Religulous (2008)

Director:

Larry Charles

Writers:

(more)

Release Date:

3 October 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Comedy

Tagline:

Do you smell something burning?

Plot:

Bill Maher's take on the current state of world religion.

Plot Keywords:

Jew | Muslim | Religion | Christian | Trucker

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Bill Maher	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tal Bachman	...	Himself
Jonathan Boulden	...	Himself
Steve Burg	...	Himself
Francis Collins	...	Himself
George Coyne	...	Himself (as Father George Coyne PhD)
Benjamin Creme	...	Himself
Jeremiah Cummings	...	Himself
Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda	...	Himself
Fatima Elatik	...	Herself
Yahuda Etzion	...	Himself
Reginald Foster	...	Himself (as Father Reginald Foster)
Mohamed Junas Gaffar	...	Himself
Bill Gardiner	...	Himself
Ted Haggard	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rabbi Halperin	...	Himself
Ken Ham	...	Himself
Dean Hamer	...	Himself (as Dr. Dean Hamer)
Mohammad Hourani	...	Himself (as Dr. Mohammad Hourani PhD)
Jeffrey Hunter	...	Jesus (archive footage)
Nelson Leigh	...	Jesus (archive footage)
Julie Maher	...	Herself
Kathy Maher	...	Herself
Aki Nawaz	...	Himself (as Propa-Gandhi)
Andrew Newberg	...	Himself (as Dr. Andrew Newberg MD)
Fred Phelps	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mark Pryor	...	Himself
Shmuel Strauss	...	Himself (as Rabbi Shmuel Strauss)
Ray Suarez	...	Himself
Jimmy Turkmani	...	Himself
Ferre van Beveren	...	Himself (as Reverend Ferre van Beveren)
Yisroel Dovid Weiss	...	Himself (as Rabbi Dovid Weiss)
John Westcott	...	Himself (as Pastor John Westcott)
Geert Wilders	...	Himself
Jim Bakker	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Osama bin Laden	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Kaya Bousquet	...	Model (uncredited)
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Kirk Cameron	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Johnny Carson	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Larry Charles	...	Himself (uncredited)
Tom Cruise	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jerry Falwell	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Billy Gibbons	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Theo van Gogh	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Charlton Heston	...	George Taylor (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dusty Hill	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Benny Hinn	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Mike Huckabee	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Kim Hunter	...	Zira (archive footage) (uncredited)
Michael Jackson	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Bishop Don Magic Juan	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Larry King	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Joe Lieberman	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Marilyn Manson	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
John McCain	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Pope John Paul II	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Elvis Presley	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Prince	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Oral Roberts	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Pat Robertson	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
George C. Scott	...	Abraham (archive footage) (uncredited)
Gene Simmons	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Britney Spears	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Paul Stanley	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
John Travolta	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Max von Sydow	...	Jesus (archive footage) (uncredited)
Kanye West	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Larry Charles

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bill Maher		written by (uncredited)

Produced by
Jesse Johnston	....	executive producer
Leila Lak	....	field producer: England
Alexandra Lambrinidis	....	associate producer
Bill Maher	....	producer
Kevin O'Donnell	....	line producer
Flavia Oertwig	....	field producer: Italy
Lisa Rudin	....	associate producer
Charlie Siskel	....	executive producer
Jonah Smith	....	producer
Alon Tuval	....	field producer: Israel
Palmer West	....	producer

Cinematography by
Anthony Hardwick		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jeff Groth
Christian Kinnard
Jeffrey M. Werner

Production Management
Chelsea Barnard	....	field supervisor
Tommaso Colognese	....	production supervisor: Italy
Craig Conolly	....	unit production manager (as Craig J. Conolly)
Jan Diederen	....	field supervisor: The Netherlands
Brad Goodman	....	post-production supervisor (as Bradley M. Goodman)
Kevin Kolovich	....	production supervisor: England
Alexandra Lambrinidis	....	field supervisor
Mary Prendergast	....	post-production supervisor
Charlie Siskel	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Craig Conolly	....	first assistant director (as Craig J. Conolly)
Charlie Siskel	....	first assistant director
Dale Stern	....	first assistant director (as Dale S. Stern)

