This was by far the most controversial film of the year. I just want to know what you guys and gals here thought of it. I was completely enamored by the gruesome realism of it. Nothing was stretched too far but it was obviously manufactured in a catholic point of view.

how did the person of Christ affect you? not his portrayal on screen as catholic or whatever, but the reality of the person of Christ.

I have not seen it yet! I was wondering how it left you when you walked out. I heard so many opinions so far. That it makes you want to love more, that it’s it makes you realize the sacrifice, some say it anti-Semitic. that it was to violent. How did it make you feel? And is it worth seeing?.

I would like to see it myself. I have heard that it doesn't matter what religion you are that you will find meaning in it. After the movies get out, you usually can hear people's comments about a movie but this one I am told you look at the people and they all seem silent and in awe. I admire Mel Gibson for his efforts in promoting a movie like this despite all the controversy. If it is violent, well consider the timeperiod. There is nothing fluffy about nailing someone to a cross and stoning him. To portray it any softer would not be the thing to do.

I haven't seen it, but many of my friends have. They say they saw no conflicts w/ the Bible and were very pleased. They also couldn't see any exclusively catholic points of view, but rather an accurate depiction of what really happened. Mel Gibson did his homework on this one. I can't wait to see it.

On a side note - When you see it for the first time, don't expect to be entertained. This is not going to be a fun movie to watch. Also, don't take your children if you haven't seen it yet. Screen it first - its a VERY bloody movie. Most people I've asked about it said they couldn't watch the whole thing and more than half of them were crying when they left the theatre.

i think its stupid that poeple act like its the bible. this reviewer gave it a bad review and was called a "sinner" "bastard" ect. it was so ignorant

i agree...i dunt think people should take this movie as sacred. however - don't discredit the facts. Jesus was a real person who really died this way. Even the non-Christian religions will, for the most part, agree w/ this.

In all theatrical accounts of Christ, there was always violence. It was violent times. The known world was under the thumb off the Roman Empire. I think that a lot of people felt it was too violent. I agree with Kimcandy it wasn’t all fun and games.

I really want to see it. I think it would help me appreciate what He did for us more than just reading and hearing about it. Seeing it is totally different.

Thank you Prismmagic for the backup!!! When I go to see it with some " friends" I will let you know for sure what I think of it.

I haven't seen it yet either, but let me explain some things from a Christian point of view. As far as it being anti-Semitic, you can throw that idea out the window. In both Christian and Catholic doctrine, Christ's death was because of everyone who sins, which is all of us. The Jews were the tool that killed him, not the cause. They do not carry any more responsibility than any of us. The Jews were like a gun--if someone had to die, and they couldn't use a gun, they would have found something else. Jesus would have died no matter what. He was killed by Jews because he was born a Jew. Also keep in mind that only a few of these Jews actually physically reached out to his physical person with the intention to harm--and all of the ones who did so are long dead. In other words, in order to be anti-Semitic, something has to go against all Jews of all time. Mel Gibson and the Christians and Catholics and whoever else are not accusing the Jews. As Gibson said in an interview, "We're all culpable." And also keep in mind that while it is bloody, this is what really happened. Any other depiction I've seen falls short of reality. Reality is not as it is depicted in sunday school. The Roman Empire inflicted this execution on thousands of people under its control. Pontius Pilate (the specific Roman governor who presided over the area where Jesus lived) was reportedly far more ruthless in this practice than others--he executed so many people by cricifixion that he was punished by his superiors. Just because most movies show only a few drops of blood and sunday school teachers teach four-year-olds cute little songs about it doesn't mean that Gibson's interpretation goes too far. It's more accurate to my exhaustively-researched information than any other portrayal. And yes, I know a lot about this, probably more than I'm writing down since I can't remeber everything that applies at the moment. I was brought up in a (supposedly) Christian home and have spent the last fifteen years in private Christian schools, though only the last four years at my high school went very far beyond the cute little sunday school songs stage as far as information goes. My Bible teacher at school gives us hundreds of photocopies every year regarding information researched by both Christians and non-Christians, many of who are some of the world's foremost scholars, both current and from hundreds of years ago, so I hope that I know what I'm talking about. Personally, I don't know if I believe it all or not; I'm eighteen, very opinionated, very deep-thought-oriented, and grew up very unguided (due to familial problems I won't go into because no one wants to hear about them and I'm tired of telling so-called interested schoolmates and teachers about it who listen and then avoid me because I'm more high-maintenance then they like and more disturbed than they think anyone should be). Result: I'm not sure about anything. At least I'm well-informed. (Not that that really does me any good.)

