purbeast0
No Lifer
- Sep 13, 2001
- 53,717
- 6,590
- 126
Q]Originally posted by: NFS4
WOW is all I can say. Theatre was DEAD silent afterwards.
Good job Mel!![/quote]
I have to agree ... it was very eerie walking out of the theatre. I could hardly speak to my GF because I was still choked up. Usually after a great movie you hear people talkin about it on the way out, but this one you didnt. You heard dead silence, and the movie was magnificant.
I am a christian. I used to practive it more than I do now. I grew up in catholic school all the way until out of highschool. Now I mainly go to church on easter and christmas. And after seeing this movie, I think that is going to change.
Congrats mel gibson on a job well done. The movie was so moving, intense, and very brutal. I was choked up about 15 mins into the movie until the very end. I liked how they didn't have an intro to the movie, stating the title of the movie. It felt alot more like a story or a learning lesson than a movie. Again, I am just amazed at this movie...
WOW is all I can say. Theatre was DEAD silent afterwards.
Good job Mel!![/quote]
I have to agree ... it was very eerie walking out of the theatre. I could hardly speak to my GF because I was still choked up. Usually after a great movie you hear people talkin about it on the way out, but this one you didnt. You heard dead silence, and the movie was magnificant.
I am a christian. I used to practive it more than I do now. I grew up in catholic school all the way until out of highschool. Now I mainly go to church on easter and christmas. And after seeing this movie, I think that is going to change.
Congrats mel gibson on a job well done. The movie was so moving, intense, and very brutal. I was choked up about 15 mins into the movie until the very end. I liked how they didn't have an intro to the movie, stating the title of the movie. It felt alot more like a story or a learning lesson than a movie. Again, I am just amazed at this movie...
Linux23
Lifer
- Apr 9, 2000
- 11,374
- 741
- 126
Yeah, Mel gets my two thumbs up on this one. It was beautifully directed, beautifully acted, and lighting in that movie was pure art work.
I was expecting the dialogue to be in english, but the aramaic (sp?) actually made the movie that much better.
and yeah, my eyes swelled up in some scenes.
people think you have to be religious to see a movie like this, but what I took from the movie was that people have so much hatred, that they would rather kill an innocent man, as opposed to a killer. I honestly think the world has gotten a lot better in modern times.
this will definately be added to my DVD collection when it comes out.
I was expecting the dialogue to be in english, but the aramaic (sp?) actually made the movie that much better.
and yeah, my eyes swelled up in some scenes.
people think you have to be religious to see a movie like this, but what I took from the movie was that people have so much hatred, that they would rather kill an innocent man, as opposed to a killer. I honestly think the world has gotten a lot better in modern times.
this will definately be added to my DVD collection when it comes out.
I think I'm going to see it for the sake of seeing it to make sure I don't miss out on something that might be good.
Right now this thing is so political that you can't believe anything you read about the film. The reviews on rottemtomatoes reflects the need of reviewers to acquiesce to the wishes of certain groups. On the other hand I feel that Mel Gibson's tendencies for pointless graphic violence simple don't make a quality film, and that many people like the film because the patent violence coupled with their beliefs created a "moving experience." (Sure you could watch any human bleeding to death in graphic detail and feel silenced at the end of the movie).
In other words I have no expectations for this movie, and I need to see it for the sake of not missing it.
Right now this thing is so political that you can't believe anything you read about the film. The reviews on rottemtomatoes reflects the need of reviewers to acquiesce to the wishes of certain groups. On the other hand I feel that Mel Gibson's tendencies for pointless graphic violence simple don't make a quality film, and that many people like the film because the patent violence coupled with their beliefs created a "moving experience." (Sure you could watch any human bleeding to death in graphic detail and feel silenced at the end of the movie).
In other words I have no expectations for this movie, and I need to see it for the sake of not missing it.
Michael
Elite member
- Nov 19, 1999
- 5,435
- 234
- 106
One of my wife's friend's belongs to a Church that bought out a showing of the movie and she offered us 2 tickets to go see the movie. I had been somewhat interested in going to see it but had mixed feelings about it after reading some reviews.
The movie ended up being very powerful. I can't say I enjoyed watching it, but it was well made.
These were my observations based on seeing the film:
1) The critics are right in that it is extremely violent. The violence is graphically shown and there are a few elements of violence that are tossed in that I don't think are biblically based (for example, the raven/crow that attacked one of the criminals on the cross beside Jesus).
2) Many critics wrote that there was nothing but violence in the film and none of the message of Jesus is in it. They're wrong. The central message of the movie is love and forgiveness. This is directly shown, you don't need to know the story, Gibson uses flashbacks and Jesus' words during His suffering to show that there is no doubt that He is love.