Sound Department
Rick Camera	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Rick Camara)
John Cannon	....	first assistant sound editor
Jason George	....	supervising sound editor
Scott Harber	....	sound mixer
Geoffrey G. Rubay	....	sound re-recording mixer
Geoffrey G. Rubay	....	supervising sound editor
James Wright	....	sound consultant: Dolby (as Jim Wright)
James Bailey	....	foley artist (uncredited)
Fabrizio Donati	....	audio restorer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Scott M. Davids	....	visual effects & graphics supervisor: Yard VFX (as Scott Davids)
Jalal Jemison	....	digital compositor: Yard VFX
Jalal Jemison	....	graphics animator: Yard VFX
Benjamin Locke	....	graphics animator: Yard VFX
Benjamin Locke	....	main title animator: Yard VFX

Camera and Electrical Department
Anthony Hardwick	....	camera operator
Ryo Kinno	....	first assistant camera (as Ryo Kinino)
Mark Schwartzbard	....	camera operator
David Mickler	....	camera operator: behind the scenes (uncredited)
Sam Moon	....	camera operator: "c" camera: England (uncredited)
Owen A. Smith	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jason Alper	....	stylist: England

Editorial Department
Thomas J. Cabela	....	assistant editor (as Tom Cabela)
David Egan	....	first assistant editor
Evan Goldstein	....	post-production coordinator
John Klos	....	final cut pro systems support: Big Time Picture Company
Asim Matin	....	assistant editor
Jeff Mee	....	first assistant editor
Aaron Peak	....	colorist
Aaron Peak	....	on-line editor
Silja Tõnisson	....	first assistant editor (as Silja Tonisson)
Leroy Wolf	....	color timer
Mike Ford	....	post-production associate (uncredited)
Micky Hohl	....	post-production assistant (uncredited)
Neil W. Smith	....	digital intermediate supervisor: Hollywood-DI (uncredited)

Music Department
Michael Dittrick	....	music editor
Richard Henderson	....	music consultant
Chris Robertson	....	music clearance: Diamond Time
Ben Zales	....	assistant music editor

Transportation Department
Andrea Bonanni	....	driver: Italy
Lori Chavez	....	transportation coordinator
Eli 'Kiko' Cohen	....	transportation coordinator: Israel
Jeff Hyland	....	driver
Tom Jenkins	....	driver
Shalom Kleiman	....	driver: Israel
Gianfranco Renzoni	....	driver: Italy
Jared Robbins	....	transportation captain
Meir Tabcznik	....	driver: Israel
Massimiliano Taglioni	....	driver: Italy (as Massimilano Taglioni)

Other crew
Fouad Abughosh	....	field coordinator: Israel
Robyn Adams	....	researcher
Giosué Arcuri	....	production security
Chelsea Barnard	....	researcher
Bhanu Bhatnagar	....	production assistant: England
Roberta Brodsky	....	field coordinator
Cara Casey	....	field coordinator
Sophie Charles	....	researcher
Kate Coe	....	archival researcher
Michelle Cornelius	....	assistant: Mr. Maher
Peter Dally	....	international legal contracts
Mike Diaz	....	production assistant
Jan Diederen	....	researcher: The Netherlands
Alon Farago	....	location manager: Israel
Tal Fiala	....	account executive
Classietta Foreman	....	field coordinator (as Classietta Davis)
Amiran Gicelter	....	international legal contracts
Max Gottlieb	....	production insurance: Frankel & Associates
Alan Grodin	....	legal services: Weissmann, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall
Octavia Hartland	....	production assistant: England
Gill Havivi	....	production security
Dave Herrmann	....	production assistant (as David Hermann)
Lauren A Jackson	....	travel coordinator (as Lauren Jackson)
Mano Janssen	....	international legal contracts
Armand Killan	....	international legal contracts
Mary Knowles	....	booker
Dalit Koren	....	production secretary: Israel
Calum Latham	....	production assistant: England
Anjani Mandavia	....	legal services: Weissmann, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall
David Mickler	....	production assistant
Mark Monto	....	security
Massimiliano Mostardini	....	international legal contracts
Shannon Murphy	....	assistant: Mr. Smith & Mr. West
Dana Ostroff	....	production accountant
Lisa Rudin	....	assistant: Mr. Charles
Kathy Sarreal	....	legal services: Weissmann, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall
Estee Seward	....	assistant: Mr. Maher
Julie Shapiro	....	production travel: Travel Corps
Noam Sharon	....	researcher: Israel
Marc R. Sinderman	....	production accountant
Matthew N. Sugarman	....	legal services: Weissmann, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall (as Matt Sugarman)
Rieko Takagi	....	production assistant
Greg Wishnev	....	researcher (uncredited)

