The Passion of the Christ

Beyond Jesus' inner circle, there's hardly a single sympathetic character in director Mel Gibson's biblical epic portraying the last hours of the Messiah's life. In fact, everyone except tyrannical Roman governor Pontius Pilate (who curiously gets a pass as a guy just trying to do his job) seems to be a villain--be they maniacally laughing Roman guards who whip Jesus to a bloody, skin-shredding, NC-17-worthy pulp, or the Jewish hordes stirred into a frenzy by temple leaders, or the viciously evangelical rabbis themselves, whose spiteful rhetoric sounds an awful lot like what still comes from behind some pulpits and political podiums. But while it may not be what Gibson intended, the film is less an anti-Semitic attack (as some have charged) than a powerful condemnation of any organized religion that aspires to governance or allows its clerics to preach contempt to sheepish followers instead of encouraging people to think for themselves. Yes, The Passion of the Christ is a searing, exhaustingly poignant portrait that makes Jesus' torment so intimate and immediate that it will move the devout to tears; hopefully, the film will also serve as a reminder that there is absolutely no excuse for ideological coercion of any stripe. Recommended. (R. Blackwelder)[Blu-ray Review—Mar. 3, 2009—Fox, 2 discs, 126 min., in Aramaic, Hebrew & Latin w/English subtitles, R, $34.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2004's The Passion of the Christ (Definitive Edition) sports a nice transfer with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Lossless. Featuring both the original theatrical release and a less-graphic edited version, Blu-ray extras include four audio commentaries (the first with filmmaker Mel Gibson, cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, and editor John Wright; the second by producer Stephen McEveety, visual effects supervisor Ted Rae, and makeup and visual effects designer Keith VanderLaan; the third with Gibson, language consultant Father William Fulco, and theologians Gerry Matatics and Father John Bartunek; and the fourth, a music commentary by Oscar-nominated composer John Dibney), an enhanced viewing mode with biblical footnotes, the 101-minute “making-of” documentary “By His Wounds, We Are Healed,” the historical and cultural featurettes “Crucifixion: Punishment in the Ancient World” (18 min.), “Below the Line” (14 min.), “On Language” (13 min.), “Through the Ages (12 min.), “Paths of a Journey” (10 min.), and “Anno Domini” (10 min.), two deleted scenes (5 min.), and photo galleries. Bottom line: one of the biggest box-office hits of all time makes a fine debut on Blu-ray.]