The Behind-the-Scenes Producer

I've always loved history because there is so much to learn from the past. And you tend to get a perspective on life by looking back. Maybe that's why I love biographies and documentaries so much.

As you know, I've also been a film buff for years. And so to me one of the greatest pluses about DVD's are the "Features" part where you can get a peak behind-the-scenes of the making of the film. People may think I'm a bit odd, but at times I'll watch with Susan an entire movie with the director's comments. It's fascinating to us both to hear the director and producer describe all that went into the making of their film. We did that again last night.

We watched "Chariots of Fire" with director Hugh Hudson's comments. He told of how this was his first full-length feature. The main characters of the film were played by two theater actors who had never been in a movie. Vangelis, who wrote the award-winning music, was also a first-timer for film. They had a budget of only $5 million dollars. And they shot everything on location -- no sets -- in 50 days. Hudson employed some innovative slow-motion photography for the race sequences -- and some people criticized him and doubted him for doing this.

And yet throughout the making of this remarkable film, Hudson said that everything seem to come together so beautifully. The cast turned out to be just right. As was the music. And good weather for filming. In another interview, the producer, David Puttnam, said "It seemed like Eric Liddle (the Christian missionary runner who was one of the leading characters) or Someone very close to Eric Liddle was looking down on us while making this film."

I'm firmly convinced that the Lord Almighty was the behind-the-scenes producer of "Chariots" - because Eric's life and witness was all to the glory of the Lord.

And that's the kind of history of my life that I want to leave behind. A story that was driven by the Sovereign Lord, directed by the Holy Spirit...and showcasing the glory of Jesus in a man fully alive in Christ.

Jim