The Passion of the Christ (Full Screen Edition)
The Passion of the Christ focuses on the last twelve hours of Jesus of Nazareth’s life. The film begins in the Garden of Olives where Jesus has gone to pray after the Last Supper. Jesus must resist the temptations of Satan. Betrayed by Judas Iscariot, Jesus is then arrested and taken within the city walls of Jerusalem where leaders of the Pharisees confront him with accusations of blasphemy and his trial results in a condemnation to death.After all the controversy and rigorous debate has subside
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Mannequin & Mannequin 2: On the Move
Disc 1: MANNEQUIN Disc 2: MANNEQUIN 2 ON THE MOVE (1991)Mannequin
Mannequin is notionally a romantic comedy in which Andrew McCarthy plays a luckless department-store employee and Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City) is an Egyptian princess reincarnated as a shop-window dummy, who comes to life when she encounters McCarthy, only to revert to mannequin status when anyone else is watching her. With her encouragement, he becomes emboldened in his career as a window decorator as well as falling in l
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John F. Frederick said
September 8 2010 @ 9:03 pm
Review by John F. Frederick for The Passion of the Christ (Full Screen Edition)
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One of the most talked about films in decades; thought I would add my 2 cents as a late entry.
I think the root controversy about the film has to do with the question of whether or not it has artistic merit for a viewer without faith. I think this is a fair question, as I never really understood the idea that religion offers, so to speak, an excuse for ugly artwork. Arguably there is no such excuse, unless one of the points of religious art is to repel people who don’t already share the faith.
The film has been labeled violent, which it is; but unfair here has been the label that it is in some sense unusually violent. It is not. There are hundreds of films that are far more violent. Perhaps this film is even less violent than average. It is perhaps even less violent than the blockbuster version of Gandhi of some years back starring Bergen Kingsley, of which the Passion has reminded me somewhat; at any rate they are at least in the same ball park. Rather, the distinctive mark of the Passion is that it invites us to keep the humanity of the victim of violence in full view; not to distance ourselves by, say, feeling contempt or anger towards the victim as a bump-off-able bad guy, or seeing the victim as a replaceable curiosity, a dispensable nitwit. In the Gandhi movie, for example, the majority of the acts of violence are against victims who are more or less, cinematically speaking, dispensable nitwits. All we see Gandhi suffer is being shot at the end (and even that, at the beginning also, setting up a flashback)-and a few blows to the head (from which he recovers).
Yet the character to suffer the violence in this film is not only the main character, it is a character who is anything but a dispensable nitwit. He is unambiguously portrayed as is in the Gospels–a perfect human being-and more: a Divine Person. No doubt faith is helpful here, but if the viewer can so much as entertain the premise as a possibility, then I would say that the movie is as beautiful as it is emotionally powerful. Yet even apart from that premise, the film also powerfully portrays deep love and friendships between human beings, which has surely a beauty of its own even under heart wrenching circumstances. Moreover, in what is surely one of, if not the most violent sequences in the film-the scourging (the soldiers carrying out the order, one in particular, wind up going over the top in enthusiasm)-we only see the victim about half the time; the rest of the time we see shots of peoples’ faces, notably his friends, mostly of the face of his mother. The film does show us the anatomical side of the violence enough so that we really understand what is happening-but no more; the point is what it MEANS for it to be happening. In this film suffering is given a human face.
It is quite a unique experience. First, breaking out of the package of being “mere cinema,” there are two points of honesty of the film even apart from any faith claim. (1) by all serious accounts, Jesus of Nazareth was at the least an exceptional human being; yet death by crucifixion was no walk in the park. (2) by all serious reflections, in one way or another-regardless of how you slice it (whether from the point of view of any religion or from the point of view of atheism)-humanity really hasn’t treated God any better than the main character gets treated in this film. This is a film which portrays God as staying with humanity despite the way it has treated him (and the way human beings have treated each other). The violence is not for it own sake; still less is it for the sake either of sadism–or of a narrator stepping off the screen to address the audience with guilt trips (shaming and flagellating the viewer)–; it is for the sake of thoughtfully presenting this possibility in an artistic way. Second, rather that allowing the audience the space to distance themselves from characters undergoing violence, this film actually does the opposite: it prods the audience to see NONE of the characters as dispensable nitwits, not even those who are committing the violence. The anti-Semitism charge is simply a non-sequitur. It’s not anti-anybody.