3) I don't see how the film is anti-Semitic. Yes, the leaders of the Jewish temple are shown to be the ones who pushed for Jesus to be killed. However, it is also shown that not even close to all the Jews agreed and many of the Jewish characters in the film try to help Jesus. I felt that I was responsible for Jesus' suffering and death, just as much as the people who were directly involved.
My wife was fairly shook up by the film, and stopped in a little room to pray and talk to someone from the church that sponsored the showing.
Although I also had an emotional response, my Catholic upbringing included a fair amount of discussion about what exactly happened during the crucifixion - including the torture before He was put on the cross. I think that that helped me deal with the movie because I knew the truth behind why it happened.
Michael
The movie ended up being very powerful. I can't say I enjoyed watching it, but it was well made.
These were my observations based on seeing the film:
1) The critics are right in that it is extremely violent. The violence is graphically shown and there are a few elements of violence that are tossed in that I don't think are biblically based (for example, the raven/crow that attacked one of the criminals on the cross beside Jesus).
2) Many critics wrote that there was nothing but violence in the film and none of the message of Jesus is in it. They're wrong. The central message of the movie is love and forgiveness. This is directly shown, you don't need to know the story, Gibson uses flashbacks and Jesus' words during His suffering to show that there is no doubt that He is love.
3) I don't see how the film is anti-Semitic. Yes, the leaders of the Jewish temple are shown to be the ones who pushed for Jesus to be killed. However, it is also shown that not even close to all the Jews agreed and many of the Jewish characters in the film try to help Jesus. I felt that I was responsible for Jesus' suffering and death, just as much as the people who were directly involved.
My wife was fairly shook up by the film, and stopped in a little room to pray and talk to someone from the church that sponsored the showing.
Although I also had an emotional response, my Catholic upbringing included a fair amount of discussion about what exactly happened during the crucifixion - including the torture before He was put on the cross. I think that that helped me deal with the movie because I knew the truth behind why it happened.
Michael
Yeah, when I went to Catholic school told they us (in 5th grade) how the whips they used those days had tiny, but sharp stones on them, and so the whip would dig into the flesh and tear it apart. Really sad stuff. I suppose this might be news to many people. They also gave us the kind of blunt nails to take home that would have used those days to hammer someone to a cross. It was a big blunt (rectangular at the "point") nail that was rusty and nasty, that must have hurt. They really drove the point home to us in school.
This does contain spoilers so if you don't want to know about some of the details of the movie, I suggest not reading this.
Ok...first off, let me get a few rants off of my chest.
If you bring a cell phone into a movie theater and fail to turn it off (or set it to Silent mode) before the movie starts and it rings after the movie starts, your *** should be summarily thrown out of the movie theater and your cell phone bashed to bits your very eyes. And, should your cell phone ring AFTER the first person's cell phone rings, you should be placed into a long-term care nursing home and fed intravenously as you are obviously in a vegetative state and deserve not one single responsibility in life.
Second, if you bring a toddler (ie. 2-3 year-old child) to a movie that is NOT animated, doesn't have animals as the main characters, and is generally more than 70 min. long, you should be forced to undergo psychiatric evaluation and have your child placed in State custody for a period of no less than 30 days.
AND, one more thing, ladies (and I guess guys have been guilty of this before), if you empty the entire contents of a bottle of perfume and enter a public area where people will be seated in very close proximity to yourself, you deserve to be beaten to a pulp and have your charge cards shredded before your very eyes.
There....whew...I feel a little bit better.
Ok, now on to the movie. Just a quick summary of the events in the film. If you don't know what a Passion Play is or know anything about the life and crucifixion of Jesus, well, can't help ya! The movie starts with Jesus in the garden, praying to God for guidance during his last night on Earth. Judas is working his deal for pieces of silver for betraying the location of Jesus. Jesus is taken into custody by some Jewish high priests and quickly determined to be a blasphemer who must be punished, severely. They parade Jesus in front Pilate and the head high priest trumps up the charges against Jesus and wants him condemned to death (something Jewish law prohibits him from doing.) A couple of high priests attempt to stop the "trial" but are quickly dismissed and forced out by the high priests' key followers. Pilate declares this to be a matter for Herod. They trudge Jesus over to Herod who finds no law has been wronged and sends him back to Pilate. Pilate washes his hands of Jesus's blood after offering up a horrendous murderer or Jesus as part of a yearly pardon and the high priests (and the crowd...now approaching mob status) declare Barabbas (bar abbas...essentially...an equivalent to today's John Doe nomenclature) to be freed instead of Jesus. The head high priest calls emphatically for Jesus to be crucified.
