Passion of the Christ, The

In another unconventional and bold move by the confident director, Mel Gibson, there’s not a single DVD extra here – just a movie. Some speculate that the maximum bit rate (a la Columbia Tristar’s “Superbit” DVDs) transfer delivers a sharper picture (less likely to show pixelation, “ghosting” or “ringing” around high-contrast areas, like on-screen text or intense detail, like hair) and spectacular audio (with a choice of 5.1 DTS or 5.1 Dolby), but uses up all the disc space in return. The absence of the “goodies” places emphasis squarely on the film, which is appropriate. For years many cried that no film ever accurately depicted the torture that Christ endured; but no more, as Gibson just raised the bar. This movie has the intense power to leave an indelible impression. For me it was four scenes: crushing the serpent’s head;. the flashback sequence of Jesus making a table (what a statement about excellence, hard work and craftsmanship!); his mother’s memory of Him falling down as a little boy; and the rebuke of a thief for hugging His cross. As much as the suffering came through, so did the resolution and purposefulness of Christ. While it’s premature to tout this as the greatest film of all time or even as good as Brave Heart, there are glimpses of Gibson’s signature, like the image of the serpent wafting through the crowd, which mirrored the vision William Wallace had of his wife during his execution scene. All in all, this is a must-own DVD, even without a single extra. The film is that important. [FOX VIDEO] DOUG VAN PELT

238 : Scenes of Gore
100% : Spiritual Relevancy

This DVD review was originally published in the Nov/Dec Issue
(#110) of HM Magazine. Order the Print Version of HM for tons
more reviews of new DVDs.

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