The Song of Bernadette (1943)

Christianity was once big box office. Back then Hollywood championed simple faith and the power of miracles that come from God. The Oscar-winning The Song of Bernadette , based on Franz Werfel's novel, is a neglected masterwork of that era. Director Henry King (The Gunfighter ) reverently dramatizes the story of Bernadette Soubirous (Jennifer Jones), a peasant girl who has a vision of the Virgin Mary in a grotto at Lourdes, France, in 1858.

Our Lady instructs her to dig at the grotto for a spring with water that will heal the sick. The local mayor (Aubrey Mather) and the imperial prosecutor (Vincent Price) scheme to undermine her credibility. Only her mother (Anna Revere) and a local priest (Charles Bick-ford) take her side. After an episcopal commission and the emperor accept as genuine her vision and the healings that follow, Bernadette enters a convent where her humility and charity win over a hostile nun (Gladys Cooper). Skeptics may find the action slow-paced and sentimental. Believers will be moved to tears.

Napoleon (1927)

Great political figures often have a sense of personal destiny that's a mixture of individual ambition and national purpose. It's usually less reflective and more ego-driven than a Christian's belief in God's plan for him. This silent-movie classic is an epic study of an idealistic military genius who's driven by a contradictory set of motives that coalesce around a single-minded desire for power.

Writer-director Abel Gance sees this Corsican-born dictator-general as conscious of his special place in history beginning with his studies at a French boarding school run by Catholic priests.

Using innovative techniques like quick-cutting montage and double exposures, the filmmaker imaginatively chronicles Napoleon's early years — his rise from officer in the French Revolution to emperor. “I am the revolution,” the Corsican proclaims in a characteristic display of hubris.

42 Up (1999)

Some people believe a person's character is formed by age 7. In 1964 a British TV network embarked on a documentary film project to find out the truth of this adage. It selected a small group of children of that age and determined to interview them every seven years for the rest of their lives.

The latest installment is “42 Up,” which revisits the subjects as they enter early middle age. Director Michael Apted sets them down for a series of 10- to 15-minute interviews that are intercut with previous footage.

The results are often surprising. We learn that a longtime bachelor has settled down, teaching in a Catholic school and married to a fellow instructor, and that a former homeless man has found a place in the world through his friendship with a fellow interviewee. But despite the diversity of careers and personal lives, England is shown to be a place where class background still matters.