The Passion Recut

February 2004: A time I will never forget. One of Hollywood's biggest box-office draws laid his money, his career and his repuation on the altar in an attempt to fulfill a destiny that God put before him. Many prayed for him. Critics mocked him. Naysayers scoffed (and are still doing so). Biblical scholars picked the film apart due to its dramatic embellishments. Members of the Jewish community feared that the film would spark a worldwide wave of anti-Semitism. Some felt the film was a meaningless Hollywood spectacle. Others felt that the message of the film was lost in the midst of its graphic violence. But for every critic who mocked, every naysayer who scoffed and every voice who spoke with fear and loathing, there were dozens more who accepted, embraced and adored this film. Its box office success may have forever changed the film industry as we know it. But, more important than its box office figures, only the Subject of this film knows how many lives were brought closer to Him as a result of Mel Gibson's labor of love.

One year and one month after the phenomenon known as The Passion Of The Christ was released into theatres, Mel Gibson has re-released this film in a slightly altered version. The Passion Recut, as this new version is titled, has five to six minutes cut from its original running time. The footage was cut from the two most violent and controversial scenes in the film: the scourging of Jesus by the Roman soldiers, and the Crucifixion.

WHAT'S BEEN RECUT:

• The second portion of the scourging scene (when the soldiers beat Jesus with the "cat o' nine" whip) has been re-edited to eliminate just about every close-up shot when the whip hits Jesus' body. Gone are the agonizing scenes in which the hooks on the whip rip chunks of Jesus' flesh off. In place of those images, Gibson has inserted close-up shots of Jesus's agonized face, the reactions of the crowd and the soldiers hitting him—and, most notably, the majority of these close-ups are focused on Mary (Maia Morgenstern). In this re-edit, we are given a deeper glimpse into Mary's anguish and suffering as she watches her son being beaten.

• Post-scourging, we no longer witness the crown of thorns being pressed into Jesus' head. Nor do we see the soldiers beating the crown onto His head with the staff.

• In the Crucifixion, we no longer witness the nails being hammered into Jesus' hands and feet. Also cut is the scene in which they flip the Cross over to secure the nails into it, then turn the Cross back over again.

• The very grotesque scene of the bird pecking out the thief's eye has also been edited. We see the bird pecking at him, but it's cut in a way that the audience doesn't see anything bloody or graphic.

WHAT HASN'T BEEN CUT:

• Satan's torment in the Garden of Gethsemane and the crushing of the snake by Jesus's heel.
• We still see Jesus's battered and bruised body when He's "indicted" by the Pharisees.
• None of the Judas scenes have been cut... most notably the scene in which he hangs himself in the midst of the dead and rotted animal flesh.
• After the scourging is completed, and throughout the remainder of the film, we still see Jesus' body laden with the stripes that have healed us (Isaiah 53:5). The trail of blood left behind after the scourging is still there. Mary and Mary Magdelene (Monica Bellucci) still clean it up with the cloths given by Pilate's wife.
• After He dies on the Cross, the piercing of His side is still intact. Blood and water pours out as expected and illustrated by Scripture.
• Last, but not least, THE MESSAGE!
  
  
  I am happy to report that the message of this film has not been cut in any way, shape or form. Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever... just like the message of this film. It is still as moving and powerful as it was last Spring. It's practically the same film we saw last Spring minus the extreme violence. The violence and bloodshed would have still carried an R-rating. But it's nowhere near the level of the original version. With a few more edits, this version will probably be the one that makes it to television. Even minus the extreme violent sequences, the power and message of the film still shine through.
  
  As many of Hollywood Jesus's regular readers know, I was right in the thick of the infamous debating that took place in the forum for the original version. I cheered and championed Gibson's choice to make the film as extremely violent as possible (you may recall my own personal tagline for the film: "THE BLOOD IS COMING!")—not for the sake of gratuitous violence, but because I felt, in light of a society drawn to over-the-top violence in films and video games, that it would take a violent depiction of Christ's suffering to communicate the power of His sacrifice. The more comments I read, however, the more I realized how uncomfortable people were with the film because of the violence. Many people couldn't even receive the message of the film because they were hammered down by the violence in the film. It looks like God has used your prayers and concerns to (yet again) touch Mel Gibson's heart to create this new version. Gibson has stated that he recut the film for those who were uncomfortable with the extreme violence. He wanted to create a version that folks could bring their grandparents and younger teens to see. Mission accomplished. Hopefully many of you who were uncomfortable with the original version will revisit this new edition of the film and see it with a fresh perspective.
  
  The Verdict: The Passion Recut is a worthy alternative to the original version. As we approach another Easter season, this classic film—be it Original or Recut—is definitely a film worth revisiting as we reflect on Jesus' ultimate sacrifice.
  
  

Diary of a Mad Black Woman

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film pdf

It happens every year in cinema—without warning, totally unexpected, and turning the film industry on its head. The Sleeper: that film which industry prognosticators happily write off but eventually comes out of nowhere to score boffo box office. The Sixth Sense was The Sleeper of 2000. My Big Fat Greek Wedding was The Sleeper of 2002. Last year, Napoleon Dynamite and The Passion of the Christ shared the reins as The Sleeper.

This year, it’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

Despite its “shortcomings� (mediocre reviews, no A-list Hollywood stars, a $5.4 million budget, and a writer/producer who is unknown in Hollywood circles yet a household name within the African American community), this film has turned Hollywood upside down thanks to its spectacular #1 opening weekend gross of $22 million. Now, Tyler Perry, the aforementioned writer/producer (and arguably, the Star) of this film, is the toast of the town! Thanks to the success of this film, coupled with the Academy Award wins of Jamie Foxx and Morgan Freeman, February 27 will go down in history as a banner day for African American actors and filmmakers.

