The Passion Of The Christ (Fox Blu-ray)

 

Picture: A-     Sound: A-     Extras: A-     Film: A-

 

 

Surprisingly we have yet to cover Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ on any format, we are finally glad to receive the film on Blu-ray in what is being called ‘the definitive edition’. 

 

The film was being criticized long before it ever arrived to theaters and has been criticized equally as hard ever since its release and much of this due to controversy surrounding Mel Gibson, especially since the time of the films release.  What people fail to realize is that just because Gibson made a film about Jesus, that does not make him prone to sin and his imperfect life will never come close to that of Jesus.  The other controversy of the film involved its graphic nature, which is interesting because even though the film certainly is graphic in many respects, it only touches the surface of the real pain and agony that Jesus went through.  Even worse though than the physical pain the Jesus endured though was the moment in which Jesus was momentarily separated from God on the cross, it was at this moment that Jesus took on the sin for the entire world and the only time that Jesus would be apart from God the Father, this type of pain could never be captured in any medium, no matter how good the filmmaker. 

 

Despite the fact that Gibson would not be able to truly capture many of the spiritual realm impossibilities, he still manages to pull together a superb film that demonstrates as best as possible what the final days of Jesus was like and does so with authenticity provided by the Gospel.  The film also uses the language of the time, rather than convert the text to English, the film uses Aramaic, Latin, and Hebrew and I applaud Gibson for doing this, along with hiring solid actors and actresses to help communicate the Salvation of the World.  It’s also worthy to note that the overall production is incredibly well done and surpasses any film on the life of Jesus in many respects, most importantly it gives Christians a film that they can finally be proud of as it does justice to the story and is unlike the Biblical Epics of the 50’s and 60’s that had cheesiness written all over them.  It’s also a film of great magnitude with a budget that was well spent and gives the film credibility that so many Christian films lack. 

 

For this Blu-ray release Fox has upped the quality from the previous DVD release and is a top-notch effort all around.  Starting with the strikingly strong 2.35 X 1 framed transfer and presented in 1080p The Passion of the Christ has never looked this good at home.  Caleb Deschanel’s cinematography is wonderfully detailed showcasing the brilliant use of color, texture, depth, and overall emotion to the film.  The film takes on a very particular look and Gibson incorporates many masterful cuts to the film that give it a cinematic movement to help tell help tell the story in a profound way.  The Blu-ray recovers much of the detail that was lost in the DVD; even the subtitles are crystal clear and leap from the screen.  Dark scenes (and there are many) show great use of highlight color and detail is never lost.  The brighter scenes and the landscape throughout the film have rich texture and help give the film a gritty style without looking grainy or too soft.

 

To accompany one of the strongest film transfers we’ve seen on Blu-ray the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio is breathtakingly strong, pronounced, and staggeringly deep.  Low end presence is almost a constant throughout, while the dialogue is articulate and refined, the musical score is achingly beautiful and showcases the richness and fidelity of the films music throughout, the DTS mix on the previous DVD was strong, but this takes that to a whole new level of resolution. 

 

The extras here are fantastic and a great job done by Fox as the first disc is the film presented in the theatrical cut as well as a cut that has been editing for its graphic depictions, which greatly reduces the time of the film as well as its impact.  I am not a fan of reducing the level of the graphic content for a film like this where it’s vital to show the brutality that was suffered by the Savior of the World.  There is a commentary track that follows the film that is very good and should anyone have any questions about certain liberties of the film, this is a track designed for you!  Also, there is an enhanced viewing mode that allows you to watch the film with Biblical footnotes that are also useful to use for those wanting to utilize the film in perhaps a devotional way or for personal research and knowledge. 

 

The second disc features the making-of, which is a great documentary on the painstaking efforts that went into turning this film into a reality.  There is also another feature here that shows the historical and culture aspects of the film and the story of Christ, plus it gives insight into the crucifixion and it’s usage during that period of time, it helps pain a very vivid depiction of what suffered the Cross would have been like.  There are historical photos here and some deleted scenes that all combined truly help make this edition of the film a worthwhile experience going even beyond just the films impact. 

 

If ever there is a film that should be experienced at least once, this is it and this Blu-ray is truly the way at home.

 

 

-   Nate Goss