Movie inspiration

I know that most of us watch the movies occasionally to de-stress or escape from the doldrums of life, but a long time ago, in college when Betamax rewinds were too screechy and a very good memory came in handy, I did so to find some kind of inspiration. Seriously. I needed a lift, an encouragement that came in the form of a line, a visage, or a thematic idea. Those images were boosters that sparked something in my soul and triggered my creativity. I didn't come up with anything earthshaking but the images were enough to chase away any self-pity and prompted me to reach for something higher by thinking hard, exploring the untrod road, and digging in deep to work even harder.

Just a few favorite cinematic lines/images from my college moviewatching that have lodged in my grey matter up to today and emerge once in a while when I need something to chase the shadows away:

Brother Sun Sister Moon (1972): St. Francis' (Graham Faulkner) dramatic declaration of his faith and renouncing all things worldly in the town square, in front of his family, their businessmen friends, and the powerful clergy.

Chariots of Fire (1981): Who could forget Eric Liddell's (Ian Charleson) triumphant race in the Olympics with a voice-over that could have been corny but wasn't ("God made me for a purpose. He also made it fast. When I run, I feel his pleasure.")

Fiddler on a Roof (1972): The classic songs of this musical about a Jewish family coming to terms with change in Russia of the 1900s were alternately fun, rollicking, solemn, moving, and always provocative ("Sunrise, Sunset," "If I Were a Rich Man," "Sabbath Prayer").

Jesus Christ Superstar (1972): Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's portrayal of a Messiah who battled against his doubts in the shadow of a looming crucifixion amidst breaking dawn and the darkness of Gethsemane.

Judgment at Nuremberg (1961): The riveting court scenes when a Supreme Court Judge, whose integrity has always been deemed impeccable, is tried with his more corrupt peers by the Allies in post-WW2 Germany as a guilt-ridden nation comes to terms with the Holocaust.

Spartacus (1960): An army of freed slaves rises up one by one, volunteering to take the place of their leader Spartacus (KIrk Douglas) about to be crucified by the Romans.

Looking at this list now, I am struck by the single irony that most of them, if not all, have religious themes. I may be a Christian now, but back then, when I was still creating my Betamax collection, I was a full-blown, Ayn-Rand-chomping, dedicated atheist. Go figure.