To SamGerdt "They say they saw no conflicts w/ the Bible and were very pleased." There was a lot of Mariolatry in the movie. There was quite a bit of poetic license taken with the movie but surprisingly enough not out of the realm of imagination. I felt that if you didn't have any previous knowledge of the crucifiction that you might become lost in places but other than those points it was a well orcastrated.

Did any one read news week on the subject of the movie and Gibson's interpretation?

why dont you tell us what it said?

Na" you guys are going to have to read it your self’s, it to controversial for me to post. It would offend to many on the site; people have a tendency to not want to look real hard facts if they disagree with their Idea of what biblical history says.

personally, i think mel gibson did an amazing job with this movie. he presented the crucifixion the way it really was, without trying to shelter people from the reality of the situation. also, as a Catholic, it bothers me when people refer to Catholic and Christian as different things, i just want to point out that Catholics are Christians, just as Protestants, Lutherans, etc are.

true that. our beliefs vary in certain areas (catholics and protestants especially), but we are all followers of Jesus Christ.

I just returned from watching the movie. This movie is what YOU personally make of it. Some critics can't see past the extremely graphic nature of this movie. Other critics can't see past--what they feel--is the portrayal of the Jews killing Jesus. But what you make of it is up to you. Since I am a firm believer of what Christ did on the cross, this movie will affect me differently than someone who does not believe. If you care to know what I think personally, this movie really does bring to life many scenes of the Bible. It weaves in beautifully some of Jesus' life as we are watching his death. I loved how Mel Gibson tied in so many scriptures and scenes of everything Jesus says in advance of his death, such as the whole theme of loving your enemies. I believe that it was my sin that nailed Jesus to the cross, so when I watched this, I realized how much God loved me, and it evoked a lot of emotion in me. You are left asking yourself, Why would you send your only son to earth to die such a wretched death for...ME? Jesus was the ultimate blood sacrifice, and the graphic nature of this movie so clearly depicts Jesus as a sacrificial lamb. It's hard to believe that Mel Gibson could make a movie that really portrays Jesus' death in a way that everyone visualizes and identifies with, but I think he did a good job of it. I was happy to see that the end did conclude with his resurrection, even if it was a short scene. Without that scene, the whole movie would have been pointless. Only the Son of God can raise himself from the dead, and in his resurrection we have hope of eternal life.

Don't mean to sound blase, but it seems to me that it was already a certainty that anyone of the christian faith was going to love this film... I would be more interested to see if anyone who isn't watched it and what they thought of it.

i'm a christian and there was a 90% chance that i was gonna hate the movie. several people have tried to depict christs death in tons of movies before, and they never get it right. I even watched a movie put out by a fundamental baptist college once and was apalled by how they depicted the crucifixion. Jesus was tied to the cross w/ a trickle of blood running down his forehead. it was pitiful.

neways...its about time sum1 did it right.

Well, credit where credits due; if theres one thing Mel's good at it's violence...

thats a bit funny...dont attack gibson personally, you are doing the same thing the critics who label the movie (and gibson for making it) as anti-semetic are doing. once there is nothing more to criticize about the movie, you move to the person or persons who made the movie.

Was I attacking him? You don't agree that he does violence well?

I will agree with you, Samatar. Mel Gibson's is known for his violoent films. Personally, I'm a huge fan on The Patriort, Gladiator, and Braveheart. T just think that maybe your worded your last statement in a way that can be misunderstood.

I will agree with you, Samatar. Mel Gibson's is known for his violoent films. Personally, I'm a huge fan on The Patriort, Gladiator, and Braveheart. Those are my favorite movies. Yes, they are violent, but that's not why I like them. Mel Gibson likes to impersonate heroism and now he made a movie that portrays his ultimate hero. I just think that maybe you worded your last statement in a way that can be misunderstood.

