God is the Bigger Elvis (2012)

Expected more

Don't Believe the Hype

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

I didn't realize at first how long ago this documentary was initially released. It was interesting, but what really surprised me was to find out that Mother Delores' fiancé never moved on and kept in touch all those years. What really saddened me, however, was to read one of the news articles connected with this film and find out that he passed away before it was released. It makes the scene of their visit in the film, especially when her eyes watered, that much more poignant.

"God Is the Bigger Elvis" is a 36-minute documentary movie from 2012, so this one has its 5th anniversary this year. The director is Rebecca Cammisa and her effort here secured her the second Oscar nomination of her career. The film lost out to "Saving Face" and I believe the reason is because "Saving Face" has more contemporary and political relevance. Bit this does not mean GitBE is a bad film by any means. i think it is fairly enjoyable to watch. This is the story of Dolores Hart, a Hollywood actress in the second half of the 1950s and in the first half of the 1960s and she was actually fairly famous back then. She played lead roles, starred next to the likes of Montgomery Clift and played in several films with Elvis Presley as the title gives away. But then she decided to end her career and become a nun. And that's what she is apparently until today and looking at this slightly over half an hour here, it does not seem she ever regretted it. Or regretted her Hollywood years. She sounds fairly happy I would say having lived the life she wanted. And she still does today in 2017. Yes maybe the film is missing really something to make an impact on the audiences unless you count the references to God, but this sure is no Christian recruitment video or anything. It is a simple story about one woman who managed to make a difference in the most different professions you can think of. Maybe not Oscar-worthy or for general audiences, but worth checking out for documentary lovers. I give it a thumbs-up.

I have a hard time distinguishing a cloistered life from a Manson cult. It has the same mental illness, the same self-hatred, the same power figure, and the same denial of reality. It is quite possible to live simply and close to nature without the trappings of an organization with rules, rituals, and rites. Only when life is "too much" for you is there a temptation to give up. But giving up it is, make no mistake.I remember a drinking game called Cardinal Puff. It required an exact routine. If you made a mistake, you had to drink up and start over. It had as much meaning as the cloistered routine.It made me sad to see that Ms. Hart gave up on life and mental health, but also very happy that she is content with her choices. The true thing is that we have to reconcile ourselves to the choices we make. She has done so.

God Is Bigger Than Elvis (2012) *** (out of 4) Oscar-nominated documentary taking a look at the life and career of Dolores Hart. The title, and the film's main focus, centers on Hart walking away from a good career in Hollywood and becoming a nun. Hart is probably best remembered for her role with Elvis in LOVING YOU and this 36-minute documentary interviews her about working with the star, other Hollywood people and why she gave it up to become a nun. Looking around the internet it seems this film has gained quite a bit of praise by people who respect Hart for giving up a career to become a nun but there's another group of people out there that seem to really hate her and the story told here. It's interesting that a film such as this can have such strong views by two opposite sides but I guess this happens when religion is involved. For the most part I found the documentary to be interesting and especially the early stuff with Hart in Hollywood. I thought the Elvis stories were quite nice and it was also interesting hearing about where her career might have gone had she not had a change of heart. It's also interesting hearing from the man she was supposed to marry and he talks about his heart being broken when he got the news that she was going to join the abbey.