The film visually portrays what I have described without being artificial or saccharine, invoking a remarkable depth for symbolism and a good sense of timing; it plainly succeeds in telling a story blending sight and sound. I will give two examples which I found especially powerful; they are even related. One is where the film shifts back and forth from shots of the feet of the roman soldiers standing in pools of his blood as they scourge him, to shots of the feet of the Apostles as he was symbolically washing them. The other is a subtle, nonverbal portrayal of the conversion of a roman soldier which spans in a sense the entire film. This conversion story is visually framed from the film’s opening scenes when a temple guard has his ear miraculously restored after it is sliced off in a struggle by one of the Apostles. The guard remains for some time on his knees, as if so overcome by the experience he cannot move. The roman solider to be converted is subtly introduced in the next scenes (he is one of the soldiers Mary Magdalene complains to about the arrest), but we see him from time to time throughout the movie, witnessing and being influenced by various events; in a final scene, blood and water falls upon his eyes, flowing from the side of the deceased victim that he pierces with a lance (though first non-verbally apologizing to the mother; he does it merely to confirm he is dead), and he falls to his knees in a way which resonates with the action of the temple guard. The temple guard, so to speak, had his hearing restored; the roman soldier, so to speak, his sight. On the side of deep friendships, notable are the relationships between Jesus, his mother, Mary Magdalene and the youngest Apostle, John. One moment uniting this dimension to the above examples is when John stumbles and falls on his knees before the two Marys (running to them to tell them of Jesus’ arrest)-to be followed by John later seeing Mary’s agony as she watches her son fall to his knees as he carries the cross. The kneeling image in general is itself also framed by beautiful opening and closing scenes invoking a folding together of earth and sky (the first providing the backdrop of Jesus falling to his knees in his agony in the garden; the second entailing powerful from-the-ground-up and from-the-sky-down shots of the moment of his death on the cross). Here resonating throughout is the film’s awesome musical score. I would add that the use of Aramaic in the film punctuated with subtitles was nothing less than masterful; I am not even aware of the film being in a “foreign language.”
Acting was good but special mention needs to go to Maia Morgenstern, who played the mother. In interviews she said she played the character from the point of view of a mother who loved her son; the result is one of the most moving and beautiful character portrayals in all of cinema.
If you are looking for popcorn-eating entertainment, this is not the film to watch. (Even during gladiatorial times at the Colosseum this movie would have gotten thumbs down.) But if you are in the mood for a thought-provoking treatment of religious themes in a serious, sensitive and artistic way, then by all means see the film.
Chuck Gray said
September 8 2010 @ 9:54 pm
Review by Chuck Gray for The Passion of the Christ (Full Screen Edition)
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When you start the movie you have the hype that has surrounded it. At the end you have the feeling that this individual loved, believed, and gave everything for his beliefs. You understand that the Jews of that society show they were like us today where a few acted as if they were the voice of the many. It is a movie that pulls at the fabric of your understanding of this horrible and painful death allowing you to understand it and what it must have been like. In summary it is a movie that made me reflect. It made me sad, and based on my beliefs made me proud that this individual cared for me and gave his life to set me free. It was a well done and flowed well from beginning to end. It built on itself the way a great movie should. The editing and story through the lens was exceptional. It was a great technical movie regardless of beliefs.
Lyndall S. Smith said
September 8 2010 @ 10:34 pm
Review by Lyndall S. Smith for The Passion of the Christ (Full Screen Edition)
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I purchased this version after I saw it in the store the week it came out. I already owned the original DVD release, but I heard this had lots of special features and the re-cut version. Therefore I purchased this edition. However, I was a bit disappointed.
I really enjoyed the movie in the theater. It tells the story of the last 12 hours of the life of christ. It was very gory and I wouldn’t want to show it to children. However, for older people (12 yrs. and up)this does a good job of depicting the trials and tribulations of Christ’s crucifiction.
My biggest complaint about this movie was the subtitles. However, if you are familiar with the Biblical story, you can pretty much ignore the dialogue and focus on the picture.
Now for this “Definitive Edition” Special feature wise this is a great edition to have. It has loads of extra features.
