Thursday, December 4, 2014

"Silent Night" Movie Made by byutv

There have been some dreadful shows on TV lately...the new Toy Story Christmas (that blue girly dinosaur, what were they thinking?), the CMA Christmas one and last night, reaching a depth of badness that is surprising even for TV, the Rockefeller Lighting of the Christmas Tree! (Darius Rucker and Trisha Yearwood were both good, but other than that...terrible!)

But wait, it really is my intention to write about things that are GOOD rather than bad! I must tell you to watch a movie that was first shown in 2012 but I only just saw it on TV this past weekend and it is one that you MUST watch!  It is...."Silent Night".  (Now, there is a horror movie with that same name made that same year...it is NOT that one!!)
And I have read that in 2013, the Catholic Church bestowed a Gabriel Award upon this film.  
"It's our intent to shine a light on media that is positive, that uplifts the human spirit," said John Kearns, a chairman for the Gabriel Awards committee.

"Silent Night" is about the true story of Joseph Mohr, the assistant priest in Austria who wrote the words to "Stille Nacht", which is Silent Night in German. (The words that we know in English were translated by John Freeman Young...and he deserves his own post!) The beautiful melody is by Franz Gruber and I think that he also deserves a post of his own!   The song was first sung at a mass on Christmas Eve in the small village of Oberndorf, Austria (not far from Salzburg) in 1818.

The song "Silent Night" is a very beloved song and I am surprised that a movie has not been made about the origin of the song before now. This movie was written, produced and directed by Christian Vuissa, an Austrian who filmed this movie in Austria!  (The scenery is beautiful.) This movie was a production of the TV station, BYUtv, which is part of the Brigham Young University from Utah.  I have a trailer of the film for you here...

 



It has always been told that the organ broke down in the church in Oberndorf and that is why the song was first played on the guitar and that is how it was portrayed in the movie.  I do wonder though after watching this, if the young priest might have simply just wanted to hear this beautiful melody on the guitar rather than the organ and could it be that is how it happened? His earnestness might also be matched by his love for music. (Which might have a touch of irony since he wrote the words to this, but not the music!) This is just wondering on my part, but it seems to me that he could possibly have convinced Franz Gruber that the guitar suited the song better.  I suppose we will never know for sure, but the details of that do not matter much to me. What does matter is that we are left with this most beautiful hymn.  It is simple but truly lovely, "warm and tender, like the warmth you feel around a fire".   Make sure you watch this movie! You may see it here!  (That link will take you to the byutv website and you should just click on and watch the movie.)

A song about the night of the birth of Jesus- worth watching, I should think.
 And in the famous words of Linus, "THAT's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!"

25 comments:

  1. Good movies are hard to find. Glad you found one you liked.

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    1. You would love this movie, I just know you would! I now have a link to the website and you could watch it on your computer! Or check and see if you have the byutv channel!

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  2. Kay, At the tree lighting last night...I was amazed and pleased that Joy To The World was sang. After all, Christ's birth is the reason for this season. It made me happy. With all the newer to America, beliefs, it was refreshing to hear a real Christmas sing. I am with you on these movies too. It's good to have something to watch....that isn't about vampires or zombies. Blessings, xoxo,Susie
    p.s. I am waiting for the Unbroken movie.

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    1. I was surprised at how bad that really was. and like you, was finally glad they had real hymn in there.
      Don't get me started on vampires and zombies! I just don't understand the popularity of them, if I wanted to see something that looks that bad, I can look in a mirror! LOL!
      And like you, I can't wait for Unbroken! Hoping that it will do Louie proud.

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  3. Thanks Kay for another confirmation that we're not missing a whole lot by being without a TV! (We do watch several shows online though, so I'll look for this one.)

    What a knockout header photo - somewhere in England I presume? :)

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    1. Hey Sue!
      I now have a link to the byutv website, so I hope you will be able to link there and see it!
      And yes, that photo was taken in September at the seafront in Eastbourne!

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  4. Sounds like one I would enjoy, and boy am I with you on the Toy Story movie shown the other night----it was horrible.

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    1. You would really like this Silent Night movie, I know you would!
      And yes, that Toy Story was dreadful! And I truly love the Toy Story movies!! How could they mess something up so horribly?

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  5. The story of this song is a beautiful one, i'm glad they stayed true to it and did a good job.

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    1. It was very moving and not overly done at all. You would love it.

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  6. To be honest I didn't really know there was much of a story behind Silent Night. It sounds like a really great story though. I'd probably watch it. I'm not much of a movie guy anymore. I have trouble watching movies and dedicating my attention to them these days.

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    1. It is something that I care about, then a movie will have my full attention!
      You should read more about Joseph Mohr, and then, if you watch this movie, it will mean more to you!

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  7. I think I would like to see this.......I remember my piano teacher telling me story of Silent Night, probably in the early ;50s.

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    1. It's funny, I have always heard that this song was played on the guitar because the organ was broken...but now I do wonder about that....
      It is gorgeous played on a guitar though, if you know of anyone that plays the guitar, ask them to play it for you. And if they don't know it, ask them to learn it! HA! I am so bossy but always for their own good! x

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  8. I just watched that film too!! It is a wonderful film and such a moving story too. I definitely recommend it as a must watch for anyone. xx

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    1. Amy! Thanks very much for letting me know that you saw this too and liked it as much as I did! Wasn't it just beautiful?
      Thanks again. xx

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  9. This time of the year, for the next couple of months is a very barren time in the land of television. I've not seen the movie you mention, but I will keep a look out for it.

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    1. I think that some of the TV that we get in the USA has been pretty terrible, so that is why I wanted folks to know about this! Let me know if you see it and if you like it too!

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  10. I love BYUtv....I have to catch it on the computer since I don't have it here on our cable. Since I'm LDS I watch it a lot! I will definitely catch this one! Thanks for putting it out here for all to enjoy! I'm very behind in posting this month. I'm just going to have to get my act together! Love the header pic..wow, the colors are amazing!

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    1. I don't have that channel either, I think I only had the Thanksgiving weekend as a freebie and so I am grateful I stumbled upon it and was able to see that movie!
      I know what you mean about not posting much, I am the same way, both in writing my posts and reading all the blogs I like to read.
      I didn't know you were LDS! I had never heard of the byutv channel, but now I know I can see it on the computer, I will watch it too! Take care!

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  11. I don't think I've ever seen that movie advertised on Canadian TV but I would watch it if it were broadcast up here. Looks very good! One of my favourite Christmas carols too.

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    1. I have now added a link, so hopefully, you can see it on-line!
      I think you would like it.

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  12. From what I could see on the trailer, the movie is surely very touching. I'd prefer to watch it in Austrian/German, though; it seems so weird seeing these Austrian mountain village places and then hear the actors speak English with their Austrian/German accents :-)
    Some of the scenes have reminded me of the things I dislike about organised religion. Josef Mohr is perfectly right when he says "GOD is my superior.". Amen to that!

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    1. I have read that the director might re-release it in German. He said that he thought using subtitles in English would have created barriers...that is what he said anyway. I quite like seeing films in other languages and reading the subtitles, but I think that in this case, he was correct. It would have distracted from the story and I the story is just too good!!
      "God is my superior"! Yes! I loved that! Just as Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 theses on the door of the church, it is something that I want to cheer when someone does something that is very much against what might be "proper" church policy.

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  13. Hi Kay

    There was a story, probably apocryphal, that a mouse or mice had eaten through the bellows on the organ.

    You would be hard pushed to improve on Jim Reeves' version even if he does get a couple of words wrong.

    Henry

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