I’ll be honest… I wasn’t even planning to see the film until I saw those numbers and nearly fell out of my chair. I feared that the film would be just another low budgeted, low quality African American film that would earn an “A� for effort but a “D� in execution. I was wrong… happily wrong. Not only is the film well acted, honest, heartwarming and funny as heck, it also does not hesitate to point its audience toward a Heavenly direction.

Helen (Kimberly Elise) has a seemingly perfect life complete with the requisite big house, fancy car, and successful husband (Steve Harris). Her life comes crashing down on her 18th wedding anniversary when she comes home and finds a U-Haul truck packed with all of her stuff. Hubby comes home and drops the bombshell that he’s leaving her for a younger, sexier chick. She refuses to leave and hopelessly clings to the sofa for dear life. This desperate act forces her hubby to drag her across the floor and throw her out of the house they’ve built.

Shattered and humiliated, Helen runs to the only place she can: her wisecracking, gun-toting and precious Madea (writer/producer Tyler Perry-performing one of three roles in the film). The character Madea has a loyal following thanks to Perry’s plethora of Gospel Musical Plays where she is a regularly featured character that keeps the audience (both on stage and in this film) in stitches. She pulls no punches and tells it like it is. Behind the pistol popping and wisecracking, she gives Helen a hearty slice of unconditional love, much needed in light of Helen’s current situation. When she’s not cooking or threatening to whip out her pistol, Madea is often seen sparring with her brother Uncle Joe (role #2 by Perry), who is older than dirt and has an affinity for innuendo and reefer smoking!

Through the strength of Madea, the godly wisdom of her mother (played by the elegant and indestructible Cicely Tyson), and the legal counsel of her cousin Brian (role #3 by Perry), Helen gets back on her feet. Not only that, she gets a second chance at love at the hands of steel worker Orlando (Shemar Moore). Ironically it was he who witnessed the vicious act by Helen’s hubby… he was the mover assigned to pack and ship Helen’s stuff. Naturally, as movies go, Helen is resentful and suspicious toward Orlando’s motives at first, but he eventually wins her heart. His declaration of love for Helen is bound to make the ladies in the audience swoon! Even the sanctified, Christ-loving sisters in the audience will find themselves swooning when they hear Helen praising Orlando for his Christian beliefs. This isn’t just talk, ladies and gentlemen, it’s action: because of his faith in Christ, Orlando does not have sex with Helen during their courtship. Instead of having sex, they share something deeper: intimacy. In an age of American Pies, Eurotrips and countless other films that express a footloose attitude about sexuality, it’s extremely rare to see a film place purity and sexuality as values to be honored before God. That’s refreshing and challenging at the same time.

As Helen and Orlando’s bond grows deeper over the course of the film, he eventually pops the question and they go on to live happily ever aft ... not so fast! A series of unfortunate and tragic circumstances force Helen to confront her not-quite-ex-hubby and face the issues surrounding their broken marriage. The film pulls no punches in this approach. We see Helen go through stages of vulnerability, anger and rage. Through these events, the film takes us to places that few other films have taken us. Helen is brought to the point where she must rely on the power of God/Jesus Christ to not only forgive her husband, but herself as well.

Make no mistake about it. Diary of a Mad Black Woman is a Christian-oriented film, through and through. But what sets it apart from the Left Behinds and Omega Codes is its universality. Much like Woman Thou Art Loosed (another Christian-oriented film starring Elise in the title role), it’s a message that hits us on every level whether we’re faithful churchgoers or regular Joes/Josephines working eight hours a day. It’s ultimately a film about healing, faith, trust and forgiveness… principles that transcend one’s religious beliefs. The film without hesitation points to God/Jesus as the answer. But it’s not a forced and preachy message. No one is threatened with the fires and eternal damnation of Hell. Instead the characters are continuously being gently encouraged to look for God as well as to God and, particularly in the climax of the film, allow Him to heal, change, and restore their lives. But, in the midst of that, the film’s finale takes us to a place that’s steeped in honesty and reality that made me appreciate the film even more.

At the time of this review, Roger Ebert has found himself the object of major scrutiny from some (not all) members of the African American community because he gave the film "thumbs down-way down". The issue that sunk the film for him was the portrayal of Madea. He felt that her presence sabotaged the message of the film. From my P.O.V., Ebert's opinion on how African American grandmothers are to be portrayed stems from him watching "Soul Food" and other films of that nature (since he mentioned the actress who played the grandma in that film). According to his review of this and countless other African-American films, the typical African American grandmother is supposed to be "sympathetic and caring", with pearls of wisdom hidden underneath their kitchen aprons. My grandma (R.I.P.) definitely fit that category. However, there are a quite a few grandmas who are just as spunky, loud and opinionated as Madea. They offer pearls of wisdom as well...but said wisdom falls under the uncut, uncensored, "tell it like it is" category! Having seen my fair share of those types of grandmas as well, I have no beef with the character. In fact, Madea had me ROFTL throughout the whole movie.

Grab your friends, your parents, and your grandparents and see what’s got Hollywood turned on its ear! See the brilliant performances by Kimberly Elise, Shemar Moore and, especially, Tyler Perry as Madea! Let the message encourage and enrich your soul… and let Madea tickle your funny bone. Hilarious, inspirational, and worth every box office dollar it’s earned, Diary of a Mad Black Woman is the first Sleeper hit of 2004!

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film pdf