|
“The Passion
of the Christ”
|
 |
Reviewed
by: |
Wayne A. Klein |
| Genre: |
Religious
drama |
| Video: |
2.35:1 Anamorphic
widescreen and 1.33:1 full screen available separately |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
Surround 5.1 |
| Languages |
Aramaic &
Latin |
| Subtitles |
None |
| Length |
127 minutes
|
| Rating |
R |
| Release Date |
8/31/04 |
| Studio |
20th Century
Fox Home Video |
| Commentary:
|
None |
| Documentaries:
|
None |
| Featurettes:
|
None |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
None |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
James Caviezel,
Monica Bellucci, Claudia Gerini, Sergio Rubini, Toni Berorelli,
Roberto Bestazzoni, Francesco Cabras, Giovanni Capalbo |
| Written
By: |
Benedict
Fitzgerald and Mel Gibson |
| Produced
By: |
Mel Gibson
|
| Directed
By: |
Mel Gibson,
Stephen McEveety, Bruce Davey |
| Music:
|
John Debney
|
| The
Review: |
This ain’t no “King of Kings”. Mel
Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” created a storm of controversy
when it was released to theaters earlier in the year. Focusing
on the last twelve hours of Jesus Christ’s life the film didn’t
retreat from the brutality as previous biblical epics had
done. Jim Caviezel’s performance as Christ is an act of faith
by itself as he had to endure many hardships to play the role.
It was reportedly a very difficult film to shoot for lots
of different reasons. Regardless of how one feels about religious
films, one has to admire Gibson’s courage in the face of charges
of an anti-Semitic bias. He didn’t turn the other cheek so
much as ignored his critics moving ahead to produce the film
he wanted. It took an act of faith for Gibson to sink his
own money into such a risky production given the political
and religious climate we live in. ***
Is this a perfect film? No, the
film is far from it. "The Passion of the Christ" is dramatically
flawed but gripping nevertheless because it is so unrelenting
in its portrayal of the events from the gospels. I’d not recommend
this film for those easily offended by gore or violence. Certainly
the charges of anti-Semitism appear to hold water but given
that the film was adapted directly from the gospels with minimal
changes, one has to question whether it would have been right
simply for our PC time for Gibson to make any sort of changes
for that reason. The film reflects the time the gospels were
written in but hopefully not all the values that we as a society
stand for today. In a world where politics have become religion
and vice versa, it's refreshing to see an artist take a stand
regardless of the political pressure he may face. While I
don't always agree with Gibson (or his fine film for that
matter), I admire the quality of character and courage it
took for him to make this statement of faith. ---
|
| Image
and Sound: |
“The Passion
of the Christ” looks glorious on this DVD. Every detail from
the grains of sand to the red stained sunset comes to life.
Caleb Deschanel’s (“The Right Stuff”, “The Black Stallion”)
cinematography vividly captures the dry texture of skin under
the unforgiving Middle Eastern sun and the anguish on the faces
of the faithful. The rich colors and significant violence make
this a film inappropriate for young children (just as most R
rated horror films are inappropriate). The violence is realistic
and unrelenting in its detail and the DVD faithfully reproduces
it all. I’d definitely stick with the widescreen edition if
possible as the cinematography loses much of its power when
its reduced to a series of static close ups or cropped images.
The image may be smaller but the visual impact is more significant.
The beautifully textured and detailed 5.1 soundtrack plays all
around you engulfing you in the events you’re witnessing. Which
is probably just as Gibson planned it. --- |
| The
Extras: |
There are
no extras to distract you from the power of the story
|
| Commentary:
|
While a commentary
would have been interesting ultimately it would have undermined
the dramatic value of the film. --- |
| Final
Words: |
A powerful
film that doesn’t make apologies for its presentation, “The
Passion of the Christ” plays like the flip side of “Jesus of
Nazareth” with Robert Powell’s soulful portrayal of Christ.
Although it lacks the punchy “modern” quality of a cheesy but
enjoyable film like “Jesus Christ Superstar”, it more than makes
up for this loss with its intensity and devotion to the story
of Christ’s last twelve hours on Earth. |