Thanks
Cliff Dorfman	....	special thanks
Ned Goldreyer	....	special thanks
Julie Maher	....	in loving memory of

Production Companies

• Thousand Words

Distributors

• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Albania) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Bosnia and Herzegovina) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Bulgaria) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Croatia) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Hungary) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Kosovo) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Republic of Macedonia) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Montenegro) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Poland) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Romania) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Serbia) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Slovakia) (all media)
• Blue Sky Media (2007) (Slovenia) (all media)
• A-Film Distribution (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2008) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Icon Film Distribution (2008) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Lionsgate (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (2009) (France) (theatrical)
• Village Films (2008) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Blue Sky Media (2008) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Sandrews (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Sony Music Entertainment (2009) (Japan) (TV)
• TVA Films (2008) (Canada) (all media)

Special Effects

• Yard VFX (title graphics & visual effects)

Other Companies

• ABC News Video Source  footage courtesy of (as ABCNews VideoSource)
• AP Archive  footage courtesy of
• Abel Cine Tech  lenses and cameras (as Abel Cinetech)
• Allstock  footage courtesy of (as All Stock)
• BBC Motion Gallery  footage courtesy of
• Big Time Picture Company  final cut pro systems support
• Budget Films  footage courtesy of
• Cable News Network (CNN)  footage courtesy of (as CNN)
• Classic Images  footage courtesy of
• Conus Archive, The  footage courtesy of
• Corbis  footage courtesy of
• Diamond Time  music clearances
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• EFilm  digital film recording
• F.I.L.M. Archives  footage courtesy of
• Film & Video Stock Shots  footage courtesy of
• Footage Bank  footage courtesy of
• Frankel & Associates  production insurance
• Global Imageworks  footage courtesy of
• HBO Archives  footage courtesy of
• Historic Films Archive  footage courtesy of
• Hollywood-DI  digital intermediate services
• ITN Source  footage courtesy of
• Image Bank Films by Getty Images  footage courtesy of (as Image Bank Film/Getty Images)
• Journeyman Films  footage courtesy of
• Landov  footage courtesy of
• Lions Gate Records  soundtrack
• MacDonald and Associates  footage courtesy of
• Micdi Productions  music editorial services
• Modern VideoFilm  dailies transfer
• Modern VideoFilm  post-production services
• NBC News Archives  footage courtesy of
• Soundelux  sound design & editorial
• Streamline Films  footage courtesy of
• Thought Equity  footage courtesy of (as Thought Equity Motion)
• Todd-AO Studios  sound re-recording services
• Travel Corps  production travel
• Vanderbilt Television News Archive  footage courtesy of
• Video Tape Library  footage courtesy of
• WPA Film Library  footage courtesy of
• Weissmann, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall (WWBCG&E)  legal services

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for some language and sexual material

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew | Arabic | Persian | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44539) | UK:15 | Australia:M | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | South Africa:18 | New Zealand:M | Ireland:15A | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Mexico:B15 | Hong Kong:IIB

Filming Locations:

's-Gravenhage, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

Thousand Words

Trivia:

The film used the fake working title "A Spiritual Journey" in order to obtain interviews with religious leaders. They did not know that Bill Maher was involved in the film until he arrived for the interviews.

