Two thumbs up for 'The Passion'

Mel Gibson's controversial "The Passion of the Christ," which recounts the final hours in the life of Jesus, finally opens Wednesday, and the Sun-Times' own Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper offered an exclusive early review of the movie on their syndicated series "Ebert & Roeper" this weekend.

Giving "Passion" their trademark stamp of approval of "two thumbs way up," Ebert and Roeper called it "a great film."

"It's the only religious movie I've seen, with the exception of 'The Gospel According to St. Matthew' by [Italian director Pier Paolo] Pasolini, that really seems to deal with what actually happened," said Ebert, who is the Sun-Times film critic.

"This is the most powerful, important and by far the most graphic interpretation of Christ's final hours ever put on film," said Roeper, a Sun-Times columnist. "Mel Gibson is a masterful storyteller, and this is the work of his lifetime. You have to admire not just Gibson for his vision and his directing abilities, but Jim Caviezel [as Christ] and the rest of the cast."

As for the controversy over whether the movie promotes anti-Semitism, Ebert said, "I hope people will see this movie for themselves and then judge. I don't think the movie is anti-Semitic. Christ was born as a Jew, his disciples were Jewish. Yes, [in the movie] some Jewish priests call for his death. [But] they're threatened by his assault on their establishment. Institutions protect their power structures. [Besides] most of the Jews in this movie are horrified by what they see."

"This movie does not blame all Jews past and present for the death of Jesus," Roeper said. "And no matter what your faith, it should not be shaken or threatened by a movie, even one as intense and personal as this one."

"It focuses relentlessly on the price that Christ paid for redemption," Ebert said. "And it emphasizes that Jesus wanted this to happen. His death was the instrument of his purpose, and we should be grateful to him instead of critical of those who were the instruments of his will."

Added Roeper, "And this film does all of that in such a powerful and effective way."

"The Gospels are the most widely read works probably in the history of civilization and the most widely misinterpreted," Roeper said. "And people are going to be doing the same thing to this movie."

This edition of "Ebert & Roeper" will be rebroadcast locally at 10:30 a.m. today on WLS-Channel 7. For a full transcript of this "Passion of the Christ" segment, go to www.movies.com.

This article dilutes what Ebert said. He did not say, "It is a great film," meaning, "It's great stuff." He said "It is a very great film"--as in masterpiece, great art, etc.

Here is the full review:

ROEPER: "This is the most powerful, important and by far the most graphic interpretation of Christ's final hours ever put on film. Mel Gibson is a masterful storyteller, and he has created a 2,000-year-old world brimming with authentic details."

EBERT: "I was also deeply moved by The Passion of the Christ, which in excruciating details does follow the blood-soaked Stations of the Cross. Christianity has focused on the physical wounds of Jesus to show that he suffered, as well as died, for man's sins, and this movie makes it real."

ROEPER: "As for concerns of anti-Semitism: Ciaphas does lead the call for Jesus to die, and Pontius Pilate is depicted as more conflicted than most historical records indicate. But other temple leaders question the rush to condemn Jesus, and it's the Roman soldiers who are portrayed as sadistic animals throughout this film. This movie does not blame all Jews past and present for the death of Jesus, a descendant of Judah."

EBERT: "It's a very great film. It's the only religious film I've seen with the exception of The Gospel According to Matthew, by Pasolini, that really seems to deal directly with what happened instead of with all kinds of sentimental eyes, cleaned up, post card versions of it."

ROEPER: "With The Passion of the Christ, I know there'll be protest groups in front of the theater. I hope they at least go into the theater and see the movie first, and then decide if they want to protest the actual film."

EBERT: "I think the controversy was very premature and was based on people that hadn't see the film, and who are going to be a little surprised at what's actually in the film."

Ebert is our best known film critic. His calling Gibson's film a masterpiece is hugely significant.

I have a sense that his partner Roeper is a bit steamed about the treatment this movie has gotten. A little while back, he wrote a column on how Hollywood routinely trashes the Catholic Church. His inspiration was a 47 page packet he had received from the American Jewish Committee, which was sent to movie critics and lets them know what the American Jewish Committee wants critics to say about Gibson's film.

Apparently, Ebert and Roeper have decided to give their honest opinions, and not follow the American Jewish Committee line.

Didn't see transcript yet, but it's worth listening to the audio, now available at ...

http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/ebertandroeper/today.html

They say it's an epic film. I'm also surprised at how much emotion Ebert has when he says this shows how Christ died for our sins, though, understandably, he qualifies this as a belief of Christians.

Both reviewers also emphasize the movie is NOT anti-Semitic.

-- Joe

P.S. Boston Globe says the movie is obscene. A good reason to see it ;) Yahoo! Movies now has it's usual scorecard. Very mixed reviews....

I caught part of their review by accident Saturday night and was riveted. They were both so adamant and positive about the film and seemed sincere. Any irritation, especially by Roeper, was aimed at the many detractors and what he referred to as their blatant misconceptions (paraphrase). They went on to say how they were both moved by the film and the experience. I was floored. I planned to see it, but was surprised to hear any major movie reviewers speak of it so glowingly. They loved the cinematography and the acting, as well. As an aside, I knew parts of it would be difficult to watch from the point of view of seeing someone suffer, especially Jesus, and I found one or 2 of their clips difficult to watch (the nails into the hands), but that is the experience of the Crucifixion and it put you in the position of seeing what the followers of Jesus saw first-hand and what Jesus experienced. And how he suffered for our sins. They ended by saying, and I'm paraphrasing - "Go see it. And when it comes out on dvd, buy it. It's sure to be an epic." I will be looking for the transcript online.

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