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Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
Dolemite_the_Wiz writes "The BBC reports that Monty Python's 'Life of Brian' will be re-released, with the remaining Python troupe's full support, in US theaters next month. The Film's Distributor, Rainbow Film Company are marketing the film as an alternative to all the hype that Mel Gibson's film 'The Passion of the Christ' has generated. Trailers for the Film will begin running in theaters on Good Friday. Wait until Biggus Dickus hears about this!"
I think this is a great thing to take that as humoristic rather than serious.
.....They brought us the aqueducts....
xao
http://TheHillforum.hopto.org
I never got the chance to see the movies on the big screen, so it will certainly be an interesting experience to have it in theaters again. I can only imagine the kind of crowds it will draw, though :)
KappaStone
"Only the Real Massiah would deny his divinity!"
Gotta Love it!
-- "To ask a question is to show ignorance; Not to ask a question means you'll remain ignorant."
... can't hear about it because he's dead, you insensitive clod!
"Give away the stone, let the oceans take and transmutate this cold and faded anchor." - Maynard James Keenan
there was a heated debate on TV between Palin and some religious guy.
Have religious people took the stick out their ass, or will there be more criticism?
Although I seriously doubt it will be as widely popular; I am am excited about seeing this on the big screen. Great movie, even if it could be considered sacrilege...
Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. -Martin Luther
Have you ever seen a movie in a theater?! I have, it's a heck of a lot better than watching it at home. Thus, THAT'S the advantage of re-releasing a movie to the theater. We get a chance, or a second chance, to see a great movie on a large screen.
If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
My personal favourite - Brian: "You are all individuals" Crowd: "We are all individuals my lord" Lone voice from the back: "No I'm not!"
'Don't worry' said the trees when they saw the axe coming, 'The handle is one of us.'
Every scene in that movie is hilarious, from the shopkeeper who refuses to sell a fake beard without haggling first, to the Roman guard who insists that grafitti in the Latin language be grammatically correct.
I'm going to round up everyone I know who's never seen it and drag them to the cinema.
You are in error. No-one is screaming. Thank you for your cooperation.
We-wewease Bwian!!
Edith Keeler Must Die
There are plenty of products on the market that prove that consumers do not act logically. Why else would people pay hundreds of dollars for a stuffed animal (a.k.a. beanie baby)???
Or why do people trade most of their tax return in order to get credit to lease a car, that they will wind up paying wayyy more than what it is worth.
Heck, I don't even make logical economical decisions all the time. Besides which, this offers the opportunity to go out and see it in the theatre... a potential good time with all your friends.
anyway, point being... consumers aren't always logical.
DATA comments; PROC SORT DATA = comments BY score; PROC DELETE comments >> 1; RUN; DATA entertainment SET commen
is when John Cleese asks "How shall we f*ck off, Oh Lord ?"
Serioulsy, this one line and its context says more about religion turning into dogma than anything else I can think of...
you think it's easy, but you're wrong...
'Trolles Eunt Domus' ?
Somebody called the trolls they go the house ?
What's that supposed to mean ?
it means "Firstus postus".
-no it doesn't ! it'd be "trolli ite domum"
Now, write it out a hundred times. If it's not done by sunrise, I'll cut your balls off.
Trolling using another account since 2005.
have always been the masters of irreverence. The silly and sometimes seemingly lame sketches have always just been a veneer over them thumbing their noses at God, Queen and Country, bureaucracy, castes and whatever else they thought deserved a bit of a dressing down. Satire was their means of writing an indignant letter to the editor.
I know in Canada This Hour has 22 Minutes fills a similar role, what American comedy troups or performers do this in the U.S.?
Chris Kuivenhoven is a thief, beware
Call me flamebait, but I always thought Life of Brian was the Pythons' best work. Highly underrated, IMO.
If you like movies about re-animated corpses, you may also like the new version of Dawn of the Dead. Here is a review that compares the two films.
... SUMMON BEVETS!
With as much crap as is released today, I'll gladly contribute my share to all of the folks who contributed to making and re-releasing this movie. I never understood why "timeless classics" stop playing in theaters. How many times have you wanted to go see a movie, in a theater (for a date, or just to get out of the house) and ended up watching something terrible like "scooby doo" because nothing good was playing? Life of Brian in the theaters will be an event to remember. Screw dressing up for star wars (every theatrical release of star wars post 1990 has been disappointing), I'm going to dig up my "Big Nose" costume.
Hail theathar! and Welease Wodewik!
Let's get one thing perfectly clear, I did not vote for George W Bush, and I do not endorse what he does or says.
"
The film includes a brief alien abduction, which should mean its even more suited to the good old USA that it was when first released. Religion and Aliens - should appeal to virtually everyone there.
As a thinking Christian (Yes, such can and do exist), I never really had a problem with Life of Brian. It contains nothing which denies or detracts from the life and acts of Jesus, and accurately portrays the unthinking masses in a clever and thought provoking way.
Really, the whole point of the film is that an awful lot of people believe things without fully thinking them through.
Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.
Y'know, I think Jesus had one hell of a lag problem. It took him three days to re-spawn...
"It is dark. You are likely to be eaten by a grue." -- Zork
I'm so confused, with all these movies about Christ that are out now, should I be following the shoe? Or the gourd?
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
The thumpers finally get a film and someone has to get all opposition-like. Sheesh. Let the fairy-tale sucklers have their little MOOvie.
ObBrian: The graffiti scene is one of the greatest scenes ever filmed in movie history.
"People called Romanes they go the house?" :-)
Would a Hollywood film ever have fun with Latin?
No. In the Hollywood version, they'd have to have to words "bitch" and "ass" in the scene 50 times, and there would be at least one fart.
--- Ban humanity.
"are marketing the film as an alternative to all the hype that Mel Gibson's film 'The Passion of the Christ' has generated."
Or as a way to cash in on all the hype of 'The Passion of the Christ'. Frankly I have to say that I respect Mel Gibson for getting this movie made when no one else would but the after effect marketing, the passion of the christ pins at Books a Million, and now this is just too much. I find it sad the Monty Python would try and cash in like this. I am even a Python fan but this is just sad.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
For those who cannot see it on the big screen:
B ri an/brian.htm
http://bau2.uibk.ac.at/sg/python/Scripts/LifeOf
Obviously you've forgotten about the spaceship scene. "You lucky bastard."
For reference, the two main Marian manuscripts cited are "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ" by Anne Catherine Emmerich and "The Mystical City of God" by Saint Mary of Agreda.
If Jesus was just a clever, wise or insightful man, his entire life was essentially wasted, and on top of that he is recorded as lying about his abilities. All of the serious documentation we have available from the time (and there's a surprising amount of it) indicates that he was considerably more than that. Jesus is better documented than any of the Caesars. There's also a heck of a lot of non-literate archaeological evidence which is very difficult to explain if the canonical record is not reliable.
But in everyday life "we're all individuals" and will carry on believing what the majority tell us. "I'm not!"
Got time? Spend some of it coding or testing
Despite how geniously funny this movie is, it is also a great look at how ridiculous terrorism is. I can't stop laughing at the hate the two terrorist groups in the movie have for each other, the People's Front of Judea, and the Judean People's Front. It's like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestein and the Palestein Liberation Organization. I can just image these guys sitting down saying: "What did the Israelis ever do for us?" "They gave us plumbing?" "Electricity?" "Internet?" "They built our schools?" It's just an observation, let's not turn this into a flame war.
Did Jesus extend God, or did he just implement a Goldlike interface?
I'm a writer, a poet, a genius, I know it. I don't buy software, I grow it.
Monty Python's 'Life of Bwian' elicits stwong weaction
By: Incontinentia Buttox, Staff Wepowtew
Monty Python's 'Life of Bwian' gwossed ovew $117 million thwough its fiwst weekend.
Thewe's talk of Oscaw nominations. Many Chwistians say the film moved them to teaws. But of the welatively few Cleveland Jews the JPPF found who have seen the movie, most wewe distuwbed by what twanspiwed on the scween.
"It's a hawd movie to watch," says Wob Zimmewman, co-chaiw of the Judean Populaw People's Fwont of the Jewish Community Fedewation of Cleveland. "It's essentially two houws of Bwian being mistaken for the weal Jesus being stwuck vewy woughly and cwucified." Because of the gwaphic silliness, he is not wecommending that Jews ow anyone else go see "The Life."
See the movie that's controversial, sacrilegious, and blasphemous. But if that's not playing, see The Life of Brian.
I have two boys, 9 and 6, that stumbled across my old Monty Python videotapes. I played "Holy Grail" for them and they were in stitches. I played "Life of Brian", and not suprisingly, the more sophisticated content was so over their heads that they didn't enjoy it. I played "Meaning of Life" and they were just plain confused, but laughing.
Maybe after a few more years of Catholic school, my sons will appreciate the brilliance of "Life of Brian". For now, "Holy Grail" is the hit.
The last time we watched it, my 9 year old son answered the question, "What is the capital of Assyria?". "Nineva, you dolt!" he exclaimed. He smiled and smugly looked up to me and said, "I googled it. I don't want to be blasted off of some bridge." That's my boy.
Little Britain. It's great, but again, probably one that 95% of American's won't understand, due to cultural differences, and that won't survive a remake. Stars Matt Lucas of Shooting Stars fame.
Also good at the moment, Nighty Night (think darker than the League of Gentlemen) and Catterick (if you like Vic and Bob that is).
Black Books is also in the middle of a very funny third series.
Of course most of these are shows that have probably never been heard of in the US - pity, so visit BBC Comedy and Black books for more detail.
Not sure if WANT to see Graham Chapman's full monty in larger than life size...
Never buy a dwarf with learning difficulties. It's not big and it's not clever.
Good evening.
The last scene was interesting from the point of view of a professional logician because it contained a number of logical fallacies; that is, invalid propositional constructions and syllogistic forms, of the type so often committed by my wife. "All wood burns," states Sir Bedevere. "Therefore," he concludes, "all that burns is wood." This is, of course, pure bullshit. Universal affirmatives can only be partially converted: all of Alma Cogan is dead, but only some of the class of dead people are Alma Cogan. "Oh yes," one would think.
However, my wife does not understand this necessary limitation of the conversion of a proposition; consequently, she does not understand me. For how can a woman expect to appreciate a professor of logic, if the simplest cloth-eared syllogism causes her to flounder.
For example, given the premise, "all fish live underwater" and "all mackerel are fish", my wife will conclude, not that "all mackerel live underwater", but that "if she buys kippers it will not rain", or that "trout live in trees", or even that "I do not love her any more." This she calls "using her intuition". I call it "crap", and it gets me very *irritated* because it is not logical.
"There will be no supper tonight," she will sometimes cry upon my return home. "Why not?" I will ask. "Because I have been screwing the milkman all day," she will say, quite oblivious of the howling error she has made. "But," I will wearily point out, "even given that the activities of screwing the milkman and getting supper are mutually exclusive, now that the screwing is over, surely then, supper may, logically, be got." "You don't love me any more," she will now often postulate. "If you did, you would give me one now and again, so that I would not have to rely on that rancid Pakistani for my orgasms." "I will give you one after you have got me my supper," I now usually scream, "but not before" -- as you understand, making her bang contingent on the arrival of my supper.
"God, you turn me on when you're angry, you ancient brute!" she now mysteriously deduces, forcing her sweetly throbbing tongue down my throat. "Fuck supper!" I now invariably conclude, throwing logic somewhat joyously to the four winds, and so we thrash about on our milk-stained floor, transported by animal passion, until we sink back, exhausted, onto the cartons of yoghurt.
I'm afraid I seem to have strayed somewhat from my original brief. But in a nutshell:
Sex is more fun than logic -- one cannot prove this, but it "is" in the same sense that Mount Everest "is", or that Alma Cogan "isn't".
Goodnight.
Check out the best P2P sharing website: MEDIACHEST.COM
yeah yeah troll. think about this:
If religion didn't already exist, P.T. Barnum would have invented it.
I hope you understand my real point in this headline instead of modding me down.
Instead of letting Life of Brian stand on its own, you just have to draw the the comparison between the Passion and proudly declare the the seasonal alternative. If I didn't know better, your end statement seems to imply you feel very threatened by Passion and comforted by Life of Brian.
Here's a small hint: live and let live. Nobody is forcing you to watch Passion. For a lot of geeks, the release of Passion would've been just as big a news item as this, but it has a snowball's chance on a blue star of having that happen. If you're not comfortable enough with your beliefs to let Life of Brian stand on its own, or feel that you need to try to counter or bring down the beliefs of others, then you need to address your own personal crisis without dragging all of Slashdot in with you.
No matter what I believe, I recognize your right to believe whatever else you want. You should do the same. Just don't use Slashdot as your religious indoctrination platform. You'd be smart to leave those comments to the comments and not risk losing a small segment of readers who see the comment for what it is and threaten your ad revenue. Most of us don't go around trumpeting our religious beliefs at work, so don't do it here.
You say with pride that you US Americans invented:
1. The airplane
2. High rise buildings
Interesting. It would seem you are responsible for 9-11 yourselves. You invented the dangerous building type and the effective weapon against them.
My local university put Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' on the big screen back in 198x. First (and only) time I've ever seen it, I don't want to spoil it by watching it on a tv.
Yes, if my local theatre puts Life of Brian on I'll go and see it. It's immersion vs entertainment.
Hal Spacejock: Science Fiction with Nuts
Telephone - Either Bell (British) or Meuci (Italian)
Automobile - Karl Benz (German)
High rise building - Quite tall, no?
--
This sig is inoffensive.
how many people completely miss the point of "The Passion."
Apparently they were two busy being mortified by the violence to read the subtitles which did in fact reveal much about Christ's teachings. Not only "The Passion" as in his death and resurrection but his passion as in the number of times he forgave those who were scorning him. If you notice he even forgave the people who nearly whipped him to death. The verse at the beginning was also key but apparently ignored considering all the critisism about it being anti-semetic. What part of "our" didn't they comprehend? Some guy even when so far as to try to tell Gibson to put a disclaimer at the end. IT WAS AT THE BEGINNING!
One reviewer was so dense they complained (paraphrasing) "so much for love they neighbor." What part of forgiving your tormentors isn't loving your neighbor? Geesh. Apparently we're too accustomed to Disney morality tales where it's all cutesy and they spell it out for you at the end like you're 2 years old.
The whole reason "satan" was put in was to give Mel something of a narrarator. When Satan spoke it was usually a negation of something out of the Bible. I'd imagine that people who never read the Bible (or don't know even the basics) had no clue what the point of the snake was at the beginning. It was a reference to what God said in the Garden of Eden after kicking Adam and Eve out.
This movie really revealed a lot about those who reviewed it. The people who didn't "get it" and whined about the violence and didn't catch the doctrine that was presented are probably just generally bad at philosophy or never took the time to study the Bible. It's an art film. It wasn't intended to be a mass market film.
This is not a movie that you can just be a professional critic and have a valid opinion. It's amazing how many critics complained that a square has three sides.
On Topic: Life of Brian is hilarious and I'll definitly be seeing it in the theater. I've watched the DVD many times.
I don't know if I'll buy "The Passion" on DVD. It's not exactly a movie you'd watch just for the heck of it.
Ben
Work Safe Porn
A year ago i went to a christian school. I am not a christian myself, but all of the teachers were. The most fanatic teacher of them all were asked if we could see "Life of Brian" in religion class. Surprisingly enhough he answered "I really love that movie, but I dont dare to show it in class, since I may get reactions from the other teachers".
this is probably the most boring sig in the world
Jesus is better documented than any of the Caesars
You have contemporary (and I mean contemporary, not 50, 100 years post) documentation of Jesus' life? Something that compares to Augustus' Res Gestae, Julius Caesars' Gallic Wars, Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, Trajan's letters to Pliny...I could go on...? Do please tell!--
This sig is inoffensive.
I've always thought "The Life Of Brian" was a parody of the radical 60's political movement. Brian joined the Jewish underground because he's attracted to a girl, not because he really cares about politics. They plot meaningless proganda attacks against the Romans, and argue with splinter factions. I tought the aquaduct and "why can't men have babies" scenes where priceless.
What do you mean my sig is repetitive? What do you mean my sig is repetitive? What do you mean....
In some ways you could equate the Life of Brian to a funnier Forrest Gump, but you'll have to see it to understand what that means.
Jesus had the power to bring himself down from the cross, but he GAVE his life up out of love for you and me, so that we may all be saved.
Hmm... interesting. So, this must be an early example of suicide by police.
Re-releasing makes perfect sense if you can make money off of it. If a movie came out a generation ago (which Life of Brian did) then that's a whole generation in the original target demographic that didn't see it in the theaters, most of whom never saw it at all.
Frankly I wish they'd re-release more good old movies. It would cut down on the embarassingly crappy remakes, and hopefully cut back on the number of crappy movies made yearly as well since they'd have some stiff competition. Film festivals just don't have the critical mass and eyeball coverage that a wide re-release does.
Personally I rarely watch anything more than once, and if I do it's generally many many years apart. So buying DVDs/videos doesn't make any sense to me in the first place. I rent or see it in the theaters.
As for The Passion, Mel Gibson has cleverly made a film that people go to as an act of faith. He'll be making money hand over fist on this film for years if not decades to come. People don't even have to enjoy it, they just have to feel like seeing it makes them pious. Because if you haven't seen The Passion you're not a good Christian.
So here's the real question - what will be re-released next year around easter as counterprogramming to the re-release of The Passion of The Christ? And the next? And will this lead to more companies re-releasing old films in theaters?
---If you can't trust a nerd, who can you trust?
Regardless of how good or bad the Passion is, the churchies are going quite nuts over it. There are groups doing drives to raise money to buy tickets and to try and convince people to go. That is just silly. They aren't liking it because it's a good movie, they like it because it's about Jesus and so they feel they are SUPPOSED to like it.
Well, this is a poke back at that. I mean people (probably the same people doing the Passion drives) just VILLIFIED The Life of Brian when it came out because it dared to make fun of the church. They ignored any merits of the movie and hated it simply because they were supposed to hate it since it made fun of the church.
Thank you for quoting the Bible, and letting us know that we must follow what God says.
I will add this to my list of things God has also said in the bible, which we must obey, lest we burn in the fires of hell.
A. Marriage in the United States shall consist of a union between one man and one or more women. (Gen 29:17-28; II Sam 3:2-5)
"B. Marriage shall not impede a man's right to take concubines in addition to his wife or wives. (II Sam 5:13; I Kings 11:3; II Chron 11:21)
"C. A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed. (Deut 22:13-21)
"D. Marriage of a believer and a non-believer shall be forbidden. (Gen 24:3; Num 25:1-9; Ezra 9:12; Neh 10:30)
"E. Since marriage is for life, neither this Constitution nor the constitution of any State, nor any state or federal law, shall be construed to permit divorce. (Deut 22:19; Mark 10:9)
"F. If a married man dies without children, his brother shall marry the widow. If he refuses to marry his brother's widow or deliberately does not give her children, he shall pay a fine of one shoe and be otherwise punished in a manner to be determined by law. (Gen 38:6-10; Deut 25:5-10)
"G. In lieu of marriage, if there are no acceptable men in your town, it is required that you get your dad drunk and have sex with him (even if he had previously offered you up as a sex toy to men young and old), tag-teaming with any sisters you may have. Of course, this rule applies only if you are female. (Gen 19:31-36)
I've never understood this.
