THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST

"For me, that's more real, and hopefully I'll be able to transcend language barriers with filmic storytelling."

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Mel Gibson is the producer and director of "The Passion", the definitive film about the life of Jesus Christ. Jim Caviezel stars in the lead role.
Both Gibson and Caviezel are reportedly very devout Catholics so Passion has been a labor of love for them.
Mel Gibson, who was seeking to portray the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus Christ as accurately as possible. wrote the script, that is inspired entirely on gospel accounts of Christ's ordeal that culminate in his crucifixion. It's also based upon the diaries of St.Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) as collected in the book, "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ".
In an effort to be historically accurate, Gibson had all the dialogue translated into Aramaic and/or Latin. He had no plan for subtitles, but finally Mel agreed to subtitle the film.

"The Passion of The Christ" ended up being an independent production as no studio wanted to face the risks, so Icon Production was at the helm .
Before shooting "The Passion" Mel consulted with high-level theologians and church officials about the project. Nevertheless, the film sparked a great controversy and Mel was charged of anti-Semitism.
"The New York Times" and the Anti-Defamation League headed the protests.

"The Passion of the Christ" was shot on location in Italy. Production started on November 4th 2003 in Matera and Craco (Basilicata, Southern Italy), and after 2 months it moved to Rome, in CINECITTA.
Mel Gibson chose to shoot in November because of the particular color of the light in this month on the soft stones of the ancient part of Matera.
The landscape surrounding Matera looks very similar to the one surrounding Jerusalem. A huge part of the old town was set as scenography for the movie. They added palms and recreated Jerusalem Market and the Madonna's house. Moreover, the ancient part of Matera (Sassi), abandoned 50 years ago, still looks like a city of 2000 years ago. The scenography was designed by Carlo Gervasi.

It was not easy for Mel and Icon Production to carry on with the project. It seemed to be just one problem after another. For a year, it was nothing but nasty editorials, but Gibson won "the battle" and secured a massive distribution deal for the movie. Passion´s distributor, Newmarket Films, increased the number of prints sent out to theaters from 2,500 to 4,000.
The Passion of The Christ opened on Ash Wednesday (February 25th, 2004) in the States on a massive 2100 screens. Cinemas were packed from New York to Georgia to Texas. The film took in a powerful $83.8 million over its first weekend. Critical opinion was divided, but "The Passion" was an event movie and, finally, it topped $700 million.
Previous films about Jesus include The Greatest Story Ever Told, King of Kings, and Martin Scorsese's controversial The Last Temptation of Christ.

"I've never seen a rendering that equals this for reality. The versions I've seen either suffer from bad hair, inaccurate history, or not just being real. And somehow, because of that, I think I think you're distanced from them somehow. They're more like fairy tales. And this actually happened. It occurred. I'm exploring it this way, I think, to show the extent of the sacrifice willingly taken...I think anybody that is in the know about Jesus as God and they believe in that realize that he was brutalized and that I'm exploring it this way, I think, to show the extent of the sacrifice willingly taken. I think it's going to be hard to take, but I don't necessarily know that people are going to be upset by it. The point is that I think you can transcend language with the message through image. And I'm very happy with what we're getting".

"Whenever you take up a subject like this [Jesus Christ], it does bring out a lot of enemies."

A CONTROVERSIAL MOVIE

Rebutting criticism that his film "The Passion" is anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic, Mel Gibson has for the first time spoken out about the controversial movie depicting the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus Christ.
"To be certain, neither I nor my film is anti-Semitic," Gibson said in a statement released exclusively Thursday to Daily Variety.
'The Passion' is a movie meant to inspire not offend," Gibson said in his statement.
"My intention in bringing it to the screen is to create a lasting work of art and engender serious thought among audiences of diverse faith backgrounds (or none) who have varying familiarity with this story."
"If the intense scrutiny during my 25 years in public life revealed I had ever persecuted or discriminated against anyone based on race or creed, I would be all too willing to make amends. But there is no such record.
"Nor do I hate anybody -- certainly not the Jews," Gibson continued.
"They are my friends and associates, both in my work and social life. Thankfully, treasured friendships forged over decades are not easily shaken by nasty innuendo. Anti-Semitism is not only contrary to my personal beliefs, it is also contrary to the core message of my movie."

"While we respect everyone's right to their opinion about the film, no one has a right to publicly critique a film that has not even been completed, let alone base their critique on an outdated version of the script which has been illegally obtained."

