The Passion of the Christ (Widescreen Edition)
by Mel Gibson
List Price:
Our Price: $4.24
You Save: $10.74 (72%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.48 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Christo Jivkov, Francesco De Vito, Jim Caviezel, Maia Morgenstern, Monica BellucciDirector: Mel Gibson
Brand: FOX Home Entertainment
Cinematographer: Caleb Deschanel
Producer: Mel Gibson
Writer: Mel Gibson
Producer: Bruce Davey
Producer: Enzo Sisti
Producer: Stephen McEveety
Writer: Benedict Fitzgerald
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Hebrew (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 127 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-08-31
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Product features:
- New
Movie Reviews of The Passion of the Christ (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: "The Passion of the Christ" Not A Movie, An Experience
Summary: 5 Stars
On February 25, 2004 at 5:30 PM, I wasn't exactly sure how to feel because I was sitting in front of a screen that was ready to project what's been called one of the most controversial and brutal films ever made. I was ready to settle in for some trailers, but there were none. The film started precisely on schedule, and I was already taken aback by the sudden commencement of the film. I wasn't sure how to prepare myself. I knew that I was going to witness disturbing frames of film, but the result was more than I can say. Simply put it, "The Passion of the Christ" is an experience that cannot be described in words, but only in the art form that Mel Gibson has created to express a feeling like no other. In this review, I will rave about the film being the best ever. Why? Because it is.
"The Passion," as most call it in short, is not only Mel Gibson's finest work (he had previously directed "Bravehart" and "The Man Without a Face," two fabulous films) but it is the most triumphant motion picture ever to hit the big screen. What we see here is a film with a direct focus that has the ability to create an emotion that is completely indescribable. The focus is on the title, which Gibson uses as the centerpiece of what his film is truly about, and that is the willpower of Jesus Christ, the love and the passion that resided in his body to carry on through the worst possible human torture that anyone has ever endured in history. The only way to really feel that and to express that theme is to show the graphic violence that was depicted by several amazing special effects artists whom worked on this film. On film, it was no longer make-up or special effects; it was real, completely real. Exaggerated? Yes, of course, that's how a theme is drawn out. Although it was the most violent picture I have ever seen in my life, it was made that way to complete this theme of passion. The actual passion is what Jesus had to endure, and had the film been shown any other way that passion could never be conveyed.
Every frame of Gibson's work is a concentrated art and has pure perfectionism written all over it. Much of the great visual aspects of the film can be credited to cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, an artist whose work has been nominated several times for Oscars on films such as "The Natural" and "The Patriot." To further Mel's perfectionism, he relied on production designer Francisco Frigeri and costume designer Maurizio Millenotti to create the very accurate period look to the film. The frighteningly realistic makeup and special-effects were done by Greg Cannom and Renato Agostini, two artists who have now excelled to the most supreme level of movie magic. I also appreciated John Debney's score that was fluent throughout the entire film. As a matter of fact, I can't think of any moments in the film that did not have music playing. It was a really great way to enhance a story that was foreign to our ears and depended on subtitles to convey the literal text of the film. Debney really found his own way of telling a story through music, keeping the audience entrenched in the world Mel Gibson has set us in.
And finally, the acting was brutally realistic. Jim Caviezel had the incredibly difficult task of bringing the most beloved figure in history to the screen, Jesus Christ. His performance is worthy of more than an Oscar, but it should be considered one of the top five best performances in the history of film. Rosalinda Celentano had the task of bringing histories most despised figure to screen, Satan. She was not just some creepy figure that made the film scary, but she had a distinct purpose in being the obstacle in Jesus' life. Her constant interference was used to tempt Jesus down a path that would eliminate all passion and glory. I really liked the use of her eyes. It created a distinct look that when she stared at the camera, you felt the intimidation that Jesus was feeling, and the provocation that Jesus felt when she smiled at him. In Gibson's visual style, this would be credited as the motif for the temptation towards Christ. Monica Bellucci played the beautiful Mary Magdalene, a lover of Jesus. She did her job creating emotion alongside another performer whom swept me away, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, Mother of God. What an amazing job she did in creating the passion of a loving mother. Absolutely stunning. Makeup, effects, and costume do a lot to enhance a character, but performance is what makes them real.
As a film reviewer, it's not my job to do what I really don't want to do, and that is touch upon the controversy. Before viewing the film I promised myself I wouldn't, but it now seems necessary because I have a few things that need to be cleared up. Anti-Semitic my ass. This film spills the truth. This is what happened in the Bible, this is what the Christian society believes, and this is how it MUST be told. Any other way would disgrace and insult the passages that we know in the Great Book itself. And let me explain how it all works. Did the Jews kill Christ? Yes. Was Jesus Jewish himself? Yes. Oh, and there was another Jewish man who came along to help Christ carry the Cross. In addition, Jesus' Jewish family and friends were on his side. So really, what can we compare this to? Well, if we would all like to use our precious brains that God gave us for just once without trying to stand on some large mountain and get attention by protesting these issues, just think Civil War. Essentially, that's all this is. It is a community of Jewish people all hurting each other. Some are on the good side, Jesus' side; others are on the bad side, Caiphas' side. So why all of a sudden is it Mel Gibson demising a Jewish community whom are all in a conflict? What if he made a picture about the Civil War? Would he be insulting Americans, saying that Americans killed, well, Americans? Honestly, let's think of the circumstances. No matter what group of people you put in there they will all be considered as being demised by Gibson for killing Christ. The fact that it is Jews in the Bible makes it no more than a Civil War, and if we have to cry out and say that that's anti-Semitic, well then we have more issues than I realized, and I only hope there's enough tissues to go around and collect all the tears from these crybabies who are protesting. And that's all I have to say about that.
