← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · il ragno
Thread ID: 12409 | Posts: 7 | Started: 2004-02-19
2004-02-19 13:09 | User Profile
We've heard and heard and HEARD from the Jews on this; their associations and foundations are tribulatin' over the Gibson movie nonstop . Now let's see what some [I]people [/I] think about THE PASSION. The early reader-reviews on IMDb (and note that "Ruth" is typically a Jewish name):
[QUOTE][COLOR=Blue][B]brad Los Angeles
Date: 11 February 2004 Summary: As the lights came on it took ten minutes before anyone could talk...[/B][/COLOR]
This is by far the most accurate representation of this story to date. This film was made nearly flawlessly. The story was not only interesting and captivating, but also moving. The images in the film were so powerful that even without dialogue, could have told the story sufficiently. The most amazing part was the reaction of the audience after the lights came on. Everyone began leaving the theater but not a sole uttered a word. It was like nothing I had ever seen. It was absolutely silent. Its quite eery to think a film could have this much affect on a group of diverse people. Highly recommended!
[COLOR=Blue][B]juliethompson17 Auburn, WA
Date: 10 February 2004 Summary: Totally Awesome!!![/B][/COLOR]
I saw a screening of this at my university in California. This was positively the most powerful movie that I have ever seen in my entire life. There were 3500 people in that auditorium, and it was complete silence as we all walked out.
I think that every one should see this movie that is over 15 or so. It has a lot of gore, but not so much that it ruins the movie.
Make sure that you bring your reading glasses though, as the entire movie is in 1st century Aramaic with English subtitles. I hope you enjoy the movie as much as I did!!
[COLOR=Blue][B]champ914 California
Date: 9 February 2004 Summary: Great movie[/B][/COLOR]
I watched a private screening of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and would recommend that everyone should see this movie. Set aside the fact that it portrays perhaps the most endearing love story in history, this film is an incredible piece of art. this is not a film that you forget about. The audience of about 4,000 watched this screening and when the film ended all 4,000 people exited the building without saying a word. no one asked us to be quiet, we were just dismissed. Something about watching this film takes your words away. You just have to be silent. Great Movie
[COLOR=Blue][B]Ruth (rustone1@aol.com) Boston, Massachusettts
Date: 6 February 2004 Summary: Sadistic and Brutal[/B][/COLOR]
True to form, Mel Gibson loves sadism, brutality and violence. This is Braveheart minus the lengthy disembowelment of Wallace. This movie is not uplifting but sickening. Much of the four Gospels are contradictory and based on non-witnesses to the life of Christ (Neither Mark, Matthew, Luke or John were apostles of Jesus or witnesses to the crucifixion), Gibson has picked and chosen only the most sadistic version of John which was written 100 years after the death of Jesus. I have trouble believing what the New York Times wrote two days ago let alone 2,000 years ago. The Gospels were edited. reedited hundreds of times by hundreds of Churchmen who designed it to absolved the Romans and blame the Jews for the death of a Jew who all Christianity now worships.
How Gibson determined that the graphic, sadistic beating and torturing of Jesus was supposed to evoke love for all mankind is beyond comprehension. The portrayal of the Passion is not new. Christian countries, especially in Eastern Europe used it before Easter to initiate pogroms against the Jews. The love Jesus was supposed to convey to mankind was twisted by the Church and culminated in the Holocaust, a Christian sponsored event induced by such propaganda as Gibson's Passion. One need not have any doubts of Gibson's motivation as he and his father belong to the radical Catholic Church which refuses to agree with the Pope's absolvement of Jews killing of Christ.Gibson's frenzied recent television interview blamed scapegoats. "They" are driving me out of Hollywood" said Gibson. He constantly used the word "they" in the negative sense, meaning "Jews". The softball clergy interviewer never asked him about his affiliation with his Church which opposes reconciliation with Jews, nor his father's recent anti Semitic outbursts. One might have asked him why no prominent Jews were allowed to review his movie, but that too would be asking too much.