It is that scene, I'm sure, that has certain people all up in arms claiming the movie is anti-semitic (all the while forgetting the earlier priests who tried to stop the proceedings). There is NO anti-semitism. NONE! I can't say it enough. Jesus was crucified as part of a political move by the high priest to maintain his power over the people of Jerusalem. Jesus was a threat to his power by preaching a new philosophy...a new religion. The high priest's ego would have none of that!
Pilate, wanting to somehow placate the angry mob without bloodshed lest Caesar come in and remove him, orders Jesus to be punished severely but not to let them (the high priests and the crowd) kill him. Pilate is shown as a Roman placed on the outskirts of Roman civilization and just living his life and trying to maintain order, while secretly wishing to leave the place and return to the glory of Rome. Jesus is placed in cuffs and stripped of his robe and the flogging with sticks begins. A bit of graphic imagery here but nothing too bad. Jesus withstands the initial punishment and the guards resort to more severe means. He is beaten with whips that contain pointy bits of metal at the end that sink into the flesh and tear it to shreds when the guards pull back on the whip. This scene goes on for quite some time until Pilate's lead guard comes in to stop matters.
Jesus is then forced on the long and arduous walk to Golgotha. He must carry his cross (both post and cross-beam) and a disinterested person from the crowd is forced to help Jesus. This man quickly bonds with Jesus and you sense he feels his pain. They reach the top of the hill and Jesus's arms are tied to the cross beam and nails are driven thru his palms. His feet are nailed to the post. The entire cross is then flipped over and the nails bent back with hammers to keep them from coming out and the cross is flipped back over and righted. The excruciating pain is obvious throughout the whole process.
Jesus prays out "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" and "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." At the latter, one of the high priests shows a look of guilt on his face and one of the other crucifixon victims prays to Jesus to have mercy on him and tells the high priest that even now, Jesus prays for him. A storm starts brewing and the guards break the knees of the other criminals and they soon die. Jesus is last to die and a guard pierces his side and is showered in blood and water and instantly has faith that Jesus was God. The Earth rumbles from a great earthquake and the temple is shown being torn in two (along with the tapestries). The high priests begin to wail at their now obvious guilt.
Mary and James go to bring Jesus's body off the cross. The last scene is of a slow pan into a dark cave with a large boulder being rolled away and Jesus's bedclothes deflate and we're left seeing the risen Christ, free of scars and wounds, save the holes in his hands.
Le Fin
Now, Mel Gibson placed several pieces of melodrama throughout the movie. The repeated scenes of the devil at times of Jesus's worst suffering, giving Jesus the apparent out of using his power to stop the suffering. Mary struggles thru the crowd to get closer to her son and just happens to see Jesus fall under the weight of the cross. I could have done w/o the soundtrack, too. Just let the story tell itself. And, of course, the very final shot of a healthy-looking Jesus with only holes in his hands.
Overall, I thought the movie was rather good, though. 1/2 the audience left in tears and it felt as if I was leaving the funeral of a well-loved stranger. I wasn't really moved as most were but, then again, I was going into this as almost a documentary or interpreted historical piece given my stance toward God and religion.
That said, there was one moment that pretty much solidified my current beliefs. It was pretty much like being slapped in the face it all made sense so much! I saw Jesus as merely another preacher. "I will destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days." The number three is symbolic in Hebrew...meaning, simiIar to 40, as a time of trial or testing. Peter was told he would deny Jesus three times (Meaning, Peter would be tested and accused of being a disciple of Jesus and would deny it to save himself from persecution). Jesus did not mean he would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, physically or literally. He meant that existing religious laws and beliefs would be replaced by a new one, one teaching forgiveness and love of all mankind. One of eschewing worldly goals for the world of the afterlife in Heaven. It makes so much sense now! The Bible is NOT a literal work! I realized that all of the talk of Son of God, and God as man, and Jesus as the Word are all symbolic. Jesus was preaching a new philosophy. Love not only thy neighbor but thy enemy, as well. To love only those who love you offers no great reward. In other words, live a life of goodness and practice forgiveness. When he said to eat the bread and drink the wine to take of his body and blood, he meant to use that action to instill his beliefs in his disciples. Jesus was telling them to go forth and keep his word true as if it were part of themselves. "Do this in memory of me." Break bread and drink wine with people who do not know the true way to live and let the words from your mouth be that of Jesus. He didn't mean to literally take the bread and wine to be his body and blood. People in that time spoke constantly in symbolism. Almost poetically. From a viewpoint distanced from religion, the symbolism is glaringly obvious. I see all of the literal intepretations of his words and the words in the Bible as distorting the true meaning of the teachings.
