Gibson's PASSION to receive a minor cut

By: Patrick Sauriol
Date: Wednesday, February 04, 2004
Source: The New York Times

The New York Times reports that director Mel Gibson is making a minor cut to his latest film, the controversial story about the final hours in the life of Jesus, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. The scene in question is, according to a Times source, where the Jewish priest Caiaphas utters the line to his people "His blood be on us and on our children."

Jewish religious leaders have attacked Gibson and claimed that the film would cause a new wave of anti-Semitism because it depicts Jews as being partially responsible for the death of Jesus. While many passion plays and the story of Christ's death in the Bible do include the material featuring Caiaphas and the crowd's request for Christ to be crucified, a wave of anti-Semitism in Europe has left Jewish leader worried that Gibson's film could fan the flames of intolerance even further.

Responding to the reason why Gibson reportedly removed the scene in question, the Times' source said "It didn't work in focus screenings. Maybe it was thought to be too hurtful, or taken not in the way it was intended. It has been used terribly over the years."

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST opens in theaters on February 25.


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