[COLOR=Blue][B]jimbo39nj USA
Date: 5 February 2004 Summary: THE MOST ACCURATE VERSION OF THE PASSION OF CHRIST[/B][/COLOR]
Since my review had another chance to get to see in pictorial format. One don't have to have "The Faith" only echoing some seen screening are correct so far, awestruck with accuracy the truth of a man how he sacrificed to point of SUCH AGONY NONE of US would go to such lengths for the love of mankind.
BTW, though I don't know James Caviezel's work, I thought did a find job depicting CHRIST IMHO. BTW, those more interested in where Mel Gibson got his inspiration for this movie is from a $18.00 book from TAN publishers called, "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ," based on visions from Anne Catherine Emmerich a Roman Catholic visionary. I feel to give some perspective of the background. Also, this is not bashing out Jewish brethren. It's that at THAT TIME they were the spiritual and political authority of the the time, with ROMANS influence as well. Hope this helps us all in these unsettled life threatening times, learning to love one no matter WHAT THE COST! I give it a 12/10 If it were possible!
[COLOR=Blue][B]Michael King (michaelking@kingnet.org) Tampa, Florida
Date: 4 February 2004 Summary: Most powerful, meaningful movie I have ever seen.[/B][/COLOR]
This movie absolutely blew me away. It was more than a movie; it was an experience. When it was over I quietly got up from my seat, walked to my car and drove home. I couldn't speak to anyone, I turned the radio off in my car. I just went home and went to bed. I was rendered speechless. The visions of what I saw have not left me since then. That is a good thing because it is a constant reminder of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for me. There was absolutely no anti-semitism shown in this film. It failthfully sticks to the Gospel and the message to me was that we are ALL responsible for His death. But we are ALL blessed by his resurrection. Praise God!!! SEE THIS MOVIE AS SOON AND AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN. THEN BUY IT WHEN IT COMES TO VIDEO.
[COLOR=Blue][B]timstumbo South Carolina, USA
Date: 2 February 2004 Summary: "I'm Sorry I Forgot"[/B][/COLOR]
A Review of "The Passion of The Christ" by Chris Crain ---
I'm writing this a few days after attending a screening of the new Mel Gibson film The Passion of the Christ. It has taken a little while to `recover' from watching the film so I could write the review. This film is like no other I've ever seen and I doubt there is another anywhere that compares.
By now it's been pretty well documented that Gibson, who directed and produced the film, has been very `passionate' about this project. He was on hand for the screening I attended and admitted he spent $25-$30 million of his own money on the picture. It has been his labor of love since he first thought of doing the film 12 years ago.
You probably also know he was turned down by every major studio before New Market Films came on board. At the screening I attended, he looked like a man who has been working a lot of late hours and flown a lot of miles trying to make this movie happen. So I'll leave those topics alone and just talk about the film. Am I endorsing it? Yes. Is it a film that everyone should see? No.
First of all, the film is rated R', and rightly so. It contains no profanity or sexual material. This movie got it's rating for one reason: incredibly brutal content. After the first 45 minutes or so (which are not a walk in the park), the film launches into some of the most violent scenes I've ever seen on film. There are several reasons the violence is so shocking. First of all, this is notFriday the 13th' with anonymous victims dying in ways that seem designed to make an audience roll their eyes. The violence in The Passion of The Christ is focused on one person, who takes a beating so severe it seems nearly impossible to believe it actually happened.
Second, the violence is unflinching. James Dobson of Focus On The Family calls it `gut-wrenching'. The camera does not soften the brutality with various angles and cutaways, but instead stays focused on the scenes until it's nearly unbearable.
Last, the violence is hard to watch because it happened to a real person. This movie is based on a true story. As you watch terrible atrocities happening on screen, you can't help thinking `he really went through that'.
Gibson said that after an earlier screening, someone told him `I'm sorry I forgot'. I think that's what Gibson is trying to do with this movie: remind. Jesus Christ paid a price that day, and the cost was very high. Of course, the good news is, the story doesn't end there (and neither does the movie).