Anyway, take my review for whatever it's worth to you (maybe a lot...probably nothing at all.)
Ok...first off, let me get a few rants off of my chest.
If you bring a cell phone into a movie theater and fail to turn it off (or set it to Silent mode) before the movie starts and it rings after the movie starts, your *** should be summarily thrown out of the movie theater and your cell phone bashed to bits your very eyes. And, should your cell phone ring AFTER the first person's cell phone rings, you should be placed into a long-term care nursing home and fed intravenously as you are obviously in a vegetative state and deserve not one single responsibility in life.
Second, if you bring a toddler (ie. 2-3 year-old child) to a movie that is NOT animated, doesn't have animals as the main characters, and is generally more than 70 min. long, you should be forced to undergo psychiatric evaluation and have your child placed in State custody for a period of no less than 30 days.
AND, one more thing, ladies (and I guess guys have been guilty of this before), if you empty the entire contents of a bottle of perfume and enter a public area where people will be seated in very close proximity to yourself, you deserve to be beaten to a pulp and have your charge cards shredded before your very eyes.
There....whew...I feel a little bit better.
Ok, now on to the movie. Just a quick summary of the events in the film. If you don't know what a Passion Play is or know anything about the life and crucifixion of Jesus, well, can't help ya! The movie starts with Jesus in the garden, praying to God for guidance during his last night on Earth. Judas is working his deal for pieces of silver for betraying the location of Jesus. Jesus is taken into custody by some Jewish high priests and quickly determined to be a blasphemer who must be punished, severely. They parade Jesus in front Pilate and the head high priest trumps up the charges against Jesus and wants him condemned to death (something Jewish law prohibits him from doing.) A couple of high priests attempt to stop the "trial" but are quickly dismissed and forced out by the high priests' key followers. Pilate declares this to be a matter for Herod. They trudge Jesus over to Herod who finds no law has been wronged and sends him back to Pilate. Pilate washes his hands of Jesus's blood after offering up a horrendous murderer or Jesus as part of a yearly pardon and the high priests (and the crowd...now approaching mob status) declare Barabbas (bar abbas...essentially...an equivalent to today's John Doe nomenclature) to be freed instead of Jesus. The head high priest calls emphatically for Jesus to be crucified.
It is that scene, I'm sure, that has certain people all up in arms claiming the movie is anti-semitic (all the while forgetting the earlier priests who tried to stop the proceedings). There is NO anti-semitism. NONE! I can't say it enough. Jesus was crucified as part of a political move by the high priest to maintain his power over the people of Jerusalem. Jesus was a threat to his power by preaching a new philosophy...a new religion. The high priest's ego would have none of that!
Pilate, wanting to somehow placate the angry mob without bloodshed lest Caesar come in and remove him, orders Jesus to be punished severely but not to let them (the high priests and the crowd) kill him. Pilate is shown as a Roman placed on the outskirts of Roman civilization and just living his life and trying to maintain order, while secretly wishing to leave the place and return to the glory of Rome. Jesus is placed in cuffs and stripped of his robe and the flogging with sticks begins. A bit of graphic imagery here but nothing too bad. Jesus withstands the initial punishment and the guards resort to more severe means. He is beaten with whips that contain pointy bits of metal at the end that sink into the flesh and tear it to shreds when the guards pull back on the whip. This scene goes on for quite some time until Pilate's lead guard comes in to stop matters.
Jesus is then forced on the long and arduous walk to Golgotha. He must carry his cross (both post and cross-beam) and a disinterested person from the crowd is forced to help Jesus. This man quickly bonds with Jesus and you sense he feels his pain. They reach the top of the hill and Jesus's arms are tied to the cross beam and nails are driven thru his palms. His feet are nailed to the post. The entire cross is then flipped over and the nails bent back with hammers to keep them from coming out and the cross is flipped back over and righted. The excruciating pain is obvious throughout the whole process.
Jesus prays out "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" and "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." At the latter, one of the high priests shows a look of guilt on his face and one of the other crucifixon victims prays to Jesus to have mercy on him and tells the high priest that even now, Jesus prays for him. A storm starts brewing and the guards break the knees of the other criminals and they soon die. Jesus is last to die and a guard pierces his side and is showered in blood and water and instantly has faith that Jesus was God. The Earth rumbles from a great earthquake and the temple is shown being torn in two (along with the tapestries). The high priests begin to wail at their now obvious guilt.