My biggest complaint about this edition was that if you are a person like me who sometimes has to take several different times (starting and stopping) to watch a movie in it’s entirety, the chapter selections are a wonderful thing. You can stop where you need to and start back just by selecting the scene you were on. However, with the definitive edition the scene selection is done with approximately 10 chapters. The chapters are set up to coincide with the “stations of the cross.” Although a good idea if you are Catholic and want to see those stages but for a normal viewer of this movie it was terribly frustrating. The first chapter runs for over an hour. I usually don’t have that long to watch so I have to start all over each time and use fast forward to get to where I was. It was just very irritating.
I really liked the fact that they included the re-cut version of the film as well as the original. If you are unfamiliar with the re-cut version, it essentially is a “less graphic” version of the film (although it is still very violent). This version may be better for a church library or a family with younger children.
If you like special features and want the less gory version of the Passion then by all means purchase this edition. However, if you prefer to be able to stop and start or jump to a certain scene of the movie then go with the original release (it has approx. 32 scene chapters).
anonymous said
September 8 2010 @ 11:07 pm
Review by anonymous for The Passion of the Christ (Full Screen Edition)
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Although I say it is the “greatest” motion picture ever made, it is not the “best” motion picture ever made. Why is it the greatest? Impact. Of the myriad films that I have seen in my life, none has had such a gripping effect on me physically, mentally and spiritually. I left the screening with a knot in my chest. What, in fact, was the “impact?”Certainly the graphic scourging of Jesus Christ, one of the most painful and truly agonizing sequences in film history, has much to do with it. The brutality of the Romans, who were masters of the art of torture, is depicted so realistically (and quite probably toned down in the film) that watching it was overwhelming. This is isn’t meant to be a spoiler: just put on your seatbelts when you go see this movie. And you really should see it if you have a passion for the cinema. It’s an astonishing piece of work, and the acting is flawless.It has one weak scene that should simply be edited out: a brief flashback to establish that Jesus is a carpenter, in which he has just finished building a “modern” table, and his mother Mary says that the idea or concept will never catch on. That scene is a piece of creative license that I wouldn’t have taken, although it’s not entirely unforgivable. It’s the film’s only light moment. From there on, get ready for the most harrowing visual experience in human suffering that has ever been brought to the screen.[...] Returning to the film, I found the violence extremely disturbing, but not the sort of violence that would breed or encourage violence. Let me explain: the violence in this film cannot be compared to the violence in movies like XXX, for example, which is purely for entertainment purposes in that type of pop-corn flick. The violence in The Passion is not intended to entertain. I cannot conceive a child or an adolescent wanting to immitate the violence in this film, as supposedly has been the case in connection with other TV shows and movies in the past. The depiction of violence here shows the extremes of man’s inhumanity to man.This motion picture is a difficult, painful, incredibly disturbing an enlightening experience. It took me at least a few hours to come down from its effect. Yes, it will deeply affect you, especially if you are a Christian as I am. Yet, I cannot classify it as a religious movie. It’s the story of a man who preached perfect love, forgiveness, and peace, and who fell victim to envy and, consequently, was killed for no other crime than “love thy neighbor”. That is the human aspect of the movie.There is also the spiritual: the constant emotional and psychological flogging of the devil, played by a brilliant actress whose name escapes me; the reason why Jesus, called Yeshua, allowed himself to be captured, tortured and crucified
when, as the Son of God, he had the power to prevent what he willingly did–to sacrifice his life for the redemption of mankind; and how he stripped the devil of all power by his death on the cross and resurrection. There is much, much more, but each viewer, based on her or his beliefs, will interpret the spiritual impact of the film upon them in their own way.For students of film, this is a must. No movie is as powerful as this one. Period. It is a perfect example of the “power” of the seventh art, which is the cinema. If there is a must-see movie thus far this millennium, it is this masterpiece! Parents should take heed to the R rating!!! It’s visually too overwhelming for small children. But for mature adults, highly recommended! But do fasten your seatbelts, as I said. It is one astonishing ride!