Is the movie biblically accurate? Yes. Gibson does take poetic license at times (for example, Satan appears in the crowd at times), but nothing is anti-scripture. The movie is also based on all four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and combines elements from all of them into one story. It's a difficult task and Gibson does a fine job pulling it off.
Jim Caviezel (Frequency) plays Jesus and does a fine job as well. With make-up and even digital effects on his eye-color to make him look more `authentic', he's hard to recognize. The film's dialogue is in Latin, Aramaic, and Hebrew with English subtitles. This also gives the film an authenticity rarely seen in previous films about Christ.
The film opens in over 2,000 theatres on February 25th. I wonder how people are going to react to this film. Shock? No question. Disgust? Maybe. Wanting to know more? I hope so. I have a feeling a lot of people are going to want to immediately read the gospels, and that's a good thing! Mel Gibson-thanks for the reminder.
[COLOR=Blue][B]Josh San Antonio, Texas
Date: 2 February 2004 Summary: The movie, not the whining[/B][/COLOR]
I saw a screening of this too. Fantastic movie. Regardless of your beliefs, try to keep an open mind on this. The acting was good and Mel Gibsons vision, although controversial, depicted such a brutal and graphic show of suffering of Christ. B+
[COLOR=Blue][B]jimbo39nj USA
Date: 22 January 2004 Summary: BEST MOVIE VERSION OF PASSION OF CHRIST[/B][/COLOR]
It's true to catholic dogma, besides trying to re-create most accurate version, it's no wondering evil forces at work, when bizarre events happening in the "Gibson" Family, is sure indication that one is making the evil side whatever form, ANGRY. This is not for the faint of heart, the cast did fine job. KUDOS to Mel Gibson for feeling the conviction to carry the film making to completion. On a personal note I suffer chronic extreme pain daily, this is a consolation to me, as a person of faith, to not complain compared to the AGONY of CHRIST for all mankind. Wish Hollywood would have supported Mel's movie. 10/10 BTW, there's two faces of the RC Church the political and REAL spiritual side. Sadly, some those that been given revelation of the "Truth" of the faith don't share the beauty of the faith. All persecuted JC even though at time was the religious Jewish leaders thus convinced the people, that ran things both political and spiritual. (just a side note)
[COLOR=Blue][B]shaws4god Wisconsin
Date: 21 January 2004 Summary: Awesome! Stunning! Best Film I Have Ever Seen![/B][/COLOR]
I had a chance to witness a special preview of the Passion of Christ in Chicago, and it was easily the best film I have ever seen. Regardless of what you think about Jesus, please do not miss this film. It was brilliant.
I did not move in my seat during the whole movie. It literally stops you in your tracks, plants you in your seat, and draws you into another world.
Mel Gibson out did himself here! Oscar! Oscar is calling!
[COLOR=Blue][B]world_pilgrim (world_pilgrim@yahoo.ca) Vancouver, BC, Canada
Date: 21 January 2004 Summary: the word[/B][/COLOR]
This is not an easy movie to talk about. Even now, almost a week after the preview of Mel Gibson's latest and most controversial directorial effort, I find it very difficult to put into words that singular experience. And perhaps, silence, for a time, is an appropriate response. After the vast amount of speculation and debate generated by this film, surely some quiet contemplation cannot hurt.
A quick glance through the various message boards below will suffice to show that much of what has been said is beside the point. The Passion of the Christ is a work of art. As with any piece of art, good or bad, it deserves to be experienced first, before being judged. This film is the fruit of one man's labour to bring to life what is arguably the most enduring story of all time. It is the stigma of our age that we do not handle 'religious-talk' well, but who says you need to be a believer to appreciate a good story? You just settle down and listen with an open mind and a willing heart. and allow for the possibility of a miracle.
