The Passion of the Christ

Making of

Mel Gibson played many crucial roles in getting "The Passion of the Christ" made, and it has been called ?Mel?s labor of love.? Gibson personally committed an estimated $40m to $50m of his own resources to finance and advertise the film. In addition to directing, Gibson co-produced and co-wrote the screenplay with Benedict Fitzgerald.

Related Topics:
Screenplay - Benedict Fitzgerald

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Primarily because of the subject and the way Gibson presents the Passion narrative, he had difficulty finding a company to distribute it in the United States. In fact, the film was completed before a distributor, Newmarket Films, agreed to release it in the U.S. In Canada, Equinox Films was the distributor. Icon Films distributed it in the United Kingdom.

Related Topics:
United States - Newmarket Films - Canada - United Kingdom

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In addition to the attacks of anti-Semitism from many Jews and liberal Christians, Gibson?s traditionalist Catholic beliefs were also a frequent target by critics. The film was seen by many critics to be nothing less than a modern-day Passion play. However, co-star Maia Morgenstern (who played Mary), herself a Jew and the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, rejects these criticisms. She had read the script with her father and they found it "beautiful, very poetic, and very philosophical."

Related Topics:
Jews - Christian - Traditionalist Catholic - Passion play - Maia Morgenstern - Mary - Holocaust

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Gibson intended the movie to be faithful to the New Testament, but did use extra-biblical sources to flesh out the screenplay. One of those, "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ", was written by a sickly, stigmatic German nun named Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774?1824,) who belonged to the Augustinian Order. Virtually illiterate, Emmerich dictated her visions of Christ?s Passion, which depicted the Jews as even more vicious and bloodthirsty than the Romans.

Related Topics:
New Testament - Stigmatic - German - Nun - Anne Catherine Emmerich - Augustinian Order - Romans

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But perhaps the strongest criticism was directed at Mel Gibson due to his refusal to denounce the views of his father, Hutton Gibson, who espouses doubts concerning the number of Jews killed during the Holocaust and is extremely outspoken against the post-Vatican II Roman Catholic Church, even writing a scathing criticism of the late Pope John Paul II (Karol Józef Wojty?a,) whom the elder Gibson called "Garrulous Karolus the Qur'an Kisser." Hutton Gibson even labeled the Second Vatican Council a Masonic plot launched by the Jews to take over the Roman Catholic Church. Friends close to both Gibsons say that although Mel Gibson loves his father dearly and abides by the biblical dictum "honor thy father and mother," they disagree on a number of subjects. One called Hutton Gibson ?an old man with strange views.? Even ABC?s Diane Sawyer was sternly rebuked by Mel Gibson during the airing of a special about "The Passion of the Christ" when she brought up some of Hutton Gibson?s statements, ostensibly to give Mel the opportunity to say "I don't agree with my father on that." Instead, he said ?He?s my father... I love him? gotta leave it alone, Diane. gotta leave it alone.? Many critics saw this as a missed opportunity; supporters believe that Sawyer was asking a loaded question and got the response she wanted.

Related Topics:
Hutton Gibson - Vatican II - Roman Catholic Church - Pope John Paul II - Qur'an - Second Vatican Council - Masonic - ABC - Diane Sawyer

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There was a traditional Catholic priest on set during the entire filming, and sources state that there were a number of non-Christians in the cast and crew who converted to Christianity.

Related Topics:
Priest - Christianity

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Jim Caviezel, the actor playing Jesus and devout Catholic, suffered numerous injuries and ailments during the production, including pneumonia and a separated shoulder (the incident where that happened is actually in the final cut -- it's the scene where Jesus falls and the cross lands on his back.) In the scourging scene, Caviezel was actually whipped twice and still bears scars. The complex full-body makeup required the actor to be awake at 2 a.m. to undergo several hours of application of the appliances that would make it look like he'd been viciously flayed. But that pales in comparison to his being struck by lightning during the crucifixion scene.

Related Topics:
Jim Caviezel - Pneumonia

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Australian photographer Ken Duncan was invited by Mel Gibson to be present during filming and offers limited edition prints http://www.kenduncan.com/gallery.php?ms=21& and a book full of photography shot on location.

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Cast and crew

The film?s principal cast and crew are as follows:

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Cast:

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• Jim Caviezel - Jesus, the Christ
• Maia Morgenstern - Mary, the mother of Jesus
• Monica Bellucci - Mary Magdalene
• Hristo Naumov Shopov - Pontius Pilate
• Mattia Sbragia - Caiphas
• Rosalinda Celentano - Satan
• Hristo Jivkov - John
• Francesco DeVito - Peter
• Luca Lionello - Judas
• Claudia Gerini - Claudia Procles

Crew:

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• Mel Gibson - director, co-producer, co-screenwriter
• Benedict Fitzgerald - co-screenwriter
• Caleb Deschanel - director of photography
• Francesco Frigeri - production designer
• Reverend William Fulco - translated script into Latin and reconstructed Aramaic

The film was shot at Rome?s Cinecitta Studios and various locations in Italy, much of it in Matera, on a budget of U.S. $25 million, financed entirely by Gibson.

Related Topics:
Cinecitta Studios - Italy - Matera

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