Mel Gibson's Religious Epic: "The Passion"

Posted by Dan on Jul 14, 2003 @ 10:07 AM

Ain't It Cool News posted a copy of the trailer for The Passion—which is the new film written and directed by Mel Gibson (well, Mel did the screenplay anyway.) This film is geared at detailing the final hours of Jesus as well as his crucifixion. It'll be interesting to see how this film holds up for a number of reasons.

First, the film was shot using only Latin dialect—this I'm sure will affect mass appeal. Second, hard core religious movies tend not to do well w/the general moving going public. I know Mel is a devote Catholic, so it'll be interesting to see how the Catholic Church responds to this movie.

This movie has sparked my interest since I first saw details appear on AICN and from what I've seen of the trailer, the movie appeals to me even more. All religious/spirtual beliefs put aside, this movie looks like it's going to be a well told story. I always enjoy a well told story.

Categories: Movies/Books/TV

2 Comments

  • Leon Zitzer's Gravatar
    Leon Zitzer
    And how faithful will Gibson be to the Gospels and to history? He will present the same story everyone presents: Jewish leaders pressuring a reluctant Pilate to kill Jesus. The problem is that you have to erase a lot of evidence in the Gospels that says it did not happen this way.

    E.g., the Greek Gospels do not say that Judas betrayed Jesus, as most scholars now admit. It is a mistranslation of a neutral word. Check out William Klassen's 1996 book "Judas: Friend or Betrayer of Jesus?". More info in the Gospels also supports Judas not being a traitor. Hence, Jewish leaders did not collaborate with a traitor, since Judas was not one.

    Also, it is highly unlikely that Jewish leaders put Jesus on trial. The questioning took place in a high priest's house, not the official chambers (all the Gospels agree on this). This points to an informal meeting. So does John 18:19-24 which describes a low-key affair and John has Jesus questioned by Annas, a retired high priest, which indicates an unofficial, less serious matter. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more. I save the full case for my unpublished book, but I discuss some more clues on my Web site and blogspot (each is linked to the other). The site is:

    http://www.historicaljesusghost.com
  • Dan G. Switzer, II's Gravatar
    Dan G. Switzer, II
    It'll be interesting to see just how much of a stir this movie will cause. There's been a lot more released about the movie than there was when I first posted this entry.

    One problem we have with written History is it's still all just an interpretation. Languages constantly change and local dialects have always existed. This problem is compounded with religious texts because of the issues that arise when text is taken out of context or misinterpreted.

    Anyway, good luck with your book.

    -Dan

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