For this movie specifically, 'listening' does involve your faculties more than your auditory receptors. Not a single word is spoken in a language we can understand. This is a good thing. It enables us to hear the story quite literally for the first time. The use of both Aramaic and vernacular Latin by the actors demonstrate an underlying rift between the Jews and the Romans that is crucial to the way in which events ultimately play out. The first words spoken in The Passion are by Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. Whether it was emotion talking or not, the phonological nuances of Aramaic to these virgin ears conveyed something, for lack of a better word, guttural' (as infrom the gut')-- arising against resolve from the depth of one's being. Pontius Pilate's measured Latin, though met with contention and discord, nevertheless ground the proceedings in his courtyard with a sober tone of uncertainty as the Son of Man's fate hangs in the balance.
Under any other circumstances, these alien tongues might have registered as merely noise. But, a familiar gaze, haunting and supplicating by turns, draws us in. For all the loud accusations and all the pitiless taunts, it is in the eyes of the actors that the profoundest moments find their mark. In them, you see the whole gamut of human emotions run their course, from agony to malice to guilt to resignation to mercy and forgiveness. You learn to look to Mary (Maia Morgenstern), his mother, because that is where the camera inevitably turns. Everything gravitates towards the stillness in her eyes. And we follow as she looks to her son, Jesus.
Jim Caviezel has not a face that is easy to forget. When I met him this past summer, his eyes were a shocking shade of blue against dark hair and bronzed skin. But I could not see him in his role as the Christ at all. Underneath all the blood, I recognized only the noble form of a man. Various critics have already pointed out the graphic nature of this reenactment of Jesus' final hours. Nothing will prepare you for the scourging scene. As much as we have been desensitized to violence, something in us inevitably cries out against brutality. Reinforced by flashbacks to various stages of his life and ministry, Christ's humanity forces us to come to grips with what we bear witness to. When he is shackled and whipped to a bloody mess, you will not be able to shut your eyes. You will watch through the tears you cannot explain away, though you do not know this man.
But there is no blame in this movie. You would have to be prejudiced and intent on finding fault with Mel Gibson's work before you even begin in order to find any trace of anti-Semitism in The Passion. Where there is good, there is also evil. And where there is despair, there is also hope. How you experience this movie is a personal choice.
Blood, sweat, and tears-- it's all there, mingled into a lyrical work of passionate intensity. The Passion deserves to be seen on its own cinematic merits. Without any pretensions to the heroic, this is by far the bravest movie I have seen in a long, long time.
At the time of viewing, the footage was not yet in its final edited cut, but it was enough.
[COLOR=Blue][B]Jarofclay74 Montreal, Canada
Date: 13 January 2004 Summary: Brutal, powerful and moving.[/B][/COLOR]
I attended today a special pre-screening of "The Passion of the Christ" in Montreal, organized by ALPHA Canada, the Evangelical Pentecostal Church and Equinox Films, the Canadian distributor of the film (over 600 leaders and representatives from all Christian denominations attended the event). The copy we saw was not the final cut of the movie, but was 95% percent finished... but even so, it was quite a powerful and awe-inspiring experience! The film is as brutal as it is extraordinary. As a Catholic, I could not help but be inspired/horrified by the images of Christ's suffering, and I was moved to tears countless times. It is artistically impressive and the acting is perfect. It is like you are there. Indeed, as someone said : "It is as it was" !
"We esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53: 4b-5, RSV).
(As for the controversy, I didn't find the film Anti-Semitic--- unless you consider the Gospels anti-semitic!--- ; on the contrary, there are so many good, compassionate Jews surrounding Christ with their love and support! You feel their pain and you suffer with them. If anything, it's the Italians who should be worried... the Romans are quite blood-thirsty!) AVE CRUX, SPES UNICA!
PG : Graphically brutal depiction of Christ's passion and death.
[COLOR=Blue][B]cbeamer-1
Date: 14 January 2004 Summary: The Most Beautiful, Moving Film Ever Made![/B][/COLOR]
If it is possible for a film to be perfectly made, this is it. If it is possible for a movie to change anyone's life this movie is it. The amount of love, compassion and beauty put into this incredible piece of work is beyond anything I can truly verbalize. Whether or not you believe in Christianity is almost unimportant, the life of this man (who did live according to historical facts) and the level of forgiveness, compassion and submission he gave up in the last hours of his life can make the viewer a better person just watching it. I have never been so moved and so full of hope as I have been watching this movie. When I left the theater, I knew I had seen something miraculous, this is the story of a man (or Savior depending on your faith)who was brutualized, forsaken, and misunderstood, who had nothing but forgiveness and compassion for the world who abused him.
