“The Passion of the Christ” has been the most talked about movie lately, but another movie out of the New Testament is also available on the big screen.
“The Gospel of John,” which opened in the fall of 2003, showcases actors portraying John’s Gospel in English. Actor Christopher Plummer reads the Gospel word-for-word in the Canadian/British-made film.
“It’s still in theaters, but not playing widely,” said Dan Marks, executive vice president with Nielsen EDI, Inc. in Hollywood, Calif.
He said the movie’s most recent (Feb. 18) box office gross before press time was reported at $163,000 with the movie appearing on 84 screens. The movie opened Sept. 26 with a weekend gross of $98,000 on 14 screens, he said.
Since its opening the $15-million film has grossed $3,717,324, according to indieWIRE.BOT, a box office tracking service for specialty films.
The movie is the first major theatrical picture of an entire book of the Bible adapted on a word-for-word basis, according to movie reviewer Holly McClure.
The company initiating the film, Visual Bible International, Toronto, had previously issued lower budget church and home video releases of the Gospel of Matthew and Acts.
What Baptists think
“I sat in awe while watching this movie because it took Scripture that I’ve been familiar with for most of my life and transformed [it] into a profound and intimate look at Jesus,” she writes in her review on the Christian Web site, Crosswalk.com.
With its PG-13 rating the film tones down some of the violence as compared to that in “The Passion of the Christ,” rated R, although “The Gospel of John” movie’s PG–13 rating comes because of violence.
Richard Crowe, a retired Baptist pastor and missionary, now living in Birmingham saw “The Gospel of John” movie in January.
“I was very much impressed with it, and it seemed to be very true to the Scriptures. I’ve seen live passion plays and other movies about the Bible, and I think this one is the nearest to the Scriptures that I’ve seen,” he said, noting the mood in the theater was “subdued.”
“I was impressed by the quietness and the behavior of the people … when it was over it was a silent departure,” he said.
Otis Brooks, minister to senior adults at Vestavia Hills Baptist Church in Birmingham Association, said, “It was true to the gospel and was not Hollywood-style.
“Some of the scenes were just great,” he added, referring to when a Roman solider asked Jesus to heal his son. “On his way home the Roman meets a servant who tells him his son is healed — the scene is just splendid — it’s obvious that the Roman is impressed with Jesus’ command to just go,” he said.
Brooks said because of his experience with “The Gospel of John” he has tickets to see “The Passion of the Christ” at an early viewing Feb. 24.
Plummer, who narrates “The Gospel of John,” said the movie can be inspirational to all viewers regardless of their faith.
“The audience will undoubtedly be struck by the reminder of words spoken 2,000 years ago such as ‘love thy neighbor’ and ‘forgive them their evil,’ which haven’t been upheld,” Plummer said.
Critics claim anti-Semitism
Like “The Passion,” “The Gospel of John” also had its share of critics claiming it was anti-Semitic.
The Associated Press reports that to guard against this anticipated accusation the script uses the American Bible Society’s 1966 “Good News Bible,” which carries a particular difference regarding Jewish people and Jewish authorities. The Greek version uses the word Ioudaioi (the Jews) 67 times in the Gospel of John, suggesting collective Jewish involvement in opposing Jesus.
But the Good News Bible repeatedly translates the word as “the Jewish authorities” avoiding the appearance of blaming all Jews for conspiring against Jesus. But no matter the opinion of viewers, the actors and crew working on the project were inspired, producer Garth Drabinsky told Crosswalk.com.
“Everyone who worked on the project found it emotionally … uplifting — even if you weren’t reared in Christianity,” he said. (Wire services contributed)
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