, there is a nice compilation from Orthodox spiritual writings on prayer called “The Art of Prayer”: us.macmillan.com/books/978…
@ReaderJohn Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on interacting with Shaw’s book. I am really curious about his idea of rescuing lost stories. Okay, I’ll probably have to take a look at this.
@ReaderJohn Thanks so much for sharing the quote, John, which makes me curious to read more. Could you share one or two of your own impressions or takeaways from Shaw’s book?
@scottjeffries So many ways. I have read Eastern Orthodox theology before, but to have such sustained attention to Eastern Orthodox spirituality introduced me to new ways of thinking and practice: deeper silence, more instruction on the Jesus Prayer, the place of tears in the life of prayer.