MovieChat Forums > Jesus (1979) Discussion > very accurate in the crucifixion scene

very accurate in the crucifixion scene

posted 15 years ago by pjglynndoora
5 replies | jump to latest

The nails went through the wrists, as it was done in Jesus time, unlike the hands in other films about Him.

[–] pjglynndoora 15 years ago

bump

It's accurate if crucifixion was done thru the wrists, but short of getting in a time machine, we don't know how Jesus' particular crucifixion was performed. Roman crucifixion was done in several different ways. Sometimes the victim was bound, not nailed to the cross. If nailed, sometimes the nails went through the wrists, sometimes the palms. Recent research has falsified the notion that nails through the palms could not support the body's weight. That idea was based on faulty experimentation on corpses and was corrected by Frederick Zugibe.

But you're right - care was taken to present what at the time of filming was a majority view of crucifixion techniques.

[–] dinky-4 14 years ago

This is one of the movies' better crucifixion scenes, but it still seems much too "dignified" to be plausible. "Dignified crucifixion" is an oxymoron. Logically the place of execution would stink like the filthiest of toilets, especially on a hot day. People would hold a cloth to their noses to try to ward off the stench. The reeking odor of urine, vomit, and excrement would almost be overwhelming. (I'm sure the Romans didn't scrub off the upright portion of each cross after each crucifixion in order to keep things tidy. Nor did they give the criminals on the crosses "bathroom breaks.") And think of the flies! There'd be swarms of them. Every crucified man would soon be covered with crawling insects, causing him indescribable, unrelievable torment. Imagine having a fly crawling under your eyelid, or making its way up inside your nose! And yet we want to think of the crucifixion of Jesus as being a proper, solemn affair, so we get these Sunday school pageants instead of the historical reality.

[–] ElectricWarlock 10 years ago

My only complaint is that I don't think He wore a crown of thorns in this version. I don't see why they omitted that detail because it seems rather important to me to show how much pain He went through for us. But after doing some research I found out they based this film on the Gospel of Luke and Jesus didn't wear a crown of thorns in that book, so I can excuse them.

Death lives in the Vault of Horror!

[–] FirstBlood1982 9 years ago

Yeah, I like this movie alot, but the biggest flaw is the same that most movies about Christ's life share, the passion and crucifixion is just too sanitized and doesn't have the impact needed to effectively show how much Christ suffered for mankind.

Gibson gets alot of flack for how he chose to go about making "The Passion," but the movie undeniably paints a better picture of the severity of what Christ went through than probably any art work in all of history.

+++by His wounds we are healed. - Isaiah 53:5+++