Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15053 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-03-26
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, PAL
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 121 minutes

Synopsis
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST depicts the last 12 hours of the life of Jesus of Nazareth (Jim Caviezel), beginning with his betrayal by Judas Iscariot (Luca Lionello) and ending with his crucifixion and subsequent resurrection. Directed by Mel Gibson (BRAVEHEART)--who funded the film himself and co-wrote the screenplay--PASSION uses flashbacks to substantiate a handful of pertinent moments in Jesus' life and teachings, such as the Sermon on the Mount and the Last Supper, as well as his relationships with his mother and his disciples. Still, the drama focuses on the seemingly endless torture inflicted upon Jesus by Roman soldiers at the urging of the Jewish crowd that considers him a blasphemer, despite the attempts of a sympathetic Pontius Pilate (Hristo Naumov Shopov) to spare him from death. The faint of heart should be prepared for the brutal, barbaric beatings that Christ endures. Maia Morgenstern, Monica Bellucci, and Hristo Jivkov are touching as Mary, Magdalene, and John respectively, who are devastated by Jesus' fate yet aware that they can do nothing to change it. Performed in Aramaic and Latin with English subtitles, Gibson's labour of love is sure to prompt discussion and debate as to historical and Biblical fact.

Customer Reviews

Includes 'Passioin Recut'
Although I appreciated this film when it first came out at the cinemait struck me as a bit excessive in its portrayal of violence. When I heard that a slightly edited version had been made, this was the version I wanted to get. I felt the original film just went that bit too far in the flogging and crcucixion scenes. This 2 disc release includes both the original '18' certicate version and also as a 'Special Feature' the edited (15) version which is 5 minutes shorter. I believe the edited version tells the story just as well and is still violent enough but we are spared the somewhat 'over the top' gore of the original. Passion Recut is an extremely powerful movie that I would encourage people to see without hesitation and I am glad it is now available to English audiences as part of this 2-disc package.

beware poor subtitles
The Passion Of The Christ (2 Disc Director's Edition) [2004] [DVD]

This is great looking film and the picture quality on the DVD is top notch - just a shame the subtitles ruin it!

The only English subtitles are for the hard of hearing - which means if you don't speak Aramaic you have to use the DVD subtitles. These subtitles are awful - it almost spoilt the film for me. As well as the English translation you also get descriptions for all other sounds including music - so if there's an emotional scene you get text on screen "emotion music playing".
This is just awful - why is there not a standard English subtitles?
Whoever put this DVD together obviously didn't watch the film with the subtitles on!
I had hoped the DVD had the standard English subtitles in the print of the film (not selectable from the menu but permanently there on screen) and that those who needed Subtitles for the hard of hearing could simply turn those on or off.

An Amazing Film!!!
First of all, I am not religious, at all, but it didn't stop The Passion of The Christ from having an extremely powerful effect on me. It is very moving, and can teach you a lot about yourself...and other people, who unfortunately "know not what they do" if you know what I mean. For me, The Passion of The Christ's main messages that came across on screen were:

1- people say/do bad things, and worst, and either aren't able to comprehend the affect that their actions have on others, or just ignore it because they do know, but still aren't able to stop themselves from inflicting pain onto others.

2- when someone says/does something bad to you, you should accept that some people just can't help themselves, and you should try hard to treat everyone as well as you can, regardless of how they treat you.

I also feel compelled to point out that the atrocities against Jesus in The Pssion of The Christ are in fact instigated by the religious parties (make of that what you want). Also, I understand why the violence in the film does not sit well with some people, but I believe that it is neccesary to show the true strength of Jesus' character. Make no mistake, the violence is awful, but reality is not sensored, so to sensor the violence in The Passion of The Christ is to 'close your eyes', and only serves to water down the viewing experience and weaken Mel Gibson's intended message. So watch the original theatrical version instead of the new cut (unless you are extremely sensitive to violence).

Anyway, this is how The Passion of The Christ left me feeling (roughly), along with "that was a brilliant and powerful film that everybody should see". So I will now stop my rambling and finish by saying that The Passion of the Christ is one of the most important films I have ever seen, and you should give it a go, even if you don't like subtitled films. The Passion of The Christ is essential viewing!!!