Peter Malone, MSC
Melbourne - Charter Member - SIGNIS, Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting
Australians and filmgoers across the globe have been reading the criticism of Rev. Dr. Peter Malone, MSC for more than half a century.
Born in Sydney, a Missionary of the Sacred Heart professed in 1958, a priest since 1965, he taught theology and scripture at the Yarra Theological Union in Melbourne, now part of the University of Divinity. He was director of the Australian Catholic Film Office in the 1990s and president of OCIC, the International Catholic Organization for Cinema and Audio-Visuals (OCIC). He was world president from 1998-2001. He was the first president of SIGNIS (World Catholic Association for Communication), 2001-2005 and remains one of its premier writers. He also writes for the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting.
Father Malone’s books, like his academic lectures, cover theology and psychology as well as film. He edited Compass Theology Review, 1972-1998 and has written its history, 50 Years of Australians doing Theology.
He has written more than thirty books and contributed to countless more. Often, he has focused on film as a survey of the moral landscape, with works such as Films and Values and Can Movies be a Moral Compass? He has also dived deep into Australian’s rich cinematic history, studying Aborigines depicted in feature films for In Black and White and Colour, and interviewing influential Australian directors at length in Myth and Meaning. He has explored Christ-figures in Movie Christs and Antichrists. Of great interest to writers is Father Malone’s Worth Watching, in which he invites critics to discuss the art of criticism.
His recent books include Screen Jesus: Portrayals of Christ in Television and Film, and Screen Priets: Depictions of Catholic Priests in Cinema, 1900-2018 and Dear Movies.
He was a founding member of The Film Critics Association and was welcomed as a member of the Australian Film Institute, the Association for Psychological Type, the Australian Catholic Theological Association, and SIGNIS. He helped form the International Catholic Film Critics Association as a charter member.
He is based in Melbourne.
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Read his work at Peter Malone’s Website, his official archive, with reviews sorted by month. There you can also find his interviews with Australian directors.
Read his work at the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting.