On A Mission...

I learned yesterday that my church is planning to offer two free public showings of Mel Gibson's excellent The Passion Of The Christ on Good Friday this year.

OK, slightly cliché perhaps, but OK. I'm all for the use of film as a means to evoke feelings or a response of some kind.

But -- I also learned that it is the intention of those in charge to show the Pan and Scan version of the film. Uh Oh! The Passion Of The Christ was beautifully shot using a 2.35:1 frame. The cinematography of The Passion was widely recognized as excellent and was nominated by both The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences as well as The American Society of Cinematographers for its achievement. In my opinion, the fact that a Pan and Scan DVD of this film even exists is a travesty. The thought of that travesty being shown at my church is more than I can bear.

Basically, I'm on a mission to make sure that only the widescreen film is shown at these viewings in my church. I'll keep you posted, of course, on my progress.