The Lie Recut

Less Gory 'Passion' Still Raises Hackles
By Eric J. Greenberg in The Forward
March 18, 2005

In an effort to make his bloody blockbuster about the death of Jesus more palatable, Oscar-winning director Mel Gibson has edited about six minutes of violent footage from his 2004 hit, "The Passion of the Christ."

The film, which some scholarly critics say ahistorically blames Jews for Jesus' death while promoting ancient anti-Jewish stereotypes, reopened in hundreds of theaters around the country this week.

To the dismay of some Catholic and Jewish interfaith experts, it seems sure to become an annual Easter event, much like "The Ten Commandments," Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 spectacular that is an annual Passover television ratings grabber almost 50 years later....