Pirated DVDs of ‘The Passion of Christ’ Flood Jeddah

JEDDAH, 15 March 2004 — Pirated DVDs of controversial Hollywood blockbuster “The Passion of Christ” have hit the streets and are selling like hot cakes, according to street vendors.

The film is being sold outside of supermarkets, and out of the trunk of cars for the price of SR30 or less. A copy obtained by Arab News was of high quality.

A street vendor said on condition of anonymity vendors underestimated demand for the movie because the dialogue is in Latin and ancient Aramaic rather than English. “My customers don’t like subtitled movies, but they are buying this one.”

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Mel Gibson’s movie company, Icon, is suing a Hollywood post-production company claiming bad security allowed three employees to copy the film

&category=Kingdom

Maybe it's God's will (that the movie be seen)?
Who is Gibson to argue? ;)

Or maybe Allah is getting a piece of the action?

Atlant

the film has a very strict rating an no one under age 18 is supposed to be allowed into the theater.

I've also been reading some personal opinions in LTTE from people who think the movie is blasphemous bacause of it's departures from Scripture and emphasis on physical brutality versus the abstract concept of Christ bearing the burden for all sin, past and present, something a scourging and crucifixion can't cover because others have suffered the same pain.

If you look at catholic art, there's a lot of pain - tortured martyrs everywhere. There are some very graphic pictures of the suffering and dying Christ. But of course, there is also the concept of resurrection, of transforming death and celestial joy.

It's a concept I don't agree with (not belonging to any particular religion), but some of these pieces of art are deeply moving. Just take a look at the pictures of the Isenheim Altar:
http://images.google.com/images?q=isenheim+altar&ie=ISO-8859-1&hl=en

I agree with the under-18 ban; it's pretty certain young children were not at the actual crucifixion either. But a very powerful film, both to convict and revive the Church, and as an evangelistic tool. The suffering of Christ was very real, based on historical accounts of Roman crucifixion, and it's not just a "Catholic thing" to acknowledge this suffering. It was a necessary part of God's plan to reach and redeem humanity.