Mary and James go to bring Jesus's body off the cross. The last scene is of a slow pan into a dark cave with a large boulder being rolled away and Jesus's bedclothes deflate and we're left seeing the risen Christ, free of scars and wounds, save the holes in his hands.
Le Fin
Now, Mel Gibson placed several pieces of melodrama throughout the movie. The repeated scenes of the devil at times of Jesus's worst suffering, giving Jesus the apparent out of using his power to stop the suffering. Mary struggles thru the crowd to get closer to her son and just happens to see Jesus fall under the weight of the cross. I could have done w/o the soundtrack, too. Just let the story tell itself. And, of course, the very final shot of a healthy-looking Jesus with only holes in his hands.
Overall, I thought the movie was rather good, though. 1/2 the audience left in tears and it felt as if I was leaving the funeral of a well-loved stranger. I wasn't really moved as most were but, then again, I was going into this as almost a documentary or interpreted historical piece given my stance toward God and religion.
That said, there was one moment that pretty much solidified my current beliefs. It was pretty much like being slapped in the face it all made sense so much! I saw Jesus as merely another preacher. "I will destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days." The number three is symbolic in Hebrew...meaning, simiIar to 40, as a time of trial or testing. Peter was told he would deny Jesus three times (Meaning, Peter would be tested and accused of being a disciple of Jesus and would deny it to save himself from persecution). Jesus did not mean he would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, physically or literally. He meant that existing religious laws and beliefs would be replaced by a new one, one teaching forgiveness and love of all mankind. One of eschewing worldly goals for the world of the afterlife in Heaven. It makes so much sense now! The Bible is NOT a literal work! I realized that all of the talk of Son of God, and God as man, and Jesus as the Word are all symbolic. Jesus was preaching a new philosophy. Love not only thy neighbor but thy enemy, as well. To love only those who love you offers no great reward. In other words, live a life of goodness and practice forgiveness. When he said to eat the bread and drink the wine to take of his body and blood, he meant to use that action to instill his beliefs in his disciples. Jesus was telling them to go forth and keep his word true as if it were part of themselves. "Do this in memory of me." Break bread and drink wine with people who do not know the true way to live and let the words from your mouth be that of Jesus. He didn't mean to literally take the bread and wine to be his body and blood. People in that time spoke constantly in symbolism. Almost poetically. From a viewpoint distanced from religion, the symbolism is glaringly obvious. I see all of the literal intepretations of his words and the words in the Bible as distorting the true meaning of the teachings.
Anyway, take my review for whatever it's worth to you (maybe a lot...probably nothing at all.)
^^^ Wow, someone brought a toddler to see this? I can't imagine how traumatizing that would be to a toddler. They will argue that a child that young will not understand, but they are wrong; a child can understand and feel that sort of extreme violence. The child should be placed in state custody and should be adopted by parents who have at least half the intelligence required to raise a child.
I watched this movie tonight here at home.
I?m not religious, was baptised roman catholic and I went to a catholic school for elementary school but made my mind up early in life that I was not a believer. My parents are both supporters of my choice.
Anyhow, before I sat down to watch the movie I kept an open mind about it. I didn't think it would change my beliefs from what they already were, but from hearing the reviews from others it sounded like the type of film that makes you think afterwards...
Well sorry to say that it blew hardcore. All it did for me was give me vibrant visuals to go a long with what I already learnt in elementary school from bible time in class.
I cant believe Mel is going to score on this one. What a bloody genius that bloke is!!!
I?m not religious, was baptised roman catholic and I went to a catholic school for elementary school but made my mind up early in life that I was not a believer. My parents are both supporters of my choice.
Anyhow, before I sat down to watch the movie I kept an open mind about it. I didn't think it would change my beliefs from what they already were, but from hearing the reviews from others it sounded like the type of film that makes you think afterwards...
Well sorry to say that it blew hardcore. All it did for me was give me vibrant visuals to go a long with what I already learnt in elementary school from bible time in class.
I cant believe Mel is going to score on this one. What a bloody genius that bloke is!!!
GTaudiophile
Lifer
- Oct 24, 2000
- 29,767
- 33
- 81
I saw it yesterday: beautiful movie. I actually don't think it went far enough depicting the torture of Jesus. I also think the best part of the movie was the relationship depicted between Jesus and His mother, Mary. I broke down when she ran to Him after He dropped the cross and said, "See, Mother, all things will be made anew." Again, a beautiful movie, and I want to see it again.
Again, the liberal, Satan-loving critics are liars: not too viloent, and the message does get through.
Again, the liberal, Satan-loving critics are liars: not too viloent, and the message does get through.
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