How much do you know about the Shroud of Turin? Lent (especially the Triduum) is an especially opportune time for Catholics – and anyone of good will, for that matter – to learn more about this iconic relic. After all, it is perhaps the most famous artifact in the field of forensics, at least with deep theological implications, of the last two-thousand years.
A Two-DVD Set of Four Classic Films from David Rolfe
New from Ignatius Press is a two-DVD set of David Rolfe’s four classic films about the Shroud of Turin. The first DVD includes the four films themselves, and the second includes special features.
According to the set’s description,
“This is the definitive, most up-to-date collection of four stunning films on the Shroud of Turin that spans 38 years of award-winning film-making on the Shroud by acclaimed British film producer and director David Rolfe. All four films use the latest scientific, historical, medical, and archaeological research on the Shroud to reveal all the evidence for the authenticity of it as the burial cloth of Christ. The foremost experts worldwide on the Shroud were involved with these films, and Rolfe’s film crew were given unprecedented access to the Shroud and filmed it in high definition.”
Here are brief descriptions of each of these four documentaries:
1. “The Silent Witness” (1978)
This 53-minute film debuted in London in 1978. Narrator Kenneth More accompanies us through this film, which significantly increased global awareness, and interest in, the Shroud of Turin. “The Silent Witness” soon became the most well-known film about the Shroud of Turin, earning it a British Academy Award and other accolades.
2. “Shroud of Turin” (2008)
This 59-minute film was delivered by the BBC in 2008, twenty years after a dubious C14 [carbon dating] test in 1988 speciously called into question the Shroud of Turin’s authenticity. This documentary provides various types of sophisticated analysis, based on the latest archaeological, artistic, forensic, historical, medical, and optical evidence.
3. “Shroud” (2010)
This 48-minute film was part of the official program for the “Exposition of the Shroud” in 2010. It was written by Ian Wilson, and recounts the saga of the Shroud of Turin by making recourse to modern technology to provide an observation of the man behind the Shroud if Turin (Christ).
4. “A Grave Injustice” (2015)
This 30-minute film is narrated by James Phelps, and offers new insights into the Shroud of Turin’s authentic characteristics. “A Grace Injustice” focuses on how evidence supporting the reality of the Shroud mounted until a solitary unfortunate circumstance arose: “[O]ne carbon-dating test, which many consider deeply flawed, purported to show the Shroud as a medieval forgery. This film provides you with the opportunity to assess just how fair this judgement was.”
This captivating set of two DVDs featuring David Rolfe’s four classic documentaries will not disappoint! It will draw you closer to fathoming the Paschal Mystery, particularly in the midst of the Lenten season.
The Shroud of Turin will continue to reveal answers to the questions that humanity has been asking about its origins, which scientific endeavors have been unable to replicate at any point within the last two millennia. If the Shroud of Turin is Christ’s main burial garment, as multitudinous categories of evidence suggest, then the Shroud can only draw us to better appreciate the suffering and death that the Lord endured in anticipation of rising to new life, all in order to extend to us the freely given gift of his salvation.
Get this set of David Rolfe’s films, by way of Ignatius Press, in order to have a more profound appreciation for the Lord’s sacrifice that he made for us going on two-thousand years ago. You can watch a preview of the DVD set on Ignatius Press’s YouTube page here: “Shroud of Turin NEW Collection.”