You're a [member of some group]. [One that doesn't meet my hateful stereotype], even. Congrats.
Why should that make you, and every other [person who I will mockingly name by the way they claim to violate my preconceived notions of your group], [do something that matches my stereotype for you], [do something else that matches a stereotype] ([example other group "you people" all fit into], usually), or [do something ignorant that yet again matches a stereotype (and I will ellucidate further a description of my bias against you)]?
There doesn't seem to be [any reason or source material for you all acting like], so [why do you all act alike]?
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
Could you please provide us some links to any of this great corpus of literature you allure to?
As far as I understand it, there isn't a single piece of historcial literature where Jesus was ever mentioned. You can find a summary of historical evidence here, or read a detailed account Truth About Jesus, The : Is He a Myth?, available as Gutenberg etext #6107.
There are no inherent HUMAN rights beyond what a society grants to those who live it. Brutality, slavery, and callousness towards others is the norm over the course of HUMAN history. HUMAN rights as a notion is a new comer. Anyone who says otherwise is a history revisionist.
Perhaps Americans are arrogant, but to large degree Americans do have a basis for that arrogance. If the rest of the world wants what America has then stop bitching about it and do it.
Mohammed's life makes a great comedy. He married an older women for money. He became a used camel dealer. He had a favorite slave girl, Zaid. Then he went into religion around age 40. For years, he was considered a nutcase. Somehow, he and his followers managed to take over Medina, after which he started invading and conquering neighboring countries.
Visualize the Python version of that. It would drive the Islamic world nuts. But it would be worth it. Make sure it gets on satellite TV and file-sharing networks, so Arab kids see it. In most of the Islamic world, kids are forced to OD on religion, because the religious types run the schools. It's like the Dark Ages in Europe.
The last major film about Islam, Mohammed, Messenger of God, was way too respectful. It doesn't even show the face of Mohammed (played by Anthony Quinn), to respect Islamic tradition. The Saudis use it as a training film. It was pulled from US theaters in 1976 after threats from people we'd today call terrorists. Today, the US wouldn't back down.
Jon Stewart's joke from the Daily Show...
"So, this week's box office reciepts show that 'Dawn of the Dead' has unseated 'Passion of the Christ' as the #1 movie in America. Lesson? One person rising from the dead...good. Lots of people rising from the dead...better."
...was what I watched last night. It has Willem DeFoe (think Inspector from Boondock Saints) as Jesus and Harvey Keitel (think the Wolf from Pulp Fiction) as a good Judas.
So completely a better movie than the passion, and also, the other roles these actors have played just made it funny as well.
Want to see every step I took to start my company? http://www.rowdylabs.com/blogs/pitchtothegods
Actually, the best geological explanation I've seen is the flooding of the Black Sea basin. There used to be a big lake down there until the passage breached and let the Mediterranean in.
h ttp://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/news/story9 _1.html
The archaeologists have actually down excavations down there and found "tells" under the sea on the old water line (belonging to the lake). This is a pretty good fit for the biblical flood given both it's scope and it's proximity to Babylon where the story could easily be brought by migrants, refugees and traders.
http://www.trinicenter.com/WorldNews/noah.htm
-------- -------- Support Wesley Clark for president!!!
===---===
Together, we will drive the rats from the tundra.
I found myself amazed that this comment got modded to funny. Then I started to think about our international readership, and started wondering if global opinion about us has sunk so low that they find humor in our misfortune. Of course, we are responsible for that low opinion ourselves.
---- Just another spud server.