Barron Laycock said
September 8 2010 @ 11:18 pm
Review by Barron Laycock for The Passion of the Christ (Full Screen Edition)
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First of all, let me start this effort by saying how amazed I was by the movie, and by its sheer emotional power. It is superbly shot, the cinematography literally breath-taking in its intensity and ability to add muscular heft to the familiar story of how Jesus came to fulfill the prophecy through his divine sacrifice on behalf of all mankind. The movie-goer is sure to be transformed by the magnitude of the oft-told and retold tale of how the events of the final twelve hours focused on the ways in which Jesus deliberately serves himself up as the sacrificial lamb for the manifest sins of the world, offering all humans the opportunity to re-establish their contact with the divine from whom they had been estranged.Indeed, I found myself almost speechless after viewing the film, and was not quite sure to what extent it was a result of the power of the film’s message as opposed to the graphically violent context in which the tale is told. Herein lies the single criticism one can level against the film, which despite many worries from bystanders that it was laced with virulent anti-Semitism, seems to clearly blame all sinners (ergo, all of us) for the sacrifice of God’s son on the cross. Yet Mel Gibson’s sure hand is both able and accurate, and the violence shows how carnal man greets the divine, and how we react to the message of hope and salvation; through unspeakable cruelty and gratuitous violence. So, while this is indeed a very violent movie, the murderous acts depicted quite graphically have to be taken in the context of the supernatural events transpiring, as a kind of carnal counterpoint to the ethereal repose with which Jesus bears all of the acts visited upon him. At one point He tells Mary (After he has stumbled under the burden of the cross) “Behold, mother, I make all thing anew!” This was, for me at least, a quite stunning reminder of the godly forces at work amidst all the violence and carnage. This is a very personal interpretation of the final twelve hours of Christ’s life on earth leading to His crucifixition. From the moment it opens in the solitude of the Garden at Gethsemane, one is immediately aware of the battle ongoing between good and evil, as the devil (cleverly presented as a stunning if malevolent woman with a masculine voice) attempts to dissuade Jesus from attempting what he about to undertake. From this it is obvious He is doing this for all mankind, Jews and Gentiles alike, and that we are all to blame, through our unremitting addiction to carnality and sinfulness, for the evil manifested in the world. This is a fantastic film, one that is definitely not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach, and definitely not something I would suggest subjecting a child to. Still, it is a remarkable work, and one that deserves the very wide distribution it is about to encounter.
Andrea Gidusko said
September 8 2010 @ 11:52 pm
Review by Andrea Gidusko for Mannequin & Mannequin 2: On the Move
This is also a good movie to watch when you want to see some great actors early works, such as James Spader, and it also let you see what Estelle Getty looked like when she wasn’t in a lot of makeup playing Sophia Patrillo on “The Golden Girls”; not to mention Mesach Taylor who doesn’t seem to be doing that much acting now, but did appear in the sequal and Designing Women for the extent of it’s run.In the end, every movie has it’s devoted fans and I’m one of them.
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Laugh if you must, but this film is one of my all time favorite films. I saw it in the theater, twice, when I was eleven year of age, then rented it about a million times (on BETA!) when it came out on video. Yes, I know it is cheesy and not a work of art, but it is a CUTE movie that I loved at eleven and continue to love at twenty-five.Maybe I’m just a romantic at heart, but films where two people who find each other to spite all odds make me feel good. Movies like this make you believe in romance, and even a pescimist like myself needs to believe in some kind of hope and love.Now with Kim Cattrall’s fame being skyrocketted with Sex And The City I’m hoping more people will discover what a great movie this really is. Most of Kims are, I’ve seen a lot of them (even the early ones which are beyond scary…and then there’s Porkys…)Also, one must not forget that even with all the bad reviews this film recieved, it made a lot of money at the box office and on video and even spawned a sequal; (which was pretty bad, but still cool to see nonetheless)not to mention the fact that it was nominated for an Academy Award in 1988 (for Best Original Song but STILL
Byron Kolln said
September 9 2010 @ 12:51 am
Review by Byron Kolln for Mannequin & Mannequin 2: On the Move
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MANNEQUIN is a cute romantic comedy from the era that style forgot…the 80′s. The film features a gorgeous pre-”Sex and the City” Kim Cattrall as the titular character.Jonathan Switcher (Andrew McCarthy) is a frustrated artist, living from crummy job to crummy job, and coming to the end of a rocky relationship with the … Roxie (Carole Davis). When kindly Claire Timkin (Estelle Getty – TV’s “The Golden Girls”) gives him a job at her floundering department store, he is re-united with his favorite project, a gorgeous blonde mannequin. When the mannequin comes alive and declares that she is Emmy, an Egyptian maiden from over 1,000 years before (played by Kim Cattrall), he is more than a little amazed. With Emmy’s help, he re-invents the department store as a cutting-edge fashion centre and finds the love of his life.The film also features Meshach Taylor (TV’s “Designing Women”) as Jonathan’s flamboyant assistant Hollywood, and also stars James Spader, G.W. Bailey, Stephen Vinovich and Christopher Maher.The DVD includes both fullscreen and widescreen versions of the film as well as the trailer and DVD trailers for “The Princess Bride: Special Edition” and “Fiddler on the Roof: Special Edition”. (Double-sided, single-layer disc).