Bottom line, it's not just any great film to see, but far beyond. It is a great experience to go through and to feel. Any person that comes out of this movie saying it wasn't a great experience must be a heartless and cold being with no feeling of remorse for anyone. I hope everyone will see this film and understand what one man went through and "the passion" he had to carry on with it further than any human could ever possibly tolerate, regardless of their religious beliefs. You will be moved by this great motion picture epic, I guarantee it.
Grade: A++ (first ever)
-Rock Hogan
Summary of The Passion of the Christ (Widescreen Edition)
The Passion of the Christ focuses on the last twelve hours of Jesus of Nazareth's life. The film begins in the Garden of Olives where Jesus has gone to pray after the Last Supper. Jesus must resist the temptations of Satan. Betrayed by Judas Iscariot, Jesus is then arrested and taken within the city walls of Jerusalem where leaders of the Pharisees confront him with accusations of blasphemy and his trial results in a condemnation to death.After all the controversy and rigorous debate has subsided, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ will remain a force to be reckoned with. In the final analysis, "Gibson's Folly" is an act of personal bravery and commitment on the part of its director, who self-financed this $25-30 million production to preserve his artistic goal of creating the Passion of Christ ("Passion" in this context meaning "suffering") as a quite literal, in-your-face interpretation of the final 12 hours in the life of Jesus, scripted almost directly from the gospels (and spoken in Aramaic and Latin with a relative minimum of subtitles) and presented as a relentless, 126-minute ordeal of torture and crucifixion. For Christians and non-Christians alike, this film does not "entertain," and it's not a film that one can "like" or "dislike" in any conventional sense. (It is also emphatically not a film for children or the weak of heart.) Rather, The Passion is a cinematic experience that serves an almost singular purpose: to show the scourging and death of Jesus Christ in such horrifically graphic detail (with Gibson's own hand pounding the nails in the cross) that even non-believers may feel a twinge of sorrow and culpability in witnessing the final moments of the Son of God, played by Jim Caviezel in a performance that's not so much acting as a willful act of submission, so intense that some will weep not only for Christ, but for Caviezel's unparalleled test of endurance.
Leave it to the intelligentsia to debate the film's alleged anti-Semitic slant; if one judges what is on the screen (so gloriously served by John Debney's score and Caleb Deschanel's cinematography), there is fuel for debate but no obvious malice aforethought; the Jews under Caiaphas are just as guilty as the barbaric Romans who carry out the execution, especially after Gibson excised (from the subtitles, if not the soundtrack) the film's most controversial line of dialogue. If one accepts that Gibson's intentions are sincere, The Passion can be accepted for what it is: a grueling, straightforward (some might say unimaginative) and extremely violent depiction of the Passion, guaranteed to render devout Christians speechless while it intensifies their faith. Non-believers are likely to take a more dispassionate view, and some may resort to ridicule. But one thing remains undebatable: with The Passion of the Christ, Gibson put his money where his mouth is. You can praise or damn him all you want, but you've got to admire his chutzpah. --Jeff Shannon
Similar DVD Movies
King of KingsWarner Brothers; Release date: 2009-06-30; DVD
Best price: $7.22
Price in other shops:
Left Behind - The MovieKoch International; Release date: 2008-04-29; Published: 2000; DVD
Best price: $3.72
Price in other shops:
FireproofSony; Release date: 2009-01-27; DVD
Best price: $6.48
Price in other shops:
Abraham (The Bible Collection)GASSMAN,VITTORIO; Release date: 2005-02-15; DVD
Best price: $12.55
Price in other shops:
The RobeFox; Release date: 2009-03-17; DVD
Best price: $10.45
Price in other shops:
Peter & Paul DVDRelease date: 2002-12-01; DVD
Best price: $14.00
Price in other shops:
Mel Gibson's Apocalypto (Widescreen Edition)Buena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2007-05-22; DVD
Best price: $5.80
Price in other shops:
The Nativity StoryNEW Line Home Video; Release date: 2007-03-20; Published: 2007-03-01; DVD
Best price: $3.24
Price in other shops:
The Gospel of JohnBuena Vista Home Video; Release date: 2005-03-15; DVD
Best price: $5.89
Price in other shops:
Jesus of NazarethLions Gate; Release date: 2002-03-01; DVD
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops: