Gene D. Phillips

S.J.
BornMarch 3, 1935
Springfield, Ohio
DiedMonday, August 29, 2016
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
Occupation(s)priest, professor, and author
OrganizationSociety of Jesus
Known forbooks on filmmakers, literature and film

Gene D. Phillips, S.J. (March 3, 1935 – August 29, 2016) was an American author, educator, and Catholic priest.[1][2][3]

Life and career

Phillips was raised near Springfield, Ohio. He received his A.B. and M.A. (1957) degrees from Loyola University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in English Literature from Fordham University in 1970.[4] Phillips was a member of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), and was ordained a priest in 1965.[2] His decision to become a Jesuit at age 17 was strongly affected by his viewing of the film The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) as a boy.[1] Since 1970 Phillips had taught at Loyola University of Chicago. He had written or edited more than 20 books on filmmakers and film (see bibliography); several of these have been reviewed by major newspapers.[5][6][7]

Phillips had served on juries at the Cannes, Berlin, and Chicago International Film Festivals. He had been a member of the editorial board for the journal Literature/Film Quarterly since its founding in 1973;[2] this journal claims to be "the longest standing international journal devoted to the study of adaptation" (i.e. the adaptation of literature to film).[8] Phillips had been a prolific author of biographical books on filmmakers, and had published extended interviews with many filmmakers including Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Fritz Lang,[9] and Joseph Losey. He was also a friend, champion and consultant for director Ken Russell, and author of the book Ken Russell (Twayne Publishers, 1979). Phillips was a consultant for The Devils (Russell, 1971) and famously defended the film against charges of blasphemy saying, in the documentary Hell On Earth - The Desecration and Resurrection of The Devils (Mark Kermode, 2002), that the film depicts blasphemy, although it is not itself blasphemous.

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ a b Boudreau, Abbie (2001). "Vocation stories: Rev. Gene D. Phillips, S.J." Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus. Archived from the original on 2006-03-05.
  2. ^ a b c Kearney, George (Summer 2004). "Nothing Succeeds Like Excess: Fr. Gene D. Phillips, SJ, Reacts to Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ" (PDF). Partners Magazine. Chicago and Detroit Provinces of the Society of Jesus: 13–15. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 16, 2012.
  3. ^ "In Memoriam: Fr. Gene D. Phillips, SJ". Jesuits - USA Midwest Province. 2016. Archived from the original on January 22, 2018.
  4. ^ "Gene D. Phillips, S.J." Loyola University of Chicago. Archived from the original on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
  5. ^ a b Chang, Richard Simon (August 15, 2004). "Books in Brief: Nonfiction". The New York Times. The book is more of a fan companion than a true cinematic study. Review of Godfather: The Intimate Francis Ford Coppola.
  6. ^ a b Schickel, Richard (December 18, 2005). "Kubrick, in Action". The Los Angeles Times. The same volume contains an invaluable collection of production photos as well as every significant interview Kubrick granted (more of these, and more intriguing, than you might imagine), although it is burdened by largely plodding essays on each film, many of them by Gene D. Phillips, a fan masquerading as a critic. Brief review of The Encyclopedia of Stanley Kubrick.
  7. ^ a b McNamee, Gregory (December 6, 2006). "Beyond the Epic.(Book review)". The Hollywood Reporter. The great crafter of epic films comes in for respectable--and admirably thorough--treatment in this overdue biography. Review of Beyond the Epic: The Life and Films of David Lean.
  8. ^ "Literature/Film Quarterly - about us". Salisbury University. Archived from the original on 2011-01-19. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  9. ^ Phillips, Gene D. (2000). "Interview: Fritz Lang Remembers". In Haller, Robert A. (ed.). Fritz Lang 2000. Anthology Film Archives. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023.
  10. ^ Carens, James F. (Spring 1976). "Gene D. Phillips, S. J." Evelyn Waugh Newsletter. X (1). Archived from the original on October 12, 2006. Gene D. Phillips, S. J., gives us a sympathetic account of Waugh's career and a careful exposition of the novels, as he sees them, in terms of Roman Catholic morality and theology.
  11. ^ Jaehne, Karen (Autumn 1985). "Seven Director Studies". Film Quarterly. 39 (1): 49–52. doi:10.1525/fq.1985.39.1.04a00160. JSTOR 1212288. Gene D. Phillips, a.k.a. Father Phillips of Loyola University, brings a fascinating Jesuit perspective to Hitchcock who claimed that three years of studying with the Jesuits terrified him to death so that his subsequent life's work was to terrify others. ... Phillips's attention to Alfred Hitchcock Presents provides a very good guide through the television years, leaving one wishing he had focused the entire book on the subject and used the films only in reference to the TV refinements.
  12. ^ Murphy, A. Mary (Spring 2001). "Gene D. Phillips. Creatures of Darkness: Raymond Chandler, Detective Fiction, and Film Noir". Rocky Mountain Review. Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Phillips provides a solid starting place for those who wish to become conversant with detective fiction. His stated purpose is "to examine the relationship of film and fiction as reflected in the screen versions of the work of one novelist" (xxiii), but he very shortly finds himself unable to remain within those self-described parameters -- and, for the most part, thankfully so.
  13. ^ Raw, Laurence (December 2010). "Some Like It Wilder: The Life and Controversial Films of Billy Wilder by Gene D. Phillips". The Journal of American Culture. 33 (4): 352–353. doi:10.1111/j.1542-734X.2010.00756_18.x. Nonetheless, the book makes a convincing case for identifying Wilder as one of the most penetrating, if somewhat cynical, commentators on American culture in the mid-twentieth century, focusing in particular on issues such as the relationship between the media and society (Ace in the Hole, The Front Page), the obsession with getting ahead (The Apartment), and the nature of stardom (Sunset Boulevard, Kiss Me, Stupid). Subscription required.
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