The Passion of the Christ
Blu-ray Edition
The story of Jesus Christ, his betrayal and crucifixion brought to film as it has never been done before in a very moving film that is a must see for everyone.
Film making 23/25
Cinematography 23/25
Audio 23/25
Bonus Features 25/25
Total 94/100
Leaving out any controversy about the film maker, Mel Gibson and some of his past transgressions I thought this was an excellent film. Its subject content of course is going to bring all kinds of controversy and raise a lot of voices in both protest and praise that this is another hard movie not to be passionate about.
The Passion of the Christ is from the Christian story of how Jesus was betrayed by his disciple Judas Iscariot and how he is sentenced to death. Caiaphas holds a trial over Jesus were he asks Jesus if he is the son of God and he says “ I Am.”
Caiaphas says this is blasphemy and sentences Jesus to death but first brings him before Pontius Pilate to be condemned to death but Pontius sends him to the court of Herod Antipas. After returning from Herod’s, who rules over Nazareth, Pilate offers to just scourge Jesus but the crowd demands his crucifixion for the blasphemy of saying he is the son of God.
Jesus is crucified and the end of the film shows his resurrection and walking away with holes in his palms from the spikes used. This may seem like a retelling of the same story we probably have seen before in other films but several different things make this a true must see film for everyone.
The film is easy to watch even though it is in Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew with subtitles due to the well known story and mild use of spoken language to begin with. Like it has been said in an interview with Mel Gibson who wanted the film to have no English, we know the sayings and story so well we can complete sentences without having to know exactly what is being said.
The film is quite controversial not in being incorrect but in showing all that Jesus suffered in gory detail, so gory it earned its R rating. The re cut version was an attempt to tone down the violence of the scene where Christ is whipped but it did not remove sufficient blood and such to give it even a PG-13 rating.
The re cut version was released in theatres as an unrated version on a retry at the theatres but it only lasted for three weeks. The re cut version is very similar to the first theatrical release but you will notice the additional footage as the more gory and bloody scenes that are almost excruciating to watch.
Most of the controversy over the film is from the various religious groups and how they do or do not like the portrayal of Christ and how Mel Gibson retells his version of the events. The film is very good with how many believe events happened and does so in a most profound, almost religious way that really does make you see the religious aspects better.
The Blu-ray edition contains a full disc of extras from still shots of the film, making the film and credits to making of and documentaries about the film. There are several commentary additions on the original cut of the film as well as being able to watch the re cut version of the film or the original version.
There are several making of features that help flesh out the film and a lot of the controversy is looked at in documentaries of the film as well. There is plenty of extras and a lot of it does not do with the controversy but enough does to give you a good inside look at the film and why some hated it, why some did not want it to be made and why some thought the film was brilliant.
There is well over 2 hours of extra content on the second disc and plenty on the first with four commentary tracks on the original version of the film. The extras include a panel discussion from film makers, the path of the crucifixion in Jerusalem, a history of crucifixion and the main making of the film feature running at an hour and 40 minutes.
The other features are also very good and you do get a wide range of real life historical, religious and individual opinion about making the film in all the extra content. I am glad I was able to not only see the film but also enjoyed all the extras that are included with the film and this is one of those films that is well worth watching whether you are religious or not.
The Passion of the Christ is one of those rare films that while so many have their opinion of whether it is true to life or not it is a must see film regardless. The Passion of the Christ will go down in history as one of the stories of Christ and follows his last twelve hours from his betrayal to resurrection.
The Passion of the Christ is a beautiful film and well worth the cost of the Blu-ray edition for a wonderful cinematic experience.