Merton: A Film Biography

Paul Wilkes
1984-01-01


8
57 min

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.

Cast

Name Character Team
Alexander Scourby Narrator (voice) Unowned
Gregory Abels Thomas Merton (voice) Unowned
John Barber Self Unowned
Jim Forest Self - Int. Fellowship of Reconciliation Unowned
Robert Lax Self Unowned
John Eudes Bamberger Self - Scholastic under Merton Unowned
Flavian Burns Self - Scholastic under Merton Unowned
Robert Giroux Self - Publisher Unowned
Naomi Burton Stone Self Unowned
James Laughlin Self - Publisher, New Directions Unowned
Jean Jadot Self - Vatican Secretariat for Non-Christians Unowned
Ernesto Cardenal Self - Nicaraguan Minister of Culture; Novice under Merton Unowned
Lawrence Ferlinghetti Self - Poet Unowned
W. H. Ferry Self Unowned
Mary Luke Tobin Self Unowned
Joan Baez Self Unowned
Maurice Flood Self - Monk of Gethsemani Unowned
Thích Nhất Hạnh Self - Buddhist Monk Unowned
Rembert Weakland Self - Benedictine Monk Unowned
Jean Leclercq Self - Benedictine Monk Unowned
Tenzin Gyatso Self - The Dalai Lama Unowned