Giving Gray credit where credit is due but he was neither the first discover electricity nor did he make electricity assessable to society. For that the prize goes to Eddison.
Brief history of electricity
Bell is indeed Scottish. His patent applications for the telephone are filed first in the US. Also it is AT&T thatmakes the telephone ubiquitous.
Nicolaus August Otto invented the gas motor engine in 1876. It was Ford who gave the auto to everyone.
As for pyramids, well they are tall. They also have neat stuff inside. They are also 99.99 etc. percent stone. Hardly qualifies as a high rise building.
I'm not saying that America is perfect or for every one or is the only contributor to knowledge but I am stating this: It is the American sense of entrepreneurship, ownership and freedom that makes so many great things possible. After The US has been around long enough to grow it's own inventors then the list provided is truly American. No other country in the history of civilization has advanced discovery, science and engineering like the US. period.
Name any single country that has even come close. Just one.
It was Ford who gave the auto to everyone.
That's a bit different to inventing the car though. Although he did invent something - the assembly line process.
1) Zaid was his adopted son (and one of his most devoted followers), not a slave girl.
2) They did not take over Medina, but were invited to move there to escape the persecution of the Kuraish aristocrats who were in control of Mecca. The two major Jewish tribes of Medina were particularly interested in Mohammed (PBUH) to help mediate their disagreements. Sure, he kicked a bunch of them out of Medina after they conspired against him, but that's a different story.
3) Anthony Quinn played the role of Hamzah "Lion of the Desert", Mohammed's uncle who converted to Islam. BTW, it not only doesn't portray Mohammed on the screen, but other important figures such as his best friend Abu Bakr, and his cousin Ali (to be the first and second Caliphs of Islam, respectively, after Mohammad's death). This belief also extends to all of the other Prophets, including Jesus and Moses. I don't believe this effect detracts at all from the film, on the contrary, I believe the film actually works better this way.
4) The movie's title is actually "The Message". It's not only on the cover of the video in English, but also the Arabic "Ar-risallah" written on a flag in the artwork. Sidepoint: this movie was filmed both in English and Arabic separately, with different actors for each language (both with an impressive cast billing for their respective audience). I wish they released both versions on the DVD instead of just English.
5) As far as I know, "The Message" was banned in various Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. I don't know if this still is the case. Despite its carefulness in respecting beliefs of the most conservative Muslims, it apparantly wasn't enough.
I stand corrected. I tented to make the original list include things that America made with in turn made America. With out Ford the auto would not have had the same impact. Until Ford the car was only owned the privileged class. He invented the assembly line but he also democratized the auto industry: virtually everyone my own one and therefore has input into car design by virtue of market demands.
I am rather disappointed by the reaction to this post. I understand that most of Slashdot readers are movie buffs besides being geeks and open source followers, and Monty Python has a strong following among them. However, considering the reaction this post has drawn, much of it disrespectful to the Christian faith, I wonder: What has this got to do with open source and the open source community (remember - OSDN)? That is the main reason I read Slashdot, and is what I understand to be the main purpose for Slashdot. I understand Micheal posted this with informative intent, but I think there are more appropriate websites for these kind of announcements.
Why does this person feel like The Passion needs some kind of antidote? Why should this movie need "counter-programming"? What's wrong with having a millions of people very interested in a film which, like it or not, has serious artistic merit? Even if it didn't have artistic merit, why should a popular movie need an alternative?
Quite obviously, despite protestations to the contrary of aethiests, agnostics and liberals, thier desires to push thier own beliefs on the world are just as strong as the Christians they're constantly accusing.
I think your cynicism is preventing you from getting the message of the movie. You only harm yourself by assuming negative motives for people who have provided something positive and helpful for you in your spiritual walk.
