Powerful Drama, Controversial Film
It’s no secret that the story told in Passion of the Christ is one that touches the lives or hearts of a massive portion of the human population. It was up to Icon Productions and the cast and crew to turn this epic account from the Bible into a visual representation.
Like any film, how good, or perhaps in this case, how accurate or true this film is, is up to everyone’s own interpretation based on what they know and believe. The subject matter is also a difficult one to try to review. I don’t claim to be a film scholar, historian, nor theologist, but what I can say about the movie The Passion of the Christ is that it’s a captivating, powerful drama.
The story begins just before Jesus is betrayed by Judas and is captured and held accountable for his religious acts and beliefs, which has captured the hearts and minds of his disciples. The high priest and his followers defy Jesus and he’s swiftly brought to being lashed brutally with whips and punished in very inhumane ways. All of this is graphically captured and presented for the viewer to ingest, and it’s difficult to watch, regardless of the story behind the violence. Soon after this initially beating, his crucifixion is demanded by the people of Jerusalem, and the long march to his gruesome death begins.
Gibson uses flashbacks to the Last Supper and other moments in Jesus’ life to help balance the violence that was done against Jesus, but the film is no less powerful and difficult to watch. The pacing and script of the film are great, as is the performance of actor James Caviezel, who plays Jesus. At times I wondered if the film maybe focused too much on the violence and brutality, but other than that thought I was pulled into the film for its duration. That said, I don’t think I’ll watch it again, not because of the violence necessarily but because it is such a powerful drama and for those I tend to only watch them once.
Definitive Edition Blu-ray
This two disc Definitive Edition (one disc is Blu-ray, the other is DVD) brings with it two versions of the film as well as a host of extra features. Before getting into those, I did want to mention that Fox has done a superb job with the presentation quality of the film. Some darker scenes, especially those that are lit with fire, like torches, have some grain, but the vast majority of the film looks great. The high quality visuals don’t make the brutality any easier to watch, but just from a technical standpoint, it’s a very sharp looking Blu-ray release. I had no problems with the DTS-HD audio either, it too was great.
There are actually very few, if any new extra features on this Definitive Edition Blu-ray release that weren’t already on the Definitive Edition DVD release from a few years ago. Let’s take a closer look:
-Recut Version of the Film – You can access a recut version of the film that focuses on the events before and after the brutal beatings Jesus endures. Good for making the film more accessible. (In HD).
-Footnotes – You can enable footnotes to appear while watching the film about the story and the film.
-Making of – An hour and forty minute documentary about the making of the film, including a lot of production stills and interviews with the people involved, including Gibson. Some of this is padded with footage from the film.
-The Legacy – A five part feature totaling sixty minutes, these features include short pieces on Jerusalem, the languages in the film, and crucifixion.
-Galleries – Dozens of production photos, promotional material, actor bios, historical texts, and other miscellaneous clips and pictures.
Let’s get to the summary.