The Passion Of The Christ [DVD]

I bought this for my brother as a present.

This film has genuinely touched me. I am not what would be considered a Christian but I do have immense respect for Christ's teachings although in my opinion they have been twisted and convoluted over time. Essentially, what he preached was so simple. Anyway, getting back to Gibson's brilliant piece of work; one word comes to mind - harrowing. Caveziel's performance is heartfelt and genius. One of the best pieces of acting I have witnessed, truly. The flogging scene is extremely hard to watch without shedding tears, which I do every time I watch it. Some will say it is excessive but I suspect this was actually how torture was carried out at the time. Yes, the film is hard going and to some extent quite depressing to watch but inevitably tugs at the heartstrings and makes one contemplate the true meaning of life and Christ's message. The fact that it is subtitled and in Aramaic only adds to the genuine feel of the film; it certainly does not detract. It is widely known that there has been a degree of anti-semitic criticism surrounding the portayal of the jews' role in Christ's circumastances and fate. However, the depiction of the Romans' treatment of Christ is equally if not more in depth so I think there is a balance there. All in all, a work of brilliance by Gibson - highly recommended.

WARNING: You will not have failed to notice that there are many different ‘versions’ of this DVD. The first one I got was produced in such a way that the subtitles could only be displayed along with a stream of information regarding the background sound. Consequently, the excellent film was ruined by “loud wind”, “screeching bird”, “noisy crowd” etc., etc., etc. being flagged up at the bottom of the screen. I presumed, wrongly, that there would be an option to have ‘standard’ subtitles. In fact my choice was limited to “English Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired” or “no subtitles”. Using Aramaic and Latin was, in my opinion, an inspired decision by (I presume) Mel Gibson, and helps to make this such a very special film. However, it does mean that subtitles are a necessity for those wishing to understand what is being said. Hoping to find a ‘normal’ DVD, I decided to order 2 more versions from Amazon. Low and behold, success! The one to avoid with ‘hearing impaired subtitles’ is: 2 Disc Director’s Edition – grey framing small picture of Christ carrying cross Barcode: 5 039036 030816 Back of box note: English for the hearing impaired The two with ‘standard subtitles’ (as well as ‘hearing impaired subtitles’) are: 2 Disc Definitive Edition – bluey grey picture of Christ’s head Barcode: 5 051429 100487 Amazon code X00044Z9EH Back of box note: Feature Subtitles: English / English HOH 1 Disc – brown picture of Christ’s head Barcode: 5 050070 022438 Amazon code X0005P9PLN Back of box note: Subtitles in English plus Hard of Hearing Subtitles Hope this helps others avoid the frustration and unnecessary expense that I incurred!

Brilliant performances of the greatest story of tragedy and redemption of mankind. I challenge you to be able to not weep at the scourging of Our Lord Jesus.

Good film

I held back from watching this video because I didn't know if I could cope with the intensity of the cruelty committed upon The Saviour I love. At last I decided to see what it was like. So far I have watched up to the crucifixion. The flogging of Jesus was hard to watch, so intense. I had to stop watching immediately afterwards. Left me totally amazed that being God , Jesus, who could have called an end to it all at any moment,. Didn't, didn't get angry and vengeful but even said on the cross, despite His treatment we read in the New testament and other historical records, chose to say Father forgive them for they know not what they do . Ime kind of speechless. Who else would do that for people that treated you that way. My appreciation of what The Father son and Holy spirit did for not just me but everyone is, taking all our sin upon Himself, is truly mind blowing. Thank you Lord . I will be watching the rest of the DVD soon. So far as to the affect on me it has to be 5 stars.

Mel Gibson's ‘The Passion of the Christ’ is a brutal and gut wrenching experience. The film is expertly directed and didn’t hold back in depicting the torturous horrors of Christ's crucifixion. I suppose if a film intends to depict such an event then it must be done as realistically as possible, regardless of how distressing some viewers may find it. I don't imagine myself ever watching this film again, but it's worth a look if you are prepared to experience a bold statement in film-making.

Only thing slightly off putting is having to read subtitles which can distract you from the film a bit but not majorly so