C. A Baker said
September 9 2010 @ 12:58 am
Review by C. A Baker for Mannequin & Mannequin 2: On the Move
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I give them 2 stars for finally releasing this gem on DVD but no extras??
This film is delightful and refreshing, Leonard Maltin obviously was having a bad day when he saw this film. I must have seen it 6 or more times when it was in the theaters.
Kim Catrall(Sex in the City) is delightfully coy and silly as well as charming in this comedy about an ancient princess with a too modern outlook and is “cursed” to live through thousands of years until she finds a love who can appreciate her for who she is and not try and control her.
Andrew McCarthy(Pretty in Pink) is wonderful as a failed sculptist who cannot keep a job until he gets a job working as a window dresser at a failing dept store in Philadelphia.
Great co-stars Estelle Getty(Golden Girls), Mesach(sp?) Taylor(Designing Women), James Spader(Stargate the movie) and others make this film a hysterical and romantic romp!
J M said
September 9 2010 @ 1:46 am
Review by J M for Mannequin & Mannequin 2: On the Move
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Those of you out there looking for a horribly deep movie won’t bother with Mannequin, of course. My boyfriend laughs at me for stating it’s one of my favorite movies of all time, but heck, what does he know?It’s campy, it’s corny, it’s oh-so-dated, but it’s hilariously fun. ‘Mannequin’ is the story of an Egyptian princess (neat concept played fluffily well by Kim Cattrall) that is cursed to become a Mannequin unless she’s in the presence of the person she chooses to reveal herself to. Andrew McCarthy is Jonathan, a down-on-his luck stockboy that’s got a chance to make something of himself by helping decorate the storefront windows in a failing department store in NYC. That’s where Cattrall’s mannequin Emmy steps in, and the two fall in love (come on, you knew they would).The fun thing about this movie is that it’s chock full of 80′s goodness. I’m not just talking the clothes or the music (though those are great too), I’m talking about the actors as well. Not only do you have 80′s king Andrew McCarthy, but we have James Spader playing the slimy manager of a competing store, and GW Bailey (from the Police Academy movies) playing a slightly off-kilter security guard. Meschach Taylor almost steals the entire movie away with his portrayal of Hollywood Henderson, a flamboyant gay man with strange eyeglasses and a penchant to cry at the thought of True Love.It’s fun and fluffy overall, but it’s entertaining. Those of you that saw it in the 80′s will love the walk down memory lane. My only complaint (and why it didn’t get 5 stars from me) is that the DVD is rather cheap. Cheap box, and zero extras. My advice is that if you just want it for a one time viewing, get the VHS. If you want it to add to your DVD collection, then get the DVD, because it’s fairly reasonably priced.
Anonymous said
September 9 2010 @ 2:41 am
Review by for Mannequin & Mannequin 2: On the Move
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I’ve loved “Mannequin” from the first moment I saw it back when it was released in 1987! It’s actually been a couple of years since I viewed it last time on cable, but I’ve just received my own copy yesterday so I can once again relive the indelible magic, hilarity, and romance this wacky, wonderful, feel-good film delivers! Andrew McCarthy is terrific as Jonathan Switcher, a shy, genial, struggling dept. store mannequin artist who shares an unusual, brandishing romance with Emmy (Kim Cattral), a reincarnated Egyptian princess whose spirit inhabits one of Jonathan’s wooden creations and comes magically to life whenever he’s alone with her. Meshach Taylor (of “Designing Women” fame) brings cheery warmth to the story as Jonathan’s festive window assistant friend, Hollywood. From start to finish, this underrated comedy will make you laugh, cry, and wonder if true love can ever be so magically fun and special, no matter if you’re a guy or a girl! Jonathan definitely shines through for me in that nice guys don’t always have to finish last. Plus, Starship’s classic Oscar-nominated song is an absolutely perfect touch to the sweet canvas this film paints for its audience. I’m surprised how cumbersome it was to find “Mannequin” in print in recent years, but thank goodness it has finally been re-released & Amazon has it! This is one film no hopeless romantic or 80′s nostalgist should be without…