In 2004, movie theaters across the United States projected Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ before enthusiastic, anxious, and sometimes angry American audiences. These screenings resulted in not only one of the most profitable film-making ventures in American movie history, but also created a distinct buzz among the religious and non-religious concerning Gibson's sensitivity (or lack thereof) regarding issues related to anti-Semitism and overt on-screen violence portrayed in the film.

The film sparked a variety of responses from Christians, Jews, and scholars of religion. The movie seemed to give evangelical Christian audiences a Hollywood icon to connect with in Gibson, who was seen promoting the film at a variety of Christian conferences and Protestant megachurches. The movie also disturbed some biblical studies scholars who thought the film represented an incorrect reading of the gospel story from the Bible. Additionally, the film alienated some within Jewish communities across the U.S. who thought the finished product might spark further violence and discrimination against American Jews.

In the end, the film was able to connect Gibson with various Christian communities of faith as witnessed by the private showings of The Passion to many Christian leaders and laity alike across the U.S. The film also received attention on primetime CNN talk shows and from an abundance of daytime radio personalities. Whether or not Mel Gibson or the Icon Productions film studio planned to promote his film for free by means of these religious and secular media outlets, the tens of thousands of tickets sold demonstrated that American moviegoers wanted to drink soda, munch on popcorn, and watch another motion picture depicting the final twelve hours of the life of Jesus.

From the first filmed Passion play in 1897 to Gibson's blockbuster of 2004, movies portraying the life of Christ have been recorded, produced, and exhibited for over a century. During this time, American audiences have sat in darkened theaters, with or without sound, from New York to Des Moines to San Francisco. In the seats of these theaters both Christians and non-Christians alike have worked out their own passions and frustrations with the various representations of Christ on the silver screen.

During the late nineteenth century, the Passion of Christ, the final hours of the life of Jesus, was depicted in a variety of forms including the theater stage, magic lantern shows, and in motion pictures. Some Christian ministers voiced complaints encouraging their congregants to boycott theaters when details surfaced that a human actor would play the role of the sinless savior. Christ in non-moving picture form caused less concern as popular images of Jesus by artists such as James Tissot and Benjamin West were thrown on the screens in churches and civic auditoriums throughout the U.S. as part of an evening of illustrated lectures given by traveling exhibitors.

Film directors and cinematographers were uncertain and a bit anxious concerning how the American public would respond to moving pictures on the life of Jesus. Yet by 1898, only a few short years after film was introduced into the United States, at least three versions of the Passion of Christ were chronicled on film. One version of the film was recorded in Europe during a Passion play pageant at Horwitz, Bohemia. Another version was taken on the roof of the Grand Central Palace in New York City. In the case of the New York production, the director and the actors covertly filmed the movie and were told not to speak about their involvement in the production with anyone outside the company. Once released, the film, The Passion Play of Oberammergau (1898), was shown in a number of U.S. cities where it received positive reviews from both non-religious moviegoers and Christian ministers. Thus, it seemed the making and screening of a film on the Passion of Christ, rather than cause widespread controversy in the Christian community, actually sold tickets. These productions, it was thought, would be much more interesting than listening to a preached sermon on the death of Jesus or watching an illustrated lecture with motionless slides of Jesus on screen.

Over the past century, dozens of films have depicted the life, ministry, and death of Jesus of Nazareth. Whether filmed in secret or marketed in advance, these movies not only made money for directors, film companies, and distribution agencies, but they also portrayed the life and execution of a man many Christians believed was God. These films on Jesus also projected a biblical character whose death and subsequent resurrection was viewed by many as necessary to save humanity from their sins. Watching the life of Christ portrayed on film, even with a professional actor taking on the role of Jesus, provided American audiences with a moving sequence of images showing the face and expressions of their biblical hero. Most viewers knew that the Jesus of history died hundreds of years before the invention of photography or cinematography, yet these films gave audiences a picture of their savior much more vivid than what they imagined while reading the Bible in Sunday school.

The films produced on the Passion of Christ over the past one hundred years provide a series of general observations for consideration. These observations might help make sense of why a film studio or a director would bother recreating the life of Jesus for the big screen. Might the purpose of these films be solely to make money for directors and companies who thought such films would draw large crowds of Christians to theaters throughout the United States? Or, were these films produced to function as a moving history book which would not only supplement the words of the Bible, but also provide more than a still snapshot of the Christian savior on screen?

The filmed Passion of Christ may also have been produced for more personal reasons—as a means to connect viewers with their own religious and spiritual journey. In this way Jesus films were made in order to give theatergoers a visually reconstructed glimpse into the life and death of Jesus so that in turn they might see why they believe Jesus lived and died on earth. One might also speculate that these films were the result of religious inner tensions within the mind of a director or producer who wanted to showcase his or her own faith journey on the silver screen. More than likely, the various films on Jesus over the past century have been made as a result of a combination of public and private interests on the part of the production company, the director, and movie audiences.

From the first secretive film shorts on the Passion of Christ during the 1890s to the more recent two-hour promotionally driven epic by Mel Gibson, one wonders if another Jesus film could be created which would attract as much attention and controversy. Or, with the saturation of the media market with the most recent film, one wonders if there would be any further passion on the part of American film audiences to see the life and death of Christ on screen.

Christopher J. Anderson, PhD Candidate, Drew University, Madison, NJ