US earnings in just one month have already reached $300m (£164m), not bad for ‘a subtitled indie film spoken entirely in dead languages, retelling a story that everyone already knows’ (The Times, 20 March). The Daily Star headlined its review with ‘The cash-in of the Christ’.
As an accurate portrayal of an historical and religious story, the film courts controversy: allegations of poor portrayal of the Jews and ‘bad theology’ (Jewish Chronicle editor Ned Temko, quoted at www.bbc.co.uk, 25 March).
But according to Jesus actor Jim Caviezel, Gibson ‘didn’t want any passive
onlookers’ (The Sun, 23 March).
This is the director’s cut, the sum of Gibson’s cathartic rediscovery of his faith. ‘It is his agenda, his interpretation, it is the Gospel according to Mel Gibson’ (John Harvey, Anglican vicar, Liverpool Daily Post, 25 March).
Analysis conducted by Echo Research from data supplied to PRWeek from NewsNow.
www.echoresearch.com
www.newsnow.co.uk
