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"The movie is biblical, powerful and potentially life-changing." Jack Graham, president of the Southern Baptist Convention. 5 |
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"There is no salvation for those outside the Church." The response by Mel Gibson when asked if someone who is not Roman Catholic, can be saved. 6 |
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[This movie] "is going to bring the Church away from me-ology back to theology." Adrian Rogers. 5 |
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"The film portrays Jews who adhere to their Jewish faith as enemies of God and the locus of evil." 7 |
Overview:
"The Passion" chronicles the last twelve hours in the life of Yeshua of Nazareth (a.k.a. Jesus Christ), including his betrayal by Judas, his trial, and his execution by the Roman Army circa 29 to 36 CE. (The exact year is unknown and a matter of active theological debate.) The screen play was based on a blending of the accounts from the four canonical Gospels: Mark, Matthew, Luke and John, with extra-biblical sources. It was released to thousands of movie theatres across North America on Ash Wednesday, 2004-FEB-25. This is the first day of Lent, which extends each year until Easter Sunday. In 2004, Easter falls on the same day in both the Western Christian denominations and Eastern Orthodox churches: APR-11.
Mel Gibson co-wrote, directed, and co-produced the "The Passion." Author Benedict Fitzgerald was also involved in the writing of the screenplay. Gibson also financed the $25 million movie through his company, Icon Productions. "Hollywood's major studios all passed on offers to distribute the film; New Market [Films] agreed to [d]istribute it for a fee, as it did the sleeper hit 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'." 1
The movie gross on its first day of showing was very close to the cost of the movie itself. It subsequently grossed US $111,500,000 during its first five days of viewing in the United States. The Passion of The Christ was less popular, on a per-capita basis, in Canada, where it grossed only US $ 6 million. (The population of Canada is one tenth that of the U.S. so some observers were expecting on the order of $11 million gross). It was the most popular movie in North America during the weekend following its introduction.
The movie has probably created more controversy than any other movie in recent years:
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Some commentators have charged that the movie is anti-semitic, because it blames "the Jews" for the death of Yeshua. Many are concerned that the movie may inspire a wave of violence against Jews and criminal acts against Jewish property. |
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Many conservative Protestants are excited about the potential of the movie as a powerful evangelical tool to "save" those who have not yet been "born again." |
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Other conservative Protestants oppose the movie because its director is a Catholic; they are concerned that Gibson is using the movie as a propaganda vehicle to spread Catholic teachings. |
Over time, we expect that the movie will have a major affect on Christians' beliefs. Their grasp of the details of his arrest, trial, flogging, crucifixion and death will probably be based more on the movie than on the Gospels themselves. The visions of two Catholic nuns: St. Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) and St. Mary of Agreda (1602-1665), whose visions formed such a major part of the movie, will have a profound affect on Christians' understanding of the events leading up to Jesus' execution.
The passion - lite version:
According to Bruce Davey., Mel Gibson's partner at Icon Productions, "There has been quite a demand by the religious community to bring [the film] back for Easter. And there has been a lot of discussion about the violence. Mel wanted to try and accommodate those people by making a version that is softer and gentler." A slightly less violent version of the movie is being produced with five to six minutes deleted from the most violent scenes -- particularly that of the scourging. This edition will not have an age restriction in many jurisdictions. It is expected to run in from 500 to 750 theatres. 4
Topics covered in this section:
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About Mel Gibson, the movie's
co-author, producer and director | ||||||||||
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About the movie itself:
actors, source material, languages used, financial success, etc. | ||||||||||
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Are the Gospels, the movie and the
historical record in conflict? | ||||||||||
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Comments on the movie by:
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Books related to "The Passion of The Christ," and the movie sound track:
| The following book provided much of the material shown in the movie: Anne Emmerich, "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ," Tan Books, (Reprinted 1994). Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store |
| The "exclusive and official companion volume to Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion:" Published by Tyndale House, (2004). Gibson provides the forward. Ken Duncan provides the photographs. Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store |
| The soundtrack of "The Passion:" Produced by Sony (2004). Hear sample tracks or order a CD safely from Amazon.com online store |
Related essays in this web site:
| Deicide: the murder of God: About Jesus' execution |
| An overview of 2,000 years of Jewish persecution |
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Amazon.com found the following books on the Passion of Christ:
References:
- "Mel Gibson's PASSION Opens in 2,000+ Theaters," CatholicCitizens.org, 2004-JAN-15, at: http://catholiccitizens.org/
- The official web site of The Passion of the Christ is at: http://www.thepassionofthechrist.com/splash.htm
- Beliefnet has created a section on their website to discuss this movie. See: http://www.beliefnet.com/
- "Gibson relaunches "Passion of Christ" with a new cut," AFP, 2005-FEB-10, at: http://story.news.yahoo.com/
- "Gibson's Words Fuel Controversy," Agape Press, 2004-FEB-20.
- Peter Boyer, "The Jesus War," the New Yorker, 2003-SEP-15.
- "ADL Concerned Mel Gibson's 'Passion' Could Fuel Anti-Semitism if Released in Present Form," Anti-Defamation League, 2003-AUG-11, at: http://www.adl.org/
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Home > Religious topics > Movies > here |
Copyright © 2004 & 2005 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally written: 2004-FEB-24
Latest update: 2005-OCT-19
Author: B.A. Robinson
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