Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!
Starring
The Voices Of: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Mara Marshall, and Isaac Hayes
Writers:
Trey Parker, Daisy Gardner, David Goodman, Kyle McCullough, Glassov Phillips,
and Tim Talbot
Created
By: Trey Parker and Matt Stone
Executive
Producers: Trey Parker and Matt Stone
Feature
length: 66 minutes
Extras:
Bonus Episodes
Languages:
English Stereo Sound
Subtitles:
English Closed Captions
Packaging: Keep Case
Chapter Stops: 11
Sound: Stereo Sound
Year of DVD Release: 2004
Home Video Distributor: Comedy
Central Home Video and Paramount Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Just in time for the home video
release of Mel Gibson’s “The
Passion Of The Christ” comes the animated epic from acclaimed filmmakers
Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of the hit Comedy Central animated TV
series “South Park,” entitled “The Passion Of The Jew.” I think
turnabout is fair play and I like “South Park” so when I saw this special
DVD release I was half sure of what to expect and also curious about how Parker
and Stone would satirize the hype and controversy surrounding “The Passion Of
The Christ.” As much as the cartoon pokes fun at Gibson’s rather strange
reclusive nature in the wake of the success of “The Passion Of The Christ,”
Parker and Stone actually manage to address a lot of the concerns with regard to
the film in a way that venues like animation and comedy can get across without
getting on a soapbox.
The episode takes place sometime
during the film’s theatrical release earlier this year. Cartman has been
tormenting young Kyle by calling him a “Christ Killer” and citing “The
Passion Of The Christ” as a source as if the film was a documentary or
something. Kyle goes to see it and is traumatized by the film’s violent
images. Feeling guilty, he goes to his temple and in front of his Rabbi,
parents, and fellow worshippers suggests that they apologize to the Christians
of South Park for the death of Jesus. In his mind it seems logical since there
have been cases where one nation will apologize formally to another for the
wrongs it committed. Of course the congregation is outraged by the idea and even
terrified when they witness Cartman leading many citizens of South Park in a
Nazi like march. The South Park citizens think they are speaking some peaceful
Aramaic. They have no idea that Cartman is having them utter guttural German
anti-Semitic nonsense. Meanwhile Stan and Kenny return to town chased by a
crazed Mel Gibson who wants his 18 dollars back that the kids stole from his
wallet because they thought “The Passion Of The Christ” sucked and wanted
their money back. The scenes with Gibson’s cutout image are a riot. They did a
great job with the expressions to capture a maximum comedic effect.
The good points “The Passion Of
The Jew” makes is that the Jews are not responsible for the death of
Jesus and I agree with the message that if you believe in Christ then try and
follow what he taught and not dwell on what happened to him. The question is
raised about responsibility and here I think it is important to point out that
regardless if you believe the story of Jesus is real, an allegory, or a fairy
tale, he was put on Earth to die. No one killed him. The moral of “The Passion
Of The Christ” deals with unconditional love. He was born to die for the sins
or karma, if you will, other humanity. God ordained his sacrifice so anyone who
calls someone a “Christ Killer” does not understand the message the movie
was trying to get across in my opinion. Christ was born to die and what happens
in the film is what has to happen in order for the viewer to experience a
catharsis. I personally think Gibson did a beautiful thing by making “The
Passion Of The Christ” and I also think that behind the humor, Trey Parker and
Matt Stone also deliver an important message that complements Gibson’s film as
much as it satirizes it and brings concerns over it into plain view.
Two additional episodes are
included in this DVD release. “Christian Rock Hard” has Cartman forming a
Christian Rock Band to collect on a bet he has made while Kyle and Kenny get
arrested for downloading music from the Internet. This episode addresses the
theme of greed, which unfortunately knows no bound unless checked. Finally
“Red Hot Catholic Love” has Father Maxi travel to the Vatican to address the
issue of child molestation by men of the cloth with hilarious results. The scene
with the old Activision videogame “Pitfall” is truly inspired.
All three episodes are presented
with beautiful clarity in the (1.33:1) aspect ratio of their original television
broadcast and the English Stereo Soundtrack is also quite dynamic. English
Closed Captions for the hearing impaired are also encoded onto the DVD as
options. Aside from previews for Comedy Central’s “South Park: The Complete
Fourth Season,” “Reno 911: The Complete First Season,” “Comedy
Central’s Roast Of Denis Leary: Uncensored!” and “Crank Yankers: The
Complete First Season” there are no other bonus materials on this DVD.
I really enjoyed these “South
Park” episodes and laughter can by far be truly the best medicine. Check out
“South Park: The Passion Of The Jew” when it makes its DVD debut on Tuesday,
August 31, 2004 at retailers on and offline from Comedy Central Home Video and
Paramount Home Entertainment.
© Copyright 2004 By Mark A.
Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!