RotK and Passion

[KnowTheToe]

With the world wide population of christians, I would not be surprised for this movie to do very very well. Maybe not a Billion, but 600-700 million easy. I also think it will be the largest DVD sales ever. Mel Gibson is a talanted director and actor who put every part of himself into getting this done right and it is a spectacular movie. PJ did the same thing with LoTR and found many converts for the fantasy realm.

 

[Dimwhit]

I think the numbers are just slightly inflated, considering some church groups are buying out entire showings to give away in the hopes of conversion. And I doubt they'd be able to get every one of those tickets into the hands of someone who would actually go view it.

Plus, I lost most of my respect for Gibson over comments he made regarding this film. Being disrespectful is not a way to get on my good side.

Assuming it doesn't take this thread too far over, I'm curious what comments you're taking about. I heard several interviews with him, and nothing he said seemed disrespectful. But maybe I missed something.

 

[The Serge]

Yeah, I've been sort of watching this progression for TPoTC. Frankly, I'm not surprised at how well it's doing. Unlike RotK, which is just a spectacular fantasy movie to a lot of people -- even most fantasy fans -- TPoTC is not only a religious feature, it's one that has been endorsed by a lot of Christians in addition to receiving a lot of publicity. The publicity is so intense that for a week, various TV talk shows have discussed it ad nauseum...

I would like to say that there is no reason for this thread to develop into some sort of discussion about faith or lackthereof beyond the responses of how certain demographics may impact box office sales. The original poster, in her/his wisdom, simply noted that TPotC is competing with the success of RotK. That's it. If folks want to debate the cinematic merits of the film, that really belongs in another thread... and even that will be difficult because a lot of people will be bringing baggage of all sorts to the discussion that will marr objective discourse.

As for whether I'll see the film or not... I don't intend on it. Although I'm curious, I can't sit through what I've heard is a substantial amount of time spent watching someone be tortured no matter who or what the person is. Not my sort of thing... Hell, I got embaressed when I watched American Pie because of the stupid antics of the main protagonist (not because he was horny, but because he was constantly making a donkey out of himself).

Still, I may buy the score. A lot of very dismal music that seems to reach a powerful, righteous creschendo... My kind of thing.

 

[Wombat]

I'll probably rent it someday, if for no other reason that to hear Aramaic spoken.

More interested on a linguistic and setting/costuming level than anything else. Having talked to several people of various persuassions who had seen the film, apparently what you believe before the film is more or less what you believe after the fact.

 

[Dimwhit]

Having talked to several people of various persuassions who had seen the film, apparently what you believe before the film is more or less what you believe after the fact.

I couldn't agree more. If you believe it's anti-semetic before you see it, you'll think so after. If you believe it's going to move you before, it will when you see it. If you expect to be grossed out and horrified by the violence, then you certainly will be. I believe that holds true for the majority of people who see it.

I'll tell you, though, outside of the blood, it was a beautiful film. The sets, clothing, etc. were great and seemed very authentic to me.

 

[kingpaul]

The original poster, in her/his wisdom

His

 

[danbala]

I couldn't agree more. If you believe it's anti-semetic before you see it, you'll think so after. If you believe it's going to move you before, it will when you see it. If you expect to be grossed out and horrified by the violence, then you certainly will be. I believe that holds true for the majority of people who see it.

I'll tell you, though, outside of the blood, it was a beautiful film. The sets, clothing, etc. were great and seemed very authentic to me.

But did you believe it was beautiful going into the movie

 

[Dimwhit]

But did you believe it was beautiful going into the movie

Stop making fun of me with my own words.

 

[Mark]

RotK and Passion

They'll both wind up in my DVD collection, eventually.

 

[barsoomcore]

It's interesting, watching the film. We saw it on the weekend (my religious beliefs don't really include any proper nouns, for what it's worth) and for, I imagine, just about anyone raised in the West, the funny thing is that there's no tension.

It's not melodrama. I mean, you KNOW how it ends, right? There's not likely to be many spoilers on this one.

So, devoid as it is of narrative tension, the only reason to really watch the film is to consider the presentation of the spiritual/philosophical/religious ideas the story itself contains. The story of the Christ is a great story because of how it illustrates so many truths of human existence. Which of those you find most compelling has more to say about you and your beliefs than it does about the story -- and the film is exactly the same in that regard. Reading reviews of the film I am struck by how revealing they all are of the reviewer's philosophical stance. Rather than of the film's stance.

The film's qualities as a movie are almost uninteresting to me. The performances are GREAT across the board, the effects mostly well-done, occasionally I think the direction gets a little too broad (too many wide-angle close-ups of laughing Roman soldiers, I think), but overall it's a lovely, detailed, well-conceived picture. But who cares? It's what it makes you THINK about that's interesting, it's what it reveals to you about your own feelings and thoughts and beliefs.

Which is something I noticed about Fight Club when it came out. While it was a well-done movie, what was really interesting about it was the way it made people think. The outbursts it provoked and the thoughts it generated.

Not many movies actually make me think. So thanks, Mr. Gibson, for that much.

I hope the above does not contain anything anyone finds offensive. Please just let me know if I'm unintentionally slagging off some belief set -- I'd be more than happy to remove anything that upsets or offends. I believe that the story of Christ holds tons of value for all readers, regardless of their feelings on its historical accuracy.