# trying to find an 70s? religious movie about rapture.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 4, 2008, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172 "2008-02-04T04:40:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pope\_hentai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/1 "2008-02-04T04:40:32Z")
about 12 years ago, i got tricked into going to a church lock in party (cant remember what denomination) part of the “celebration” was a film about the rapture. from what i remember it looked about 1970s or so, was about getting left behind after the rapture and all the bad stuff that was gonna hapen and all that kinda hoohah. i think it ended with agents of evil cornering the main charachter then they woke up and it was all a nightmare… or was it! complete with a god-awful hippy singing a song about being left behind, that haunts your brain for years. any clue what it was or how i can find a copy? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/2 "2008-02-04T04:48:24Z")
Oh man, I remember that one, though I think I was forced to watch it in the early '80s. Sadly, I can’t remember what it was called. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/3 "2008-02-04T04:53:33Z")
I used to be forced to watch these kinds of movies too. I can’t find any through the usual channels, but I’m sure there must be someone out there who collects them, no? ---
**Author:** ![pope\_hentai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/4 "2008-02-04T04:57:20Z")
i’ve gt a few “unusual” channels… but they cant help till i get a name… thand goodness i’m not the only one whose seen it though… ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/5 "2008-02-04T05:05:26Z")
I’m almost positive it’s [A Thief in the Night](http://imdb.com/title/tt0070795/). ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/6 "2008-02-04T05:06:54Z")
Maybe [A Thief in the Night](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070795/). EDIT: Sorry for the repetition. Didn’t see the post above until I’d posted. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/7 "2008-02-04T05:22:39Z")
A lot of these movies were credited as “A Ken Anderson Production.” I’ll check the link now, it’s probably his company. Did the lead have shaggy hair and a beard and crotch-hugging white Levis? I saw that one back in the day. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![pope\_hentai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/8 "2008-02-04T13:10:51Z")
just looked it up and it looks like “a thief n the night” is the one. getting a copy now ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/9 "2008-02-04T14:24:12Z")
Heck, get the whole set, either at Amazon or [christianbook.com](http://christianbook.com) - the evil handlebar mustache guy is in all four. For all their amateurishness, there is more soul in them than any of the modern Left Behind type films. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/10 "2008-02-04T14:59:10Z")
Not the movie the OP was asking about, but Michael Tolkin’s 1991 drama _The Rapture_, starring Mimi Rogers and David Duchovny, is definitely worth a look. Well done and memorable in a disquieting sort of way. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/11 "2008-02-04T18:58:09Z")
_A Thief In the Night_ is available on [netflix](http://www.netflix.com/Movie/A_Thief_in_the_Night/70030092?trkid=189530&strkid=1549163606_0_0). I saved a copy - not because I’m a devout christian or have any belief in the apocalipse , but because this sounds like a can’t-miss camp classic. Is it really as bad as it sounds? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/12 "2008-02-04T19:47:54Z")
[QUOTE=The New and Improved Superman] Is it really as bad as it sounds? [/QUOTE] It’s like really bad, amateur soft porn would be if sex had never been invented or imagined. ---
**Author:** ![pope\_hentai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/13 "2008-02-04T22:30:39Z")
[QUOTE=The New and Improved Superman] _A Thief In the Night_ is available on [netflix](http://www.netflix.com/Movie/A_Thief_in_the_Night/70030092?trkid=189530&strkid=1549163606_0_0). I saved a copy - not because I’m a devout christian or have any belief in the apocalipse , but because this sounds like a can’t-miss camp classic. Is it really as bad as it sounds? [/QUOTE] apparently the internet archive has the first one, “a thief in the night”. and yes.. its reeeeally bad.. but its what i was lookin for. never woulda guessed there were sequels ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/14 "2008-02-05T02:11:11Z")
Every now and then, I think about that movie. Not because it was good, but because it was so campy, and so agenda-ey. I really want to see it again, too, just for laughs. That bad singing at the end, “You’ve been left behind…You’ve been left behind…” It is agony and hilarity strangely combined. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/15 "2008-02-05T03:29:21Z")
[QUOTE=Charger] Every now and then, I think about that movie. Not because it was good, but because it was so campy, and so agenda-ey. I really want to see it again, too, just for laughs. That bad singing at the end, “You’ve been left behind…You’ve been left behind…” It is agony and hilarity strangely combined. [/QUOTE] When I saw the film, it was less than a decade old (I think I saw it around 1980-81), and I remember that song performance feeling embarrassingly outdated, though my impression may have been colored more by the hippy singer’s appearance than anything else. Appearance notwithstanding, the singing itself was horrible. So I was surprised a couple years ago when I attended a concert by [Dennis Agajanian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Agajanian) (the guy’s an [amazing guitarist](http://youtube.com/watch?v=-RPaUKxo7-c)) and he performed an eminently listenable, moving version of the song. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/16 "2008-02-05T14:28:47Z")
Looks like Youtube has some clips of the film on-line. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/17 "2008-02-05T15:44:46Z")
I’m just popping in to second that recommendation of **The Rapture** , which has a spectacular Mimi Rogers performance and some genuinely grueling moments. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/18 "2008-02-05T16:04:25Z")
A fun article on the THIEF series… [http://www.jesus21.com/content/movies/rapture2.html](http://www.jesus21.com/content/movies/rapture2.html) The whole set… [http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item\_no=540097&netp\_id=315368&event=HPT&item\_code=WW&view=details](http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=540097&netp_id=315368&event=HPT&item_code=WW&view=details) ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/19 "2008-02-05T16:06:50Z")
[QUOTE=Rocketeer] I’m just popping in to second that recommendation of **The Rapture** , which has a spectacular Mimi Rogers performance and some genuinely grueling moments. [/QUOTE] A third recommendation also. If I could get an edited-for-TV copy, I’d be showing that to my fellow church folk (FX has broadcast it in a finely-edited version). ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2008, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172/20 "2008-02-05T16:08:24Z")
[QUOTE=pope\_hentai] apparently the internet archive has the first one, “a thief in the night”. and yes.. its reeeeally bad.. but its what i was lookin for. never woulda guessed there were sequels [/QUOTE] Wait a minute! _How_ can you have a sequel to “The Rapture”? I mean, when it happens, that’s supposed to be basically it, isn’t it? Or is it that in Part II we find out that Satan wasn’t _really_ defeated, and while Jesus is trying to work His mojo on the world, Satan freezes one of Jesus’s disciples in carbonite before chopping of Jesus’s hand? And in Part III do we find out that Satan’s really Jesus’s father, Mary Magdelen’s His sister, and that all it takes to beat Satan’s ass is an army of teddy bears? What happens in Part IV? Does a Jesus who’s staring middle age in the face have to battle a Russian boxer in the ring to avenge the death of His best friend? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trying-to-find-an-70s-religious-movie-about-rapture/436172.md?page=2)