[Plymouth Sentinel]

"...but like any artist, he was simply doing what he did..."

Actually, these filmic just don't require the sort of intellectual stamina demanded of us by the greats.

Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, Milton, Keats, Eliot were intellectually colossal. Understanding them (crucial to enjoying them -in my judgment) requires enormous mental discipline and years of careful study.

As you might gather, I'm not keep on these filmic (thought admittedly young) arts and media. I'm patient, but skeptical.

Second, with collaborative dramatic arts, are you listening to writer or director or actor? In my judgment (again) this makes them second rate. I will never, ever view Gibson's film the way I view the last 5 lines of Paradise Lost, the best 5 lines in all artwork and in all Christendom.

[kenavi]

The New Testament is a classic too.

To me, a filmic representation converts it into idolatry, as the focus becomes the physical appearance of the actor.

[livius]

No, I don't think Gibson is in that league. The Passion is a very beautiful film with some truly striking images, however. Many of these images were actually taken from classic works of religious art - there are certain tableaux or even individual figures that are directly from Velazquez, Caravaggio, etc.

I guess I just don't see the point of being that impressed by Gibson as a person. He's not a saint, just a very fine artist in his medium.