LDS cinema

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LDS or Mormon cinema refers to motion pictures with themes relevant to Latter-day Saints. Many of these films are screened extensively within high LDS population centers such as Utah, and do not regularly reach mainstream viewers in other parts of the world.

LDS cinema films are distinct from LDS Church movies like Legacy and Testaments, because they are commercial and not produced for teaching or proselytizing LDS doctrine. LDS cinema is usually produced and directed by Latter-day Saints. The films have LDS themes and they are typically marketed especially toward Latter-day Saints. This differentiates LDS cinema from films merely produced by Latter-day Saints like Napoleon Dynamite, or films about LDS themes from an outside perspective.

1 History of LDS cinema
2 LDS cinema and MPAA ratings
3 LDS cinema companies
4 LDS cinema movies
5 External links

[edit] History of LDS cinema

Films about Latter-day Saints are nothing new. The first feature-length documentary ever made (and the sixth feature-length film made in the United States) was "One Hundred Years of Mormonism" (1913). Films about Mormons (especially lurid pulp fiction-inspired tales of hypnotic missionaries and Western pioneer stories) were a staple of the early silent, black and white film era.

With films made primarily by LDS filmmakers for an LDS audience, the "LDS Cinema" movement is distinct from the broader use of Mormon characters in mainstream Hollywood films. The "LDS Cinema" movement began around 1999, when Richard Dutcher's company Zion Films released God's Army commercially. The film, which was produced on a budget of $300,000, grossed about $2.5 million at the box office and many more millions of dollars worth of video purchases. Observing the market success of God's Army, many other LDS studios began producing films.

Although God's Army dealt with the overtly religious subject of LDS missionaries, and many LDS comedies are sometimes incomprehensible to people outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a growing trend moves toward making LDS-themed movies more broadly accessible. The acclaimed World War II movie Saints and Soldiers is perhaps the most successful crossover LDS film to date. More accessible films have been thought by some as likely to ensure larger potential markets. However, "accessibility" has not necessarily translated into greater box office earnings or critical acclaim than achieved by the more "insider"-oriented LDS Cinema films.

LDS comedies in particular have been panned by critics, who have branded most efforts thus far inaccessible and unfunny to those outside the intended market. Such movies have frequently been perceived as overly reliant upon the audience's extensive knowledge of LDS practices and LDS cultural norms formerly unique to Utah, but now becoming more worldwide.

[edit] LDS cinema and MPAA ratings

One unique aspect of LDS cinema is heightened concern over MPAA film ratings. Many Latter-day Saints feel disinclined to view movies rated PG-13 and especially R, so LDS film producers risk greatly diminished revenue for exceeding a PG rating. One PG-13 film, The Book of Mormon Movie, Vol. 1 garnered its rating for depicting a decapitation that occurs in the Book of Mormon. Producers defended the scene as essential. Some critics leveled a common complaint about the MPAA—that it more harshly rates movies not from the major studios. Nonetheless, producers re-edited the movie to earn a PG rating for DVD distribution. Another film, Saints and Soldiers received an R-rating prior to film festival screening in spite of being very mild compared to other R-rated films. Producers edited the movie to receive PG-13 for commercial distribution.

[edit] LDS cinema companies

Zion Films
Halestorm Entertainment
Excel Entertainment Group
Living Scriptures, Inc.

[edit] LDS cinema movies

[edit] Drama

God's Army — 1999. First Mormon cinema film directed by Richard Dutcher.
Brigham City — 2001. A murder mystery also by Dutcher.
The Other Side of Heaven — 2001. Not by an LDS studio. Although special pains were taken to remove overt LDS references, it is often counted as LDS cinema because it was brought to fruition by an LDS producer.
The Shadow of Light — 2002. Set in 1947, two young men break their truck in rural Utah. They go to the local bishop who helps them pick up work to pay the repair bill. They and the bishop's daughter get involved in solving a local mystery stretching from the late 1800s to the 1930s. (Direct-to-DVD release.) (IMDB listing)
The Book of Mormon Movie, Vol. 1: The Journey — 2003. Ambitious though critically panned movie about the Book of Mormon.
The Best Two Years — 2003. An LDS missionary's experience in the Netherlands. Based on the play The Best Two Years of My Life.
Saints and Soldiers — 2004. A World War II movie produced by Excel that has muted LDS overtones and significant mainstream appeal.
The Work and The Glory — 2005. Based on Gerald Lund's LDS and historical fiction series The Work and the Glory.
God's Army 2: States of Grace — 2005 sequel to God's Army by Richard Dutcher.
The Work and The Glory: American Zion — 2005 sequel.
Suits on the Loose — 2005. Two escapees from a youth detention camp in the Mojave Desert assume the identies of two mormon missionaries whose car they stole.
The Work and The Glory: A House Divided — 2006 sequel.

[edit] Romance

Jack Weyland's Charly — 2002. Based on the successful LDS fiction novel of the same name.
Out of Step — 2002. A young dance student leaves Utah for schooling in New York City. She falls in love with two different men and must choose between them.
Pride and Prejudice — 2003. Modern adaptation of Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice set in Provo, Utah.

[edit] Comedy

Several comedies, mostly produced by Dave Hunter, have also been released. Because these film's humor often relies on specifically Utah-centric Latter-day Saint culture, they tend to have a smaller niche than the other LDS sub-genres, even among Mormon viewers.

The Singles Ward — 2002. Title refers to an LDS congregation (ward) composed only of single adults. Comedy with romantic aspects.
The R.M. — 2003. About the experiences of a returned missionary.
The Work and the Story — 2003. Mockumentary about LDS cinema when Richard Dutcher (fictionally) disappears. Written, produced and directed by Nathan Smith Jones; co-produced by Miriam Smith.
The Home Teachers — 2004. Slapstick comedy about polar opposite home teachers that "fulfill" their responsibility on the last day of the month. ("Home teaching" is the LDS practice of a home teaching companionship — a holder of the Melchizedek Priesthood and a 14-year old Teacher or older — visiting and teaching families in their ward each month.)
Baptists at our Barbecue — 2004. Longfellow (consistently called "Longwinded" by locals) is a small town that is religiously divided equally between Baptists and Mormons. A newcomer becomes the tie-breaker. Rather than tilt the scales he decides to bridge the religious divide by organizing an all-faiths barbecue. It is based on a novel by Robert Farrell Smith.
Sons of Provo — 2004. Mockumentary about an LDS boy-band named Everclean.
Mobsters and Mormons — 2005. After testifying against his mob boss, Carmine "The Beans" Zindelli Pasquale and his family are put in the Witness Protection Program in "Happy Valley", Utah, with a large culture clash. By Halestorm Entertainment.
Down and Derby — 2006. Slapstick comedy about the lengths (and depths) to which some fathers will go to "help" their sons win the Cub Scout pinewood derby. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a strong supporter of Boy Scouts of America including the Cub Scouts programs, although not overtly LDS themes are present in the movie.
Church Ball — 2006. In the last year of a basketball league, a church team doesn't want to place last again. The storyline centers around the juxtaposition between a desire to win at all costs and an expectation for sportsmanlike conduct in church sports.