The Song of Bernadette [DVD] [1943]

Love it

I have watched this film many, many times since childhood and it’s one of the most moving films I’ve ever seen. The film begins with the life of St. Bernadette as a young schoolgirl who misses much of her education and is shown to be behind even in her religious studies. This is a very important thing to remember, because later in the film after St. Bernadette had been having apparitions of Our Lady, the local priest tells St. Bernadette to ask the lady who she is. St. Bernadette does this and tells the priest, the lady says she is “the immaculate conception”. This is vitally important as even today, people still make the mistake of thinking Jesus is the Immaculate Conception, when Jesus is God who became Man but Mary is the only human ever born without the stain of original sin, and as such is the ‘immaculate conception’. This film somehow captures the simplicity and beauty of the story of Lourdes. St. Bernadette was a humble girl born into a simple and humble family who was called on by the Blessed Virgin to dig in the ground to find the spring and to build a church on the site. St. Bernadette was laughed at by her community but through her family’s love and support she continued to honour our Holy Mother and Miracles began to occur. The film ends with St Bernadette’s retreat into a convent where she worked and prayed alongside her fellow Sisters, leaving the attention of the outside world behind and eventually passing away at age 35. Jennifer Jones is magnificent as St. Bernadette, capturing her innocence, humanity and devotion. The supporting cast including Charles Bickford and Vincent Price are wonderful and altogether it’s a moving and factual account on one of the more recent and biggest miraculous events of our times. As the film says at the beginning, for those who have Faith, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not, no explanation is possible.

Many people know of Saint Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes but many others do not. She was born to an impoverished miller in 1844 in an obscure village in the Pyrenees in South West France. As was common at the time she was illiterate. One day, when she was 14 when out gathering driftwood for fuel on the banks of the local river, an apparition of a lady appeared to her. Later the lady identified herself in the patois of Lourdes as the 'Immaculate Conception' which the local clergy identified as Mary, the Mother of God. The lady ordered a shrine to be built where people could come on pilgrimages.What was inexplicable was that there was nothing in Bernadette's life to explain the visions which were received with much local scepticism.Eventually the shrine was built, people did come, and it is now one of the most important Catholic pilgrimages in the whole world. A great many Catholics wish to visit Lourdes and bathe in the waters at least one in their lives. Many Catholic girls are now called Bernadette.Bernadette, always a sickly child, entered a convent and devoted her life to prayer and light duties in her convent. The visions ceased and were never repeated. She succumbed to tuberculosis at the age of 35. After he death devotion grew to her and she proved a popular saint. She was officially canonized as a saint in 1933.The film based on her life was a huge box office success. The DVD version is recommended to all the family, especially those families with children.

A fantastic film that won quite a few awards. Even though the film is in black and white it captures the heartache,indignity, faith, and a true story of Bernadette Soubirous and the struggles of a poor family living in one tiny room and Bernadette suffering ill health with Asthma. Bernadette was 14yrs old when the first apparition appeared, she had over 18 visions from Our Lady at the Grotto in France in 1858. She died in 1879 and was Canonized. Lourdes is celebrating it's 150th year where over 8 million people visit the Grotto every year, bathe in the freezing cold spring water and people come in Procession to celebrate Our Lady apparitions. This Year Pope Benedict XVI will be celebration Mass in Lourdes on the 13th September due to 150 years of the Apparitions. A number of crutches hang above the Grotto where people have had miracles and bathe in the miracle spring water that Bernadette was told to dig under her feet. The town of Lourdes is a busy place especially at Easter where the HCPT (Handicapped Children Pilgramage Trust) take various disabled and ill young people for a weeks holiday, the fun, laughter and friendship that people make that week last a life time. I speak from experience and hope and pray that I can return perhaps next year. A fantastic film, highly recommended, even more so when the story is true. God Bless.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Very enjoyable film

Song of bernadette loved it and it came so quick

Packaging and delivery was excellent. The quality of the video was excellent. It was a very good story of Bernadette. I will be watching this again and again.