REVIEW

DVD Review: Impact: The Passion of the Christ

Written by Chris Beaumont
Published May 29, 2005
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Video. The film is presented in a ration of 1.33:1, which I believe is the original ratio. It serves it's purpose, but it does not look all that good. I am willing to give a little leeway as I believe this was shot on a very low budget. The colors are generally washed out and there is a lot of grain/noise present.

Audio. There are two tracks available, 5.1 and I listened using the 2.0 track through headphones, and frankly I am not sure how much better the 5.1 would sound as there isn't a lot you can do with talking heads. It does the job.

Technical Notes. There are a couple of things that bugged me from a technical standpoint. One thing is HEADROOM!!! There is so much headroom that I was thinking that maybe this was supposed to be matted to :1, but I am not sure, but the compositions seemed terribly amateurish. Another was the mystery of the appearing/disappearing microphones, I think it should be decided beforehand if you want to show these. In some interviews the mics were visible, sometimes not, and occasionally there where the directional boom type mics and the interviewee was holding a lapel mic, please make a decision! Lastly was the audio, I know to expect differences in sound quality based on the variety of locations, but the interviewer's (Tim Chey?) voice is such a different quality, it appears to have been overdubbed in post, because it doesn't synch with the location audio and is rather distracting.

Extras. This is a two disk set with a number of extras, most of which I have perused.
Disk 1.
-Trailer. The first disk has the original trailer for the film.
-Director's Commentary. I have not yet listened to this, but when I do I will revisit here and give my thoughts on it.
Disk 2.
-Travel Around the Globe: In Search For God. A collection of additional interviews from Japan, India, the UK, and the US. I watched some of a few of these. They are interesting, but are just continuations of what appears in the film proper.
-Should "Passion" Have Been Nominated? I found this to be odd, as the majority of it was talking to people at the 2004 Oscar ceremonies, shortly after the film had been released. Many people had not even seen the film yet, much less given any reflection or indication that there was still much left of the year. There were some comments in retrospect about it not being nominated for much of anything, and rightly stating that it is not about awards being won, but the effect of the movie itself, which is true for any movie, although I feel it could have used a little more recognition on the award front.
-Deleted Interviews. More review extensions that did not appear in the film. These included more with the parents in Columbine, and the woman from Jews for Jesus. I did like the portions which actually dealt with the films attendance and box office take.
-Would You Die for Jesus? Some interviews regarding a man named Staines who was killed in India, he had gone there and was working with lepers. Also the concept of martyrdom. Again we get these attempts at paralleling Jesus and the Apostles with the Columbine tragedy.

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Christopher Beaumont spends much of his time writing about entertainment when he isn't sitting in a movie theater. He is known around the office as the "Movie Guy" and is always ready to talk about his favorite form of entertainment and offer up recommendations. Interests include science fiction, horror, and metal music. His writings can be found at Draven99's Musings and Draven99's Media Center.
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DVD Review: Impact: The Passion of the Christ
Published: May 29, 2005
Type: Review
Section: Video
Filed Under: Review, Video: Documentary
Writer: Chris Beaumont
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Comments

#1 — May 29, 2005 @ 11:43AM — Aaron, Duke De Mondo [URL]

thanks chris, i been holding out for some kind of documentary that looks at the "impact" of the flick, and was dissapointed that the film's dvd was extras-free considering the debate the thing inspired. i'll be keepin an eye out for this.

#2 — May 29, 2005 @ 11:43AM — Aaron, Duke De Mondo [URL]

thanks chris, i been holding out for some kind of documentary that looks at the "impact" of the flick, and was dissapointed that the film's dvd was extras-free considering the debate the thing inspired. i'll be keepin an eye out for this.

#3 — May 29, 2005 @ 11:43AM — Aaron, Duke De Mondo [URL]

thanks chris, i been holding out for some kind of documentary that looks at the "impact" of the flick, and was dissapointed that the film's dvd was extras-free considering the debate the thing inspired. i'll be keepin an eye out for this.

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