Quotes:

Bill Maher:The idea that Christianity is American, I think, is an amazing entitlement to a people who are always trying to meld God and country.
Himself (Gardiner, Bill (V)):The Garden of Eden was in Missouri, according to Mormonism. The new Jerusalem will be there.
Bill Maher:Branson, I hope.

Movie Connections:

Features The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)

Soundtrack:

Bound For The Promised Land

Some food for thought but Maher undermines himself by being silly, picking easy targets and not being as intelligent in his approach as he is capable of

I was really looking forward to this film because the one thing I hate on Real Time is when Bill Maher goes off on one about religion, making massive sweeping statements about people not being allowed to vote if they believe in angels etc. It is not that I disagree with the basic argument he says but just that he doesn't seem to have a lot to back it up and, the odd time he is called on it by the guests he will move along and not really seem to have much behind his general opinion that people with religious beliefs are idiots. So for me this film was not an opportunity to get more annoyed by this but rather give him my undivided attention and let him lay out his case.

He manages to do this here and there but nowhere near consistent or good enough to make an argument capable of changing minds – although perhaps good enough to provide food for thought. At the end of the film he gives a very good speech that sums up his film and this is probably the strongest part of the whole film as it challenges and makes reasonable points. OK it is loaded with imagery that backs up his points in a very blunt way but I can forgive him for this. What I have a problem with is that the rest of the film doesn't have this same core of logic and reasoned argument. He hits it here and there but too often he is doing two things. The first of these two things is that he will never give up an easy joke and this is not helped that his goal often seems to be that he seems very keen to mock people rather than reason with them. Hence we get the personal barbed remarks that are thrown out for the audience but the interviewees either don't hear or don't get their response shown. The second thing he does is select really weak people if his goal is anything other than mockery. I do agree with a lot of what Bill says – particularly about the role of religion in world politics. I do believe in the concept that religious tenants within people's personal lives as guides and moral foundation is something I can live with but when things are taken as fact and taken totally literally then things get out of hand. So I do want to see Bill present a more rounded argument and have that debate with people who can talk to him at the same sort of intellectual level.

Sadly what we get are interviews with a priest who is a self-appointed doctor, a man who plays Jesus at the Holy Land theme park, a Muslim extremist British rapper (who let me say has ZERO profile over here), a man who is a reformed homosexual, a man who claims to be descended directly from Jesus and thus now leads the one true church and others of similar quality. We do have experts on the roster but they are mainly used to back up what Maher is saying. Now, I know many people do not like him, but to me Maher is too smart to need to be protected from reasonable discussion. The only exception I would give is the one priest he talks to who seems very liberal and open to taking the basics of his religion and getting away from dogma and ritual. Outside of him though Maher does not have a hard time showing them up but, when he occasionally gets someone who is a bit more careful with language and phrasing and can prevent themselves sounding like nuts, the film uses an even more cowardly trick. What we get are Maher filmed in the car talking about the interview, which very much gives him the final word and allows him to make responses and ridicule once the individual is not there to respond anymore. I do like Maher enough to watch his stuff, but this is a cheap trick and cheapens the film by extension. Of course this doesn't look as bad when you consider the heavy editing in of footage from other films – some of it is fine to provide images, stimuli or just as a base but again mostly this is used to mock the subjects after the fact, the most unnecessary and annoying example being the use of Scarface – the guy was doing fine making himself look crazy, it didn't need the heavy hand.

I read a comment on this website that said if you disagree with Maher then the film is not for you, it is about you – sadly I have to agree with that. This film will do best with those who are coming to watch Maher put the boot in without a lot of finesse or intelligence – just like he often does on Real Time. There are plenty of moments where he makes very good points and allows his subjects to talk themselves into a corner but too often he is selecting weak targets (people at a theme park!), mocking them with easy gags, letting them make themselves look like idiots (which many are) and then standing back as if he has proved something beyond the point that this person, right here, is an idiot, which he has not. It is a real shame because this should be a film for everyone – even if not everyone likes it. If he is serious about his plea for moderates to look in the mirror then he needs to make a film that does that and, sadly, this isn't it. It provides food for thought and I did find it a rousing challenge to religion but it is nowhere near the film that he should have made.