The Passion of the Christ Blu-ray

The Passion of the Christ

 (2004)

Drama | History



This depiction of the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus opens with his betrayal by Judas, his condemnation by the Pharisees and his appearance before Pontius Pilate. Pilate defers to King Herod, but Herod returns Jesus. Pilate then asks the crowd to choose between Jesus and Barrabas. The crowd chooses Barrabas. Pilate washes his hands of the matter, and Jesus is forced to carry the cross through the streets to Golgotha where Roman soldiers crucify him. Although Jesus briefly fears in his dazed suffering that God, his Father, has abandoned him, he overcomes his fear and with his last breath entrusts God "Into Thy hands I command my spirit." At the moment of his death, nature itself over-turns.

For more details about The Passion of the Christ on Blu-ray, see The Passion of the Christ Blu-ray Review

The Passion of the Christ Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


The Passion of the Christ arrives on Blu-ray with a quality 1080p, 2.35:1-framed transfer. The film begins with Christ in the darkness, praying desperately, as three of His disciples slumber, failing to watch over Him. The image is shrouded in a blue light, removing virtually all color from the image, leaving only the darkest depths of the background and the soft yet mysterious moonlight to illuminate the sequence. The film handles these nighttime scenes extraordinarily well, never featuring banding or pixelation in the dense fog and dark backdrops. As night turns to day, the transfer sees an increase in resolution and fine detail; the sandy terrain and earth-colored stones that make up the buildings reveal lifelike texture. Also, the various garb seen in the film -- including the regal clothing worn by the Pharisees, the Roman military uniforms, and the worn-and-torn rags worn by the lower classes -- reveal incredible texture and lifelike vibrancy, revealing most every stitch and the finest details of the adornments. The image appears just the slightest bit soft in some scenes, and as a result the finest of details, particularly in close-up shots, may appear less than ideal, looking a bit too smooth and undefined, but only occasionally. Blacks are somewhat less-than-stellar, gravitating towards a dark shade of gray in many scenes. The film retains a fine layer of grain, though it is only distinctly presented over the dark opening sequence. Fox has done justice to this video transfer.

The Passion of the Christ Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


20th Century Fox debuts The Passion of the Christ on Blu-ray with a quality DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless surround sound presentation. In the film's dark opening sequence, the track creates an astounding environment that surrounds listeners, with insect and other small creature life surrounding the listening area, coming from every direction in a 360-degree sound field. The film's score plays with precision across the front with subtle support from the rears, parts of it accompanied by a discernible level of good, deep bass. Sound effects, too, are precisely replayed; the bag of coins Judas receives from the Pharisees early in the film for his betrayal of Jesus spills before him onto a stone floor, the coins scattering and clanking off the surface to realistic effect, with just a hint of amped-up sound to serve as a subtle emphasis on the importance of the scene and reinforcing Judas' burgeoning regret for having betrayed Christ and the implications of the treachery. The track features a tremendous amount of force and vigor in the moments following Christ's death on the cross. This sound mix offers strong, robust dialogue presentation to go along with the fine recreation of the film's score and sound effects. Although The Passion of the Christ doesn't offer one of those whiz-bang soundtracks that offers sounds consistently pouring from every speaker, it's subtle use of the surrounds, emphasis on ambience and musical reproduction, not to mention strong dialogue, make it a winner.

The Passion of the Christ Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Today on Blu-ray - February 17th - February 17, 2009


• Fox Details Passion Blu-ray Release - October 31, 2008


• Fox Unleashes the Motherload for 2009 - October 30, 2008

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