We should live such lives now. Truly a remarkable, breathtaking piece of cinema. [/QUOTE]
2004-02-19 13:29 | User Profile
[QUOTE]Gibson's frenzied recent television interview blamed scapegoats. "They" are driving me out of Hollywood" said Gibson. He constantly used the word "they" in the negative sense, meaning "Jews". [/QUOTE] Thanks for spelling it out for everybody, Ruth!
2004-02-19 14:14 | User Profile
Yes, this is a very kosher statement.
The softball clergy interviewer never asked him about his affiliation with his Church which opposes reconciliation with Jews, nor his father's recent anti Semitic outbursts.
What does this have to do with Mel? This is just one more of a never ending parade of examples showing how Jews hold people acountable for the actions or statements of others.
One might have asked him why no prominent Jews were allowed to review his movie, but that too would be asking too much.
Someone needs to tell Ruthie babe that Abe Foxman already has. That is about as prominent as you can get.
2004-02-19 22:33 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Sertorius]Yes, this is a very kosher statement.
What does this have to do with Mel? This is just one more of a never ending parade of examples showing how Jews hold people acountable for the actions or statements of others.
Someone needs to tell Ruthie babe that Abe Foxman already has. That is about as prominent as you can get.[/QUOTE]
I don't get it, Mels movie is not even about Jews, at least that's my understanding......... after all the Jews don't call Jesus their God or anything like it. Hollywood pays millions to make movies about the Nazis or about Mexican bandidos or the Italian Mafia, but let one man put out 25 millions out of his own pocket to make a religious movie and is the end of the world for the Jews,,,,, they must be having a bad hair day, as a matter of fact a bad hair life,,,,,, Go Mel go, my your movie convert many people to the path of the lord..... amen PS: I have no religion but if the Jews don't like it then it must be good.
2004-02-19 22:59 | User Profile
[QUOTE=il ragno]We've heard and heard and HEARD from the Jews on this; their associations and foundations are tribulatin' over the Gibson movie nonstop . Now let's see what some [I]people [/I] think about THE PASSION. The early reader-reviews on IMDb (and note that "Ruth" is typically a Jewish name):[/QUOTE]
I spent a few hours on the Jewish boards to see what they were saying about the Passion and Ruth's comments are pretty typical. Plenty of Rabbi propaganda to help them out as well. "The lowly carpenter and his simpleton fisherman friends." "Every occupant of Nazareth was killed and therefore it was impossible for the New Testament to be truth". "It was all just made up later because they wanted our land." blah, blah, blah... Can't say I was surpised.
2004-02-19 23:19 | User Profile
G.G.,
Greetings and welcome to the board. Do us a favor. When you run across comments like that on these other boards, link to them please. It will help open a few eyes, I believe.
2004-02-20 00:47 | User Profile
....I share her revulsion at the spectacle, intending never to see a single scene or image unless injected into ordinary news/commentary monitoring routine (such as OD board).
I accuse Mel Gibson of promoting Jewish causes by justifying hatred of christianity by film. "Thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven images." It is pure idolatry, barely sublimated carnal lust-to-kill, to which the story of Christ must not be reduced. Townhall columnist Brent Bozell proclaimed it Good For Hollywood! -- to get a load of God-wad a la Gibson's thigh (he's eternal Patriot. in his Upstate NY American head) (originally, as scene of childhood fantasy growing up down under). Helps keep 'em outta porno dens, f'r chissake. That's what he said. Crucifixion is jucier than sex, for a while, because you can get more of your head into it, so to speak.
I'll just Reload the Matrix. The pandemonium scene in that at least made sense as real passion. The Jews have driven Gibson to the Holy Mad Cow, Batman! disease (HBSE - Humanoid Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis: Spongebrain conservatism)