The Passion of the Christ (Definitive Edition)

Set Contains: In terms of controversy, box-office success and critical acclaim, The Passion of the Christ is arguably the most important and artistically ambitious religious film ever made. It's only fitting, then, that this Definitive Edition lives up to its title as a thorough and deeply rewarding upgrade from the "plain" DVD released in August 2004. With a wealth of special features, this two-disc set is basically intended to deepen anyone's understanding of the film, while offering Christians and non-Christians alike a rich, audiovisual study guide rooted in the film's depiction of New Testament gospel. In addition to the film's original theatrical release version, the set includes The Passion Recut, with an equal running time (126 minutes), but with some of the film's most disturbing R-rated violence re-edited or removed altogether. This allows more cautiously conservative viewers (and church groups, Bible students, etc.) to witness Mel Gibson's acclaimed film in a slightly milder version that doesn't compromise Gibson's artistic vision of The Passion. (For this edition, both versions of the film are given chapter-stops according to the Stations of the Cross, instead of conventional scene-by-scene chapters.) On disc 1, three out of four audio commentaries are devoted to details of production; they're low-key and occasionally informative (with composer John Debney's commentary applied to selected scenes only), but one listening should prove adequate for those interested in behind-the-scenes details. The fascinating "Theologian Commentary" has far more lasting value, and should be considered essential to anyone seeking a deeper, Biblically authoritative context for the film's dramatic events. The optional "Enhanced Viewing Mode" provides on-screen Biblical footnotes so viewers can readily see how Biblical and historical details were incorporated into the film. Disc 2 is packed with useful features, beginning with the 100-minute, 20-part documentary covering all aspects of the film's preparation, production, post-production, scoring, marketing, and theatrical release. The one-hour "Legacy" section consists of five historical and/or academic featurettes, essentially a History Channel-like guide to Christian iconography; artistic inspirations used to guide the film's aesthetic style; detailed discussion of the film's use of Aramaic and Latin languages; a history of crucifixion; and a tour of Jerusalem's Via Dolorosa, the actual path where Jesus endured the 14 Stations of the Cross prior to crucifixion. There are only two deleted scenes, but one of them is a vital inclusion, since it features the controversial and allegedly "anti-Semitic" line of dialogue that was edited from The Passion's theatrical release. (It's really not anti-Semitic at all; rather, it indicates that some Jews felt shared guilt with the Romans over Christ's public torture.) The "Galleries" section is packed with production still, religious artwork, historical texts, cast biographies, trailers and TV spots. Taken together, these features make the Definitive Edition a worthy replacement for the previous DVD, with no discernible sacrifice of picture and sound quality. --Jeff Shannon Product Description The story of the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life. Amazon.com After all the controversy and rigorous debate has subsided, Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ will remain a force to be reckoned with. In the final analysis, "Gibson's Folly" is an act of personal bravery and commitment on the part of its director, who self-financed this $25-30 million production to preserve his artistic goal of creating the Passion of Christ ("Passion" in this context meaning "suffering") as a quite literal, in-your-face interpretation of the final 12 hours in the life of Jesus, scripted almost directly from the gospels (and spoken in Aramaic and Latin with a relative minimum of subtitles) and presented as a relentless, 126-minute ordeal of torture and crucifixion. For Christians and non-Christians alike, this film does not "entertain," and it's not a film that one can "like" or "dislike" in any conventional sense. (It is also emphatically not a film for children or the weak of heart.) Rather, The Passion is a cinematic experience that serves an almost singular purpose: to show the scourging and death of Jesus Christ in such horrifically graphic detail (with Gibson's own hand pounding the nails in the cross) that even non-believers may feel a twinge of sorrow and culpability in witnessing the final moments of the Son of God, played by Jim Caviezel in a performance that's not so much acting as a willful act of submission, so intense that some will weep not only for Christ, but for Caviezel's unparalleled test of endurance. Leave it to the intelligentsia to debate the film's alleged anti-Semitic slant; if one judges what is on the screen (so gloriously served by John Debney's score and Caleb Deschanel's cinematography), there is fuel for debate but no