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:

The movie, behind the greatest event in the history of the world.

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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

Jim Caviezel was given a prosthetic nose and a raised hairline. His blue eyes were digitally changed to brown on film.

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Goofs

Jesus' arm is dislocated to make his hand reach the nail hole, so his arms should be fully extended and straight at all times. However, in almost all shots of him on the cross, his body sags forward with his arms bent at an almost 90 degree angle.

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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

Featured in Getaway: Golden Getaway: Hidden Treasures (2006)

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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

I HAVE THE POWER TO LAY DOWN MY LIFE AND THE POWER TO TAKE IT UP AGAIN

I am not religious,I was christened at birth but I had no say in that.I am fascinated by this story and the reasons behind it lasting over 2000 years.I am prepared to except all aspects of this ancient story apart from the divine and its intervention,I truly believe this man lived and further more you can be sure the ROMAN empire punished him accordingly.this re telling from MEL GIBSON is one of the most riveting films I have ever seen and in my opinion it portrays the humanization of CHRIST,the film starts of in GETHSEMANE with a haunting atmosphere,a praying JESUS and concerned apostles,soon events take place and JESUS's last hours are portrayed in gruesome fashion as the reality of his capture unfolds in a brutal manor,the ROMANS are extremely cruel and heartless here with no PASSION towards their subjects and the JEWISH hierarchy are equally relentless in their pursuit,the life of JESUS is told in flashback as we suffer his faith with him and get drawn towards the innocence of the man,subtitle dialogue in this movie is pivotal to authenticity and the screenplay is excellent,acting is brilliant from the whole cast as the ROMANS and JEWISH are frighteningly believable and JESUS played by JIM CAVIEZEL is the best I have seen,I was seriously moved by this movie on a humane level and it made me see CHRIST as a human and pity him....NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED

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