Passion Facts

In theaters: Ash Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2004
Studio/distributor: Icon Entertainment
and Newmarket Films
Screens: 2,000 throughout the U.S. (“Braveheart” opened on 2,035 screens; “Pirates of the Caribbean” on 3,300).
Director: Mel Gibson
Executive Producer: Steve McEveety
Cast: Christ: Jim Caviezel (“The Thin Red Line,” “The Count of Monte Cristo”
Mary Magdalene: Monica Belluci (“Tears of the Sun,” “The Matrix Reloaded”
Mary: Maia Morgenstern
Screenplay: Mel Gibson, Ben Fitzgerald
Music score: James Horner (“Titanic”)
Web site: www.thepassionofthechrist.com

Graphic Violence

Perhaps the element that most sets “The Passion of the Christ” apart from other movies about Jesus is Gibson’s commitment to show the horror of the cross.

“I think we have gotten too used to seeing pretty crosses on the wall, and we forget what really happened,” Gibson told Outreach. “We know that Jesus suffered and died, but we don’t really think about what it all means.

“Hey, I didn’t realize this either when I was growing up. The full horror of what Jesus suffered for our redemption didn’t really strike me. But when you finally see it and understand what He went through, it makes you feel not only compassion, but also a debt. You want to repay Him for the enormity of His sacrifice. You want to love Him in return.”

While the film is not yet rated, the graphic realism will most likely earn an R rating for the film — a potential roadblock for pastors who are uneasy about recommending an R-rated film to their congregations.

Jack Graham, president of the Southern Baptist Convention and pastor of 21,000-member Prestonwood Baptist in Dallas, Texas, believes that the excellent quality and subject matter of the film supercedes the rating dilemma.

“It is extremely violent because the cross was violent,” he says. Others, including Gibson, have noted that based on some of its content, the Bible itself would be rated R.

Still, Gibson contends that he stayed away from any gratuitous violence. “We actually held back. If we had filmed exactly what happened, no one would’ve been able to take it,” he says, adding that children 12 and under should not see the film.