Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Furor Over 'Passion'

Aired February 24, 2004 - 08:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Mel Gibson's controversial movie "The Passion of the Christ opens tomorrow on Ash Wednesday in about 2,800 theaters across the country. The film depicts the final 12 hours in the life of Jesus. Some have said the film is anti-Semitic.
Film credit Michael Medved has seen it. He is live with us today to talk about in Seattle.

Michael, good morning. Thanks for getting up early out there. You have seen it. Is it or not anti-Semitic?

MICHAEL MEDVED, FILM CRITIC: No, it's absolutely not anti- Semitic. And in fact, some of the people who have made that charge before they saw the film have now withdrawn it. Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League was asked point blank, is the movie anti- Semitic, and said no, it was not.

This is a film in which there are some Jewish characters who come across very, very badly, but that's because they come across very, very badly in the Gospel's account. It seems to me Mel Gibson has a perfect right to affirm his own belief and his own vision of what is portrayed in Christian scripture, and to do so with integrity and artistry, which he's done here, without being accused of being some kind of a hatemonger, which he is not.

HEMMER: Where did that begin then, that cry of anti-Semitism?

MEDVED: It began with a scurrilous article in "The New York Times" in the February, before Mel had even finished the film. And it began based upon a longtime feud involving his father and involving the building of a church in Malibu, and it just sort of caught fire. I mean, it's just so explosive, all of this. It is unusual for somebody to spend now 25 million, it is now said 30 million of his own money, to make a movie his own way.

But I think what Mel Gibson has done with this is to present one of the most outstanding biblical movies ever made.

HEMMER: Outstanding?

MEDVED: Outstanding, and not laughable. Most biblical movies are laughable.

HEMMER: What do you laughable? In what sense?

MEDVED: Bill, because they have people speaking in weird accents and delivering cheesy lines. In "Ten Commandments," at one point, Ann Baxter says to Charlton Heston, "You adorable, delicious fool, Moses." There's none of that here. It's in Aramaic, and the Aramaic is pretty good Aramaic, for people who study the -- who are familiar with that language. And the subtitles work very well. What it creates is a feeling of authenticity, which is extremely unusual in any sort of biblical account.

HEMMER: Michael, I am going to take you to an article in the "Time" magazine, a review, Richard Corliss, wrote part of his review now, and I'll read it: "'The Passion' may be unique in movie history in devoting most of its length to the torture of one man, who doesn't fight back. He takes a flaying and keeps on praying. This is Ghandi as Rocky. It's 'Bloodheart.'"

Pretty obvious, straightforward question -- is the violence overdone in a film like this?

MEDVED: Well, I think that a Crucifixion and scourging is highly violent. Look, this is not a movie for kids. It is a movie that does put that violence in context, and it shows the idea of sacrifice, and it emphasizes in a way that I think a lot of people don't expect, that this sacrifice, that this death, that this suffering, was chosen by the main character, was chosen by Jesus, at least according to the Gospel's accounts.

It seems to me that what this movie is showing, is that there's a tremendous appetite on the part of the American public for more faith- affirming films. This is a segment of the audience that has been ignored by Hollywood for years. Mel Gibson is connecting with that audience, and I say bravo for him.

HEMMER: Michael Medved, thanks. One person who saw it in New York over the past few days called it "appropriately violent." Michael Medved, thanks for your time.

MEDVED: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired February 24, 2004 - 08:42   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Mel Gibson's controversial movie "The Passion of the Christ opens tomorrow on Ash Wednesday in about 2,800 theaters across the country. The film depicts the final 12 hours in the life of Jesus. Some have said the film is anti-Semitic.
Film credit Michael Medved has seen it. He is live with us today to talk about in Seattle.

Michael, good morning. Thanks for getting up early out there. You have seen it. Is it or not anti-Semitic?

MICHAEL MEDVED, FILM CRITIC: No, it's absolutely not anti- Semitic. And in fact, some of the people who have made that charge before they saw the film have now withdrawn it. Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League was asked point blank, is the movie anti- Semitic, and said no, it was not.

This is a film in which there are some Jewish characters who come across very, very badly, but that's because they come across very, very badly in the Gospel's account. It seems to me Mel Gibson has a perfect right to affirm his own belief and his own vision of what is portrayed in Christian scripture, and to do so with integrity and artistry, which he's done here, without being accused of being some kind of a hatemonger, which he is not.

HEMMER: Where did that begin then, that cry of anti-Semitism?

MEDVED: It began with a scurrilous article in "The New York Times" in the February, before Mel had even finished the film. And it began based upon a longtime feud involving his father and involving the building of a church in Malibu, and it just sort of caught fire. I mean, it's just so explosive, all of this. It is unusual for somebody to spend now 25 million, it is now said 30 million of his own money, to make a movie his own way.

But I think what Mel Gibson has done with this is to present one of the most outstanding biblical movies ever made.

HEMMER: Outstanding?

MEDVED: Outstanding, and not laughable. Most biblical movies are laughable.

HEMMER: What do you laughable? In what sense?

MEDVED: Bill, because they have people speaking in weird accents and delivering cheesy lines. In "Ten Commandments," at one point, Ann Baxter says to Charlton Heston, "You adorable, delicious fool, Moses." There's none of that here. It's in Aramaic, and the Aramaic is pretty good Aramaic, for people who study the -- who are familiar with that language. And the subtitles work very well. What it creates is a feeling of authenticity, which is extremely unusual in any sort of biblical account.

HEMMER: Michael, I am going to take you to an article in the "Time" magazine, a review, Richard Corliss, wrote part of his review now, and I'll read it: "'The Passion' may be unique in movie history in devoting most of its length to the torture of one man, who doesn't fight back. He takes a flaying and keeps on praying. This is Ghandi as Rocky. It's 'Bloodheart.'"

Pretty obvious, straightforward question -- is the violence overdone in a film like this?

MEDVED: Well, I think that a Crucifixion and scourging is highly violent. Look, this is not a movie for kids. It is a movie that does put that violence in context, and it shows the idea of sacrifice, and it emphasizes in a way that I think a lot of people don't expect, that this sacrifice, that this death, that this suffering, was chosen by the main character, was chosen by Jesus, at least according to the Gospel's accounts.

It seems to me that what this movie is showing, is that there's a tremendous appetite on the part of the American public for more faith- affirming films. This is a segment of the audience that has been ignored by Hollywood for years. Mel Gibson is connecting with that audience, and I say bravo for him.

HEMMER: Michael Medved, thanks. One person who saw it in New York over the past few days called it "appropriately violent." Michael Medved, thanks for your time.

MEDVED: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com