BaliBabyDoc
Lifer
CNN
Any Latin or Aramaic speakers here . . . you may be the only ones capable of understanding William Wallace's version of history . . . legend . . . folklore. I'm not implying Jesus of Nazareth wasn't crucified but most of this film is fiction not fact. How do I know? Well I studied early Christianity (religion minor) . . . no one knows the details. And if as Mel says, "it's based on the Four Gospels", the next question is which version b/c the four Gospels depict appreciably different accounts of this event.
(excerpts)
NEW YORK (AP) -- Those who have seen Mel Gibson's film about the final hours of Jesus Christ have called it beautiful, magical, a great and important work.
Those who fear "The Passion" could fuel anti-Semitism, however, until now hadn't been allowed to see the film. Seven months before its release, this extraordinary vanity project is stirring passions over Gibson's exclusionary screenings and the potential for a negative depiction of Jews.
Ted Haggard, president of the National Evangelical Association, saw a screening in late June with about 30 evangelical scholars. The scholars are very strict about adherence to scripture, so Gibson "had no assurances that we would be friendly toward that movie."
But Haggard loved it. "I thought it was the most authentic portrayal I've ever seen."
Cal Thomas, a conservative syndicated columnist, called the film "the most beautiful, accurate, disturbing, realistic and bloody depiction of this well-known story that has ever been filmed."
Internet personality Matt Drudge told MSNBC: "It depicts a clash between Jesus and those who crucified him and speaking as a Jew, I thought it was a magical film that showed the perils of life on earth."
But what is Gibson's version of the story? His traditionalist religion rejects the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, which in 1965 rejected the notion that Jews were collectively responsible for killing Jesus. The actor is building a traditionalist church in Malibu, California, for about 70 members, and intends to hold Sunday services there in Latin.
His father, Hutton Gibson, was quoted in a New York Times Magazine article in March as denying the Holocaust occurred.
Masters said industry people who have seen the film respect its quality, but said it is disturbingly graphic.
"It's not a family film, from what I understand," she said. "It's a really difficult film."
Any Latin or Aramaic speakers here . . . you may be the only ones capable of understanding William Wallace's version of history . . . legend . . . folklore. I'm not implying Jesus of Nazareth wasn't crucified but most of this film is fiction not fact. How do I know? Well I studied early Christianity (religion minor) . . . no one knows the details. And if as Mel says, "it's based on the Four Gospels", the next question is which version b/c the four Gospels depict appreciably different accounts of this event.
(excerpts)
NEW YORK (AP) -- Those who have seen Mel Gibson's film about the final hours of Jesus Christ have called it beautiful, magical, a great and important work.
Those who fear "The Passion" could fuel anti-Semitism, however, until now hadn't been allowed to see the film. Seven months before its release, this extraordinary vanity project is stirring passions over Gibson's exclusionary screenings and the potential for a negative depiction of Jews.
Ted Haggard, president of the National Evangelical Association, saw a screening in late June with about 30 evangelical scholars. The scholars are very strict about adherence to scripture, so Gibson "had no assurances that we would be friendly toward that movie."
But Haggard loved it. "I thought it was the most authentic portrayal I've ever seen."
Cal Thomas, a conservative syndicated columnist, called the film "the most beautiful, accurate, disturbing, realistic and bloody depiction of this well-known story that has ever been filmed."
Internet personality Matt Drudge told MSNBC: "It depicts a clash between Jesus and those who crucified him and speaking as a Jew, I thought it was a magical film that showed the perils of life on earth."
But what is Gibson's version of the story? His traditionalist religion rejects the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, which in 1965 rejected the notion that Jews were collectively responsible for killing Jesus. The actor is building a traditionalist church in Malibu, California, for about 70 members, and intends to hold Sunday services there in Latin.
His father, Hutton Gibson, was quoted in a New York Times Magazine article in March as denying the Holocaust occurred.
Masters said industry people who have seen the film respect its quality, but said it is disturbingly graphic.
"It's not a family film, from what I understand," she said. "It's a really difficult film."