THE PASSION (2004)

Director.- Mel Gibson

Production Company.- Icon Productions and Marquis Films

Producers.- Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey

Screenwriter.- Mel Gibson and Ben Fitzegrald

Genre.- Biography, Drama, Historic-Religious Film

Language.- Aramaic and Latin

Release Date.- February 25/2004

"The audience will have to focus on the visuals, but they had silent films before talkies arrived, and people went to see them."

CREDITED CAST

James Caviezel.- Jesus Christ

Maia Morgenstern.- Mary

Monica Bellucci.- Mary Magdalene

Francesco Cabras.- Gesmas

Rosalinda Celentano.- Satan

Claudia Gerini.- Pilatus Wife

Hristo Naumov Shopov.- Pilatus

Toni Bertorelli.- Annas

Hristo Jivkov.- John

Sergio Rubini (I).- Dismas

IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE PICTURES, CLICK HERE

"This is a movie about love, faith and forgiveness. He [Jesus] died for all mankind. He suffered for all of us. It's time to get back to that basic message,"

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"I saw other film versions and I couldn't understand them, I couldn't believe them. Once I started meditating on [Christ's] passion, really going deep into it in my own mind and heart, then I began to understand it, to believe that's the version I put on film."

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"Jesus Christ was beaten for our iniquities. He was wounded for our transgressions and by his wounds we are healed. That's the point of the film."

JAMES CAVIEZEL

He grew up in a tight-knit Catholic family. He played basketball in college, but took up acting after injuring his foot. James met his wife, Kerri, on a blind date in 1993. She is a high school English teacher. In 2002 he refused to film a love scene with on-screen wife Ashley Judd for their film, High Crimes. The idea of possible nudity conflicted with Jim's personal beliefs, based on his strong Catholic faith. He has starred in Highwaymen (2003), I am David (2003), Madison (2001>, Frequency (2000), The Red Line (1998), Whyatt Earp (1994) and The Passion (2003). He dislocated his shoulder during the filming of The Passion.

In the movie when Jesus walks with the cross on the shoulders, and all the people of Jerusalem offend him, old extras weren't able to speak Aramaic. But Gibson worked it out and he said:"just speak Matera's dialect, even in Italy nobody will understand". Indeed, in Italy every town has a different dialect and people from other towns can't understand it.

MONICA BELLUCCI

Born in 1968 in the Italian village of Citta di Castello, Umbria, Bellucci originally pursued a career in the legal profession. While attending the University of Perugia, she modeled on the side to earn money for school, and this led to her modeling career. In 1988, she moved to one of Europe's fashion centers, Milan, and joined Elite Model Management. Although enjoying great success as a model, she made her acting debut on TV in 1990, and her American film debut in 1992's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). Her role in the 1996 French thriller, L'Appartement (1996), shot her to stardom as she won the French equivalent of an Oscar nomination. Other credits include Malèna (2000), Under Suspicion (2000), Le Pacte des loups (2001) and The Matrix Reloaded (2003).

"For those concerned about the content of this film, know that it conforms to the narratives of Christ's passion and death found in the four Gospels of the New Testament."

IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE TRAIlER
CLICK HERE

The Passion of the Christ

ANECDOTES

The title of the film changed (The Passion of the Christ) because Miramax already has a film by that name in the works.
The place, where Mel and his team were shooting the crucifixion, was struck by a lightning. Miraculously, nobody was hurt.
They said that the Pope had screened The Passion on DVD with his closest friend and secretary, Monsignor Staislaw Dziwisz, in his private residence. "It shows how it was," the 83-year-old Pope was quoted as saying, but some Vatican officials refused to confirm or deny the Pontiff's assessment. Finally, Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz told the Catholic News Service (1-19-2004): "The Holy Father told no one of his opinion of this film."

The cameo.- Mel´s hand (crucifixion scene).

"I anticipate the worst is yet to come", said Mel Gibson.

PASSION RECUT (2005)

MARCH, 2005.-This new version is minus some of the more blood-soaked crucifixion scenes in a play to reach those who were turned off by the excessive realism of the original but still wanted to see it. "What came up again and again was that a lot of people were turned away because of the brutality in the film and were afraid to watch," Gibson told the Christian Broadcasting Network. "So I thought if I softened it up a bit, I could have a wider audience." Gibson cut six minutes of graphic violence in hopes of getting a PG-13 rating. But the MPAA decided the film was bloody enough to warrant an R, leading Gibson to release the film sans rating.
"Passion Recut" was released in UK and USA

"Critics who have a problem with me don't really have a problem with me in this film," Gibson said. "They have a problem with the four Gospels. That's where their problem is."

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