The Passion of the Christ (2004)

Depicts the final twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, on the day of his crucifixion in Jerusalem.

Director:

Mel Gibson

Writers:

Benedict Fitzgerald (screenplay), Mel Gibson (screenplay)

Stars:

Jim Caviezel, Monica Bellucci, Maia Morgenstern

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 29 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Caviezel	...	Jesus
Maia Morgenstern	...	Mary
Christo Jivkov	...	John (as Hristo Jivkov)
Francesco De Vito	...	Peter
Monica Bellucci	...	Magdalen
Mattia Sbragia	...	Caiphas
Toni Bertorelli	...	Annas
Luca Lionello	...	Judas
Hristo Shopov	...	Pontius Pilate (as Hristo Naumov Shopov)
Claudia Gerini	...	Claudia Procles
Fabio Sartor	...	Abenader
Giacinto Ferro	...	Joseph of Arimathea
Aleksander Mincer	...	Nicodemus (as Olek Mincer)
Sheila Mokhtari	...	Woman in Audience
Lucio Allocca	...	Old Temple Guard

Storyline

A depiction of the last twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, on the day of his crucifixion in Jerusalem. The story opens in the Garden of Olives where Jesus has gone to pray after the Last Supper. Betrayed by Judas Iscariot, the controversial Jesus--who has performed 'miracles' and has publicly announced that he is 'the Son of God'--is arrested and taken back within the city walls of Jerusalem. There, the leaders of the Pharisees confront him with accusations of blasphemy; subsequently, his trial results with the leaders condemning him to his death. Jesus is brought before Pontius Pilate, the prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, for his sentencing. Pilate listens to the accusations leveled at Jesus by the Pharisees. Realizing that his own decision will cause him to become embroiled in a political conflict, Pilate defers to King Herod in deciding the matter of how to persecute Jesus. However, Herod returns Jesus to Pilate who, in turn, gives the crowd a choice between ...

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Plot Keywords:

suffering | torture | brutality | whipping | violence | 

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Taglines:

By his wounds, we were healed.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sequences of graphic violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Goofs

A shawl appears on Mary Magdalene's head between shots after Jesus, on the cross, says, "Son behold your mother...".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jesus: Peter. You could not watch even one hour with me?

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Crazy Credits

The movie doesn't begin with credits, but only with a verse from the Bible: "He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; by His wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53; 700 B.C.

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Alternate Versions

In January 2005, Mel Gibson announced that a slightly (5-6 minutes) shorter version would be released to theaters in March 2005 (just in time for Easter), under the title "The Passion Recut". The new version features no new scenes, but trimming of the most graphic scenes, particularly the scourging.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: Unplanned (2019)

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Soundtracks

Azeri
Written by Göksel Baktagir (as Goksel Baktagir) and Yurdal Tokcan
Performed by Göksel Baktagir (as Goksel Baktagir) and Yurdal Tokcan

User Reviews

From an aethiest

Having avoided this film during its cinema release - partially thru fear as to whether I would be able to handle the violence etc I did eventually catch this on DVD. Bye the way - I write this as a non-religious person. The film was very watchable, never boring and Caviezel was superb in the main role. Your heart really went out to him - even as a "non-believer". I have to say that after all the acres of print I had read about the violence and bloodshed in the film, I actually felt it was rather less nasty than I may have feared. Certainly more visceral than, King of Kings, Greatest Story ever Told etc, a lot of the worst scenes took place in slow motion, off camera etc which somehow did make things easier to stomach. I can imagine if Mike Leigh or Ken Loach had made this it would have been far more unpleasant!

Powerful, moving, even if you don't actually "buy" the central storyline. Jim C truly looks as if he has gone thru hell. Respect is due - to him and all.

I think that the final few moments, segueing into the closing credits would have been quite something to experience in a full cinema!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

Aramaic Latin Hebrew

Release Date:

25 February 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Passion of Christ

Filming Locations:

Basilicata, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$83,848,082, 29 February 2004

Gross USA:

$370,782,930

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$612,054,428

Company Credits

Production Co:

Icon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min 120 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1