I just stated a fact; Mel Gibson makes a lot of very violent films. Whether that is a bad thing is up to the individual. Personally I haven't seen many films with him in them that I liked much. "Conspiracy theory" was one, although I enjoyed it because of the story more than due to his acting; but he was beleivable. I thought "Payback" was an atrocity. As a person, from what I have seen of him in interveiws I don't like him at all. But whether you like him or not, theres no denying that he definitely has a penchant for graphic violence.

He does have a lot of violence in his films but then you have to consider the types of films he makes. They are not fluffy la la subjects. He does not interview very well. I have seen him interviewed on daytime talk shows as well as night time shows and honey, he doesn't get any better the later it is at night. But, as a man, he is a great family man and I respect him for that.

i have yet to see the film.... but i performed in a Performance of 'The Passion' at the Edinburgh Festival with my old Drama Production company... the show we put on was really good.. very much as it was performed in ye'oldee days... when it was street theater designed to educate the illiterate... so our audience was part of the show... they were the crowds the acting took place amongst them... i played John the Babtist.. non-speaking disciple number 4 and Barabus :D we even performed it in a semi converted church/theater... the old church had fallen into disuse after a new extenstion was built... so a theater company converted it.

I saw it. I really don't know what to say about it. I was rather shell-shocked for the rest of the day and a few days after. This was nearly two weeks ago now, and all I know is that I still feel the same way about it as I did when I saw it. You must understand that when I see a movie, whether once or several times, my opinion of it tends to change daily, if not hourly as my subconscious processes whatever subtleties I might not have previously caught. With this movie, I got it in one big choke, and I think that it has changed me permanently. Largely, I think and act as I usually do, but there are exceptions. Just a day or two ago I was making some stupid violent comment, as I am wont to do, being a high schooler in a high school full of people who make light of graphic violence (in theory, not in reality). Anyway, I tend to exaggerate. This was a day that I had to wear a skirt to school (I go to a private school, we have to dress up on chapel days), and I was very annoyed because I loathe and despise skirts. I was in calc class (it was just me, there's only one other person in the class and he was sick) and I kind of said something about how whoever had invented skirts ought to be flogged and his body preserved like however they do Lenin's and hung up as a warning for all to see. My teacher laughed, this is common humor at my school, we usually find it funny; but just as I said the last few words, images from this movie came to my mind. It hit me all at once that violence really isn't all that funny. It really got to me. I rarely am influenced by anything that deeply.

Sometimes when we visually see things, they change our perspective forever.

Exactly. I know that I am changed forever. I have also realized over the last two years or so how much seeing and hearing something on a screen is so much more powerful than reading it or imagining it; and how much seeing something in real life is so much more powerful than seeing and hearing it onscreen or imagining it (reading and imagining seem to be about the same level of realism). It makes me realize how much of my life that I care about has only been in my head. Rather frustrating. My "real" life is so incredibly boring that most of the time in day-to-day life it seems no more real than things I read or watch or imagine. My life is flatly surreal.

The power of visual images is evidenced in how much time people spend watching TVs, movies, playing video games, doing activities on the computer, etc. I just hope that people don't forget how powerful it is experiencing something in person too.

ha. would that i could experience anything in real life. my life is boring.

C'mon...your life is NOT that boring :)

fine. come live it then. the only really fun thing i do anymore is that i'm in a play . . . i love to act (on stage) but this is only the second time i've done it and even though i'm pretty good i don't think it'd go over real well with my mother if i tried to major in it next fall. though i am seriously considering it.

i'd just like to say that, like a lot of movies:

the movie was powerful, but i liked the book more.

blessings-
-jim

I was in theater all four years of high school and for much of my childhood. What play are you in? If you want to major in theater, that is your choice, not your parents. But you may want to ask them why they feel the way they do. Maybe they have a good point.

I think a lot of you won't like this quote from a reveiw of the film I read in the paper yeterday, but I found it amusing: "Jesus Christ suffered for our sins. Now it's your turn..."

i have not seen the movie yet as my husband says we will wait and just buy when it comes out, because we would most liely want to see it more than once anyways, lol, but my mom saw it and she said it was awesome, she has actually seen it more than once and said the first time she was just so emotional over it, thinking about what Jesus actually really suffered for us. then the second time she said it spoke to her in a different way and that everytime you see it God speaks to you.

i can't wait to see it!!!!