The Passion of the Christ

The Passion of the Christ isn’t just a movie—it’s an experience that reaches deep into the soul. Directed by Mel Gibson, this film vividly portrays the final hours of Jesus Christ’s life with raw emotion, reverence, and authenticity. It’s not an easy watch, but it’s an essential one.From the moment the film begins, you’re drawn into the depth of Christ’s sacrifice. The performances, especially by Jim Caviezel as Jesus, are absolutely heart-wrenching and powerful. The use of Aramaic, Latin, and Hebrew adds an incredible level of realism that immerses you into the world and the weight of what took place.This film doesn’t sugarcoat the suffering, and that’s what makes it so impactful. It reminds us of the true cost of grace and how deeply we are loved. Watching it is a humbling experience that will stir your faith, bring you to tears, and deepen your appreciation for what Jesus endured.Whether you're a longtime believer or someone seeking to understand the Christian faith, The Passion of the Christ is a must-have in your collection. It’s more than a film—it’s a visual reminder of the Gospel’s power. Watch it, reflect on it, and share it. It has the power to change lives.

So much of this movie is biblically correct and accurate, it's amazing. I have difficulty wondering if it's a reminder from God what Jesus went through for My best behalf, or is it a distraction from the devil to keep me from reading the Bible. It's a very creepy movie with a lot of blood, gore, and violence. If it doesn't make you cry, you might be extremely apathetic

Say what you want about Mel Gibson, but when he is making a serious movie, he knows what he's doing.I thought "Apocalypto" was not very good, mainly because of its ridiculous violence and its quite one-dimensional portrayal of an entire culture. What was the point? Mel Gibson seemed to be saying "boy, these people were violent and wrong."But this sort of unipolar viewpoint, which did not serve "Apocalypto" at all, fits this film to a tee. Gibson is clearly a committed Christian of the Catholic stripe, and he has created pretty much the ultimate cinematic portrayal of the story of Christ's crucifixion. I can't imagine a film which would better indicate the depth of the physical suffering that Jesus of Nazareth must have endured, and the emotional pain this would inflict upon his relatives and best friends.The sets are all very detailed and ring quite true to the period. The actors in lead "good guy" roles are perhaps a bit too European looking, but given the film's production in Italy, some of this is forgivable. Either way, people have cast these characters with their own ethnicity for eons, so I'm willing to give that a pass.I kind of wish some of the more mystical elements had been left out. Jesus heals a roman soldier during his capture. Judas is attacked (in his mind at least) by little hobgoblin demon children. Christ is also tempted by Satan - who is played and visualized quite well by a spooky-looking actress, but nonetheless this feels like a bit of a tacked on element, despite mentions in the Gospels at various points. These elements are at worst a minor annoyance, but they strain credulity, which probably runs counter to Gibson's purposes.I guess I would have preferred that the human elements of the story stand on their own, because, frankly, that's all we have access to at this late date. We simply can't trust miracle stories and talk of mystical happenings. We don't have access to them. But by meditating on the human aspects of the story, we have something we can relate to and which may inspire faith in the other, less tangible things. To display them openly is to assume their existence before we are faithful.But this is just my opinion, I suppose, based on my reading, studies in philosophy, and my general skeptical bent. I've never seen a miracle, and no one I've trusted has ever reported one to me. Things handed down from 2000 years ago, re-translated dozens of times, do not strike me as reliable sources for amazing stories, none of which seem to happen in modern history and with the benefit of all the technology we have available to us to record such events. I mean, given all the cell phone cameras out there, where are all the indubitable miracles?Anyhow, I digress (my apologies to David Hume...). Even with its mystical trappings, this film in its immediacy and its viscerality certainly succeeds in forcing the viewer to ponder the human aspects. The mystical stuff is a sideshow, so to speak.For those with faith, this film should offer a potent meditation on a story which has been ingrained into the psyche, practically since birth. For a non-believer, this film offers a valuable insight into the passion that believers have for this story and for the man himself. Like a Socrates, Jesus of Nazareth seems to have been a singular man, the like of which is rarely seen. Contemplating this can deepen a non-believer's appreciation, if not deliver them into a completely faithful orientation to the material.To put it briefly, it's a brilliant film. Each shot is lovingly composed, and the visual impact and beauty of the images can't be faulted. The performances all feel very real and there is no actor who takes the viewer away from the time period. Gibson, similar to some of the other great directors such as Kubrick, Scorsese, Stone and he like, excels at creating "scene." You really feel like 'you are there.'*******The Blu-Ray:The picture is quite beautiful. Black levels are solid, detail is quite good (though perhaps not the absolute best, I would say "Dark Knight" and "Alexander" top it), and color is very naturalistic. There is a bit of "posterization" in some shots of the sky (i.e. a sort of digital distortion or dot-crawl), but it only intrudes on 10 or 20 seconds of the film, and is probably in the source material. The DTS audio mix offers some nice directional effects, with crowd taunts and bird chirps in the rear sound field.Technically, it's about as good as I can imagine it looking. I did not see the film in the theater, so I cannot compare the level of fidelity.Extras include commentaries, and a "recut" version, which apparently is actually a bit shorter than the theatrical release. This version also cuts a bit of violence. A word to parents - cutting five minutes of gruesome violence leaves about, oh, 120 minutes of gruesome violence remaining in the movie. So plan accordingly insofar as your children can tolerate these kinds of things. Other extras: There are several commentaries on the main disc. The extra disc has many short documentaries on both production issues and historical context, though none are in HD, unfortunately.*********So should you buy it? Well, that's a tough question. If you're a devoted Christian who enjoys pondering these mysteries, and you also have a good HD setup, then sure, I can't see any reason not to. If you are not a Christian but are curious about what the hub-bub is about, then this is definitely worth at least a rental. Fans of historical fiction/docudrama will certainly find much to appreciate.Whether or not you buy it, this is definitely a film everyone should see at least once. It is a great film, like it or lump it. It is a vivid and very impactful telling of one of the very few central stories of our global culture. Keep in mind I do not want to put a Christian gloss on humanity here - if there were comparable films on Mohammad (a bit of an issue given the icon prohibition), Buddha, etc., I would recommend seeing those as well.On the whole, by any standards, this is a five-star release. It may not be for everyone's permanent collection. But those who add this Blu-Ray title to their shelf will not be disappointed.

This is excellent. It looks like Gibson follow the Bible. The acting was great. It’s in another language so you have to make sure you put close captions on when you watch it, but to see this visual, to see the story on film instead of reading about it, it was amazing. It’s going to tear you up so I have tissues. But at the end, you really appreciate the film. I felt it was excellent.