The recently-published Gospel bearing the name of Judas (which portrays him not as Christ's betrayer but as his closest, most trusted disciple) has been heavily hyped in our Da Vinci Code age, becoming a minor phenomenon in both print and on the tube. This National Geographic documentary was broadcast to coincide with the release of two books—one a translation of the fragmentary text along with a commentary, the other an account of the discovery of the papyrus codex on which it was written—and serves as a sound complement, though a hint of sensationalism occasionally creeps into the presentation. Deftly employing interview excerpts featuring scholars such as Elaine Pagels (The Gnostic Gospels), together with on location footage and dramatic recreations, The Gospel of Judas traces the travels of the codex (a tortuous trail—involving obscure dealers and remote safety deposit boxes) and its authentication, in terms of both content (by specialists in Coptic) and age (by scientific dating through radiocarbon testing). The treatment of the Gospel's importance is somewhat less satisfactory: while the film identifies it as a fairly typical product of the already well-researched Gnostic school and acknowledges that the existing, badly mutilated copy probably dates only to the third century (though a Gospel of Judas is known to have existed in some form by the late second), it's nonetheless prone to describe its potential significance in rather breathless terms. Still, The Gospel of Judas—boasting DVD extras that include a featurette on the authentication process, extended scholar interviews, an interactive timeline, and a short visual excerpt from the codex—can be recommended as a decent introduction to an intriguing, if minor, ancient Christian text. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)
The Gospel of Judas
(2006) 87 min. DVD: $19.98. National Geographic (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. Closed captioned. ISBN: 0-7922-8045-8. September 18, 2006
The Gospel of Judas
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