The Passion of The Christ

(Note: This review refers to the Blu-ray version of the DVD.)

Mel Gibson's passionate, personal and cinematically visceral take on the final 12 hours of Christ's life on Earth is, in its own way, as controversial as Martin Scorsese's adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis' "The Last Temptation of Christ." The vivid and brutal version of the Passion Play can be viewed as a literal illustration of Christ's suffering and sacrifice, but Gibson also laces subversive undercurrents through the drama. The beautifully mastered Blu-ray disc features both the graphically violent theatrical original and Gibson's re-edited PG-13 version of the film, along with four separate commentary tracks (on the original version only). The second disc, featuring the documentaries, deleted scenes and other supplements, is standard definition DVD.