The Passion - CFT Excellence

The Passion of Christ

Mel Gibson’s passionate portrayal of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was shown in over 4000 USA theaters. International releases have also been phenominal.

Comments after viewing The Passion of Christ:

"The film is faithful to the Bible's teaching that we are all responsible for Jesus' death, because we have all sinned. It is our sins that caused His death, not any particular group. No one who views this film's compelling imagery will ever be the same." Billy Graham

"It is not anti-Semitic. It is a beautiful production, a work of faith, truly based on the Gospels." George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, Australia’s Catholic church.

“Having seen the film, it’s obvious that he’s (Mel Gibson has) succeeded in creating a cinematic work of undeniable immediacy and power. It is not, by the way, about “the Jews,” but rather about one particular Jew worshipped by Gibson and two billion others as the messiah and the deity incarnate.“ Michael Medved, Othodox Jewish journalist

"On the technical plane, the work is of a very high quality, so much so that previous films on Jesus might seem reduced to poor and archaic relatives. It comes across very clearly in the film that what weighs Christ down and reduces him to that state is not this one's or that one's fault, but rather the sin of all men, no one excluded." Vittorio Messori, Italian journalist.

"This (The Passion of Christ film) has a deep emotional resonance for Christians. It's like the emotion in 9/11 . . . the way people responded to the firemen and police going in and offering their lives trying to save people... there is a lot of violence, but also the nobility and beauty of that self-sacrifice." Fr. Donald Senior, president of the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago; member of the Vatican's Pontifical Biblical Commission.

When Jim Caviezel was asked by a reporter for Newsweek if he loves Jesus Christ, the actor who plays Jesus in the film replied “more than he knew possible.”

Statement from Jim Caviezel, "I love him more than my wife, my family. There were times when I was up there and I could barely speak. Continual hypothermia is so excruciating. I connected to a place I could have never, ever gone. I don't want people to see me. All I want them to see is Jesus Christ."

Statement from Mel Gibson: “This is God’s movie. The Holy Ghost was running the show. I was just directing traffic.” Mr. Gibson says he also hopes the film leads everyone who sees it to a saving faith in Christ.

The official movie web site:

www.thepassionofchrist.com

John DiBiase, a movie critic famous for never going to an R - rated movie, made an exception for The Passion of The Christ.
read the review

Get the Point

Being neither a devout Christian nor a moral crusader, I went into the film with an open mind, and I found that I was deeply moved. I understood -- probably for the first time in my life -- what the religious authorities mean when they said Christ suffered and died for our sins. That was the point of this film. Did it work? Absolutely.

At times, it was hard to watch. However, that doesn't make it a bad movie. I remember tearing up the first time I saw ``Life Is Beautiful'' and saw the stacks of bodies piled upon one another. That, too, was hard to watch.

Slavko Ristich
New York City

March 11, 2005
The Passion of Christ Recut
to Reach a much Wider Audience

Initial DVD and VHS cassette sales of "Passion" to retail outlets totaled 15 million units which was 20% higher than was originally estimated. By lunchtime on the first day, consumer sales had passed the $2.4 million mark.

The Passion of The Christ sold nearly 9 million combined DVD and VHS units during its first week in release on home video, according to 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment executives, making it the top-selling “live-action title” of all time.

Thus far, The Passion of Christ has sold over $610 million in theater tickets worldwide.

24th May 2004

Passion of Christ wins the Emma

Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ' took the award for Best Film at the 2004 Ethnic Multicultural Awards tonight in London.

'The Passion of the Christ' also won a second Emma award with Romanian actress Maia Morgenstern taking Best Film Actress for her portrayal of Mary Magdalene.