Merton: A Film Biography

Merton: A Film Biography

57 mins | Documentary | Jan. 1, 1984

In his lifetime, Thomas Merton was hailed as a prophet and censured for his outspoken social criticism. For nearly 27 years he was a monk of the austere Trappist order, where he became an eloquent spiritual writer and mystic as well as an anti-war advocate and witness to peace. Merton: A Film Biography provides the first comprehensive look at this remarkable 20th century religious philosopher who wrote, in addition to his immensely popular autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain, over 60 books on some of the most pressing social issues of our time, some of which are excerpted here. Merton offers an engaging profile of a man whose presence in the world touched millions of people and whose words and thoughts continue to have a profound impact and relevance today.

Merton: A Film Biography

57 mins | Documentary | Jan. 1, 1984

Merton: A Film Biography
In his lifetime, Thomas Merton was hailed as a prophet and censured for his outspoken social criticism. For nearly 27 years he was a monk of the austere Trappist order, where he became an eloquent spiritual writer and mystic as well as an anti-war advocate and witness to peace. Merton: A Film Biography provides the first comprehensive look at this remarkable 20th century religious philosopher who wrote, in addition to his immensely popular autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain, over 60 books on some of the most pressing social issues of our time, some of which are excerpted here. Merton offers an engaging profile of a man whose presence in the world touched millions of people and whose words and thoughts continue to have a profound impact and relevance today.
Producers
Original title Merton: A Film Biography
Directors Paul Wilkes, Zina Voynow
Writers Paul Wilkes

Cast

Alexander Scourby

as Narrator (voice)

Gregory Abels

as Thomas Merton (voice)

John Barber

as Self

Jim Forest

as Self - Int. Fellowship of Reconciliation

Robert Lax

as Self

Fr. John Eudes Bamberger

as Self - Scholastic under Merton

Fr. Flavian Burns

as Self - Scholastic under Merton

Robert Giroux

as Self - Publisher

James Laughlin

as Self - Publisher, New Directions

Archbishop Jean Jadot

as Self - Vatican Secretariat for Non-Christians

Ernesto Cardenal

as Self - Nicaraguan Minister of Culture; Novice under Merton

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

as Self - Poet

W. H. Ferry

as Self

Mary Luke Tobin

as Self

Joan Baez

as Self

Fr. Maurice Flood

as Self - Monk of Gethsemani

Thích Nhất Hạnh

as Self - Buddhist Monk

Archbishop Rembert Weakland

as Self - Benedictine Monk

Jean Leclercq

as Self - Benedictine Monk

Tenzin Gyatso

as Self - The Dalai Lama