2. Why? Why in the hell do we need hours of blood and gore.
Because that's the way it happened. The Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 52:14 reads:
Isaiah 53:5 says that "by his stripes ( Passion screen) we are healed." Just like in the movie - He was turned into a scourged piece of bloody meat almost not recognizable as human. The Romans didn't invent crucifixion, but they devised ways to inflict the maximum amount of pain.Why all the blood? Read Leviticus. Redemption is in the blood. Eternal life is in the blood. Read John 6. It is the blood of the New Covenant. We drink the Christ's blood (symbolically) when we observe the Lord's Supper. For me, the blood in The Passion is not gross. It's uplifting. I feel extreme gratitude and joy.
I don't think it sends any kind of message that would help us to live better lives and be better to each other.
The Palm Beach Post reported on March 18 that a man robbed a bank of $25,000 more than two years ago in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He surrendered because "he was stirred deeply after watching The Passion of the Christ and felt compelled to come clean." "He said, 'I saw The Passion, and that made my decision,'" said Paul Miller, a spokesman for the sheriff's office. "And he sort of urged [the detective] to see the movie too."
We are a visual generation. We watch TV and movies more than we read books. Putting the passion of the gospels into visual format makes it real to us. Do you think that reading about the 9/11 explosions of the World Trade Center would have evoked the same level of shock and awe as reading "there was an explosion" in a newspaper's black ink? Seeing the Passion forces us to come face to face with our sin and God's response of grace. The experience makes us sad that God had to send His Son to suffer and die because of us, the viewers. It prods us to repent, and when we repent, we live better lives. We regret how much we grieve Him by not loving Him with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind and not loving our neighbors as ourselves.
Which is really what the whole message of Jesus is about.
That's what the whole movie was about. From beginning to end, there was evil and brutality, but it was within the context of an act of love and sacrifice. The sacrifice was on behalf of sin just such as was committed in torturing this innocent Jew and Messiah. His sacrifice was the greatest act of love in all of history. And it was done on your behalf, and mine. The Lord Jesus Christ paid the enormous ransom for our sin that only He could pay, thereby saving us from the torment of hell, and that is what Mel Gibson's movie is all about.
Sighted person: Okay, stand right where you are.
Blind skeptic: Why?
SP: I'm going to take ten paces away from you.
BS: Okay.
SP: Now hold up one of your hands. Aha! You just raised your left hand.
BS: What about now?
SP: It's still your left hand.
BS: How did you know that?
SP: I can see.
Now have the sighted person get four items, each a different color, and hand them out. The items should have the same size, shape and texture. Have the sighted person identify each item to the person holding it. Have the sighted person occupied by a fifth volunteer so that the activites of the first four are hidden from sight. The first four will now trade with each other, whispering the color the sighted person attributed to the item he/she held. The sighted person is brought back into view and questioned about the items again. Repeat with a new group of blind volunteers. Assuming the blind are honest, this would provide proof. It's called "The Scientific Method."
On the other hand, the proofs I hear from theists include
Responses:
I know that I will hear noise about "strawman." Fair enough. Provide proof and we'll be done with it. If you can't provide proof, God is as likely to exist as the Giant Burnt Umber Crayon.
You are free to believe what you will. But unless you can demonstrate it to others, don't be indignant when others point and laugh at you when you proclaim it as truth. Don't want pointing and laughter, keep it to yourself or prove it.
- I don't need to go outside, my CRT tan'll do me just fine.
Jesus did not take his own life. He GAVE his life up while we (all of us) crucified Him. There is a difference.
Sure, he didn't pull the trigger or nail himself to a cross. On that same merit I can jump in front of a moving bus and blame the driver for not stopping. The point is that he intentionally let himself die, which qualifies him as suicidal in many people's eyes.
They should re-release Jesus Christ Superstar. And as I'm listening to the soundtrack right now, I can say that is the only reason for me: the sheer beauty of the production. I get chills every time I hear or see the movie. I'm not a believer myself (although I was raised a catholic) but this movie/musical just connects with me on all levels.
I'll go back to sobbing to the soundtrack now...
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