Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

The Passion of the Christ Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 10, 2017

Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ generated a lot of controversy when it was first released in 2004. The film’s relentlessly gruesome depiction of the horrors inflicted on Jesus as he experienced the end of his (earthly) life seemed to revolt some viewers while leaving others in an appropriately religious fervor. Aside from the visual horrors that Gibson refused to shirk from, though, the film attracted a lot of attention for its unusual soundtrack, one which trafficked in a number of ancient languages instead of doing the “expected” thing and offering quasi-Biblical speech modernized into English for contemporary audiences. While no one seemed to react as viscerally to the need to read subtitles as they did to some of the blood and gore that were often on display in the film, there were nonetheless some people who complained about a film whose dialogue was resolutely in languages that few, if any, could understand. Now more than a decade after the film’s release, and around eight years after its original Blu-ray release, 20th Century Fox has released a new version which is in fact pretty much just the first disc of that first release (down to having the same silk screening replete with "The Definitive Edition" and "Disc 1" emblazoned on it), albeit now with Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in English and Spanish added for those who don’t want to deal with the difficulties of Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew (not to mention those pesky subtitles).

For a summation of the plot (as if most folks need one), please refer to my colleague Martin Liebman's The Passion of the Christ Blu-ray review of the first release.

The Passion of the Christ Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For an assessment of the video quality of the release, please see Marty's The Passion of the Christ Blu-ray review.

The Passion of the Christ Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For thoughts on the original soundtrack, please refer to Marty's The Passion of the Christ Blu-ray review. In terms of the new audio on this release, while I understand why these new tracks are being offered, I personally found them more problematic than helpful. The audiophile in me of course chafes at their lossy presentation (both the English and Spanish tracks are in Dolby Digital 5.1), but more than that, the entire organic nature of the ancient languages in the original presentation is unavoidably disrupted by the modern language equivalents. Making things even worse are the obvious mismatches between spoken dialogue and lip movements, and some of the voice actors in the alternate language versions don't match the very sound of the voices in the original version. I guess these are minor quibbles for those who simply can't stand to read subtitles, but with a story this ingrained upon so many people's minds, indeed their very spirits, I have to wonder how much "understanding" what is being said really plays into the emotional impact of the piece, especially given Gibson's almost hyperbolic visual presentation in the film.

The Passion of the Christ Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

As stated above, this release has the same silk screened "Definitive Edition" and "Disc 1" emblazoned upon it as the first release, and it similarly ports over the same supplemental content as the first disc in the first Blu-ray release, which includes the recut version of the film, commentary tracks and the footnotes feature. See the first two paragraphs of the Supplements section in Marty's The Passion of the Christ Blu-ray review for details.

The Passion of the Christ Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I was working as the Music Director for a pretty "old school" Episcopal denomination when The Passion of the Christ was first released, and the British born Priest who shepherded that flock, a pretty reserved and traditional type who might seem to be the audience Gibson was aiming for, was palpably disturbed by the film when I spoke to him about it. He appreciated the visceral intensity of the horrors being depicted, but he also questioned how the carnage ultimately folded into what he saw as the prime message of Christianity, namely that oft cited "Good News". I had a similarly bifurcated response to the film, at once both appalled but also unavoidably moved by Gibson's almost horror film- esque depictions of the traumas suffered by Jesus during his "final" days on Earth. This new release is a bit of an odd duck, offering just the first disc of the former two disc set, and cobbling on English and Spanish language tracks in lossy Dolby Digital 5.1. The film certainly is a must see for devout Christians, but whether or not you need to have this particular version (especially if you own the first release) probably comes down to your tolerance for reading subtitles.