Yes, he is an idiot and has a drinking problem but to call him a bad actor and worse director is, in my opinion, incorrect.
I believe that we now know Mel's true colors, but this piece is a prime example of really awful writing.
There was more than only antiSemitism that Gibson did badly.
While I've often wondered about Hitchens' obvious hatred of Israel (which might explain his rush to attack someone else for this reason--"No, no, there's a REAL anti-Semite!")...he happens to be right. You don't just get drunk and turn into a Jew-hater. Something you're holding in emerges.
In Mel's defense, he said nothing that Hillary Clinton or the New York Times haven't already said.
Pat Buchanan is a Jew-hater, but since he hates Bush just as much, all is good.
"Bad actor and worse director"?? Hitchens needs to get real. Whatever else Gibson might be, these do not apply.
I hear some whining from somewhere off to the left, I wonder what it is.....
Oh, please. I am going to need more evidence than a single drunken tirade to reach that conclusion.
But please, Mel... get help... and realize that that guy you made a movie about was and still is a Jew.
Shut up Hitchens. Mel is an a$$hole but so are you. You dislike anyone that believes in God. That's your real beef. The biggest problem with Mel isn't that he expressed some anti-semitic views. His biggest problem is that he is a selfish drunk. Maybe Hitchens doesn't want to focus on that problem because it hits a little too close to home. BTW, I enjoy both Gibson and Hitchens, but they are both a$$holes.
I think Christopher Hitchens' ad hominem against Mel Gibson damages his own credibility. He comes off as a hate-filled fanatic with a personal ax to grind. There's plenty to criticize about Gibson without resorting to this kind of attack.
In the movies in question the English were the villains. It is quite traditional in movies to make the villains as bad as possible. I believe it is something to do with dramatic effect.
Although the herding of civilians into a church and then burning it down in The Patriot was a tad over the top.
Tarleton was not averse to the odd atrocity, but nothing like that is recorded, which it would have been.
Well, my South Park Collector's Edition of Passion of the Jew is probably worth even more now.
>>Premiering just one month after The Passion of the Christ was released in theaters, this typically outrageous episode tore into Mel Gibson's film with characteristic glee, ruthlessly condemning Gibson's courtship of controversy and depicting Gibson as a raving, greedy, egotistical lunatic (recalling the classic first season episode "Mecha-Streisand") while promoting a fair-minded appreciation of Christ's teachings over the relentless violence of Gibson's film. Perfectly playing off established character conflicts, the episode pits Mel-worshipping Cartman (who embraces Gibson's alleged anti-Semitism to justify his own homespun Nazi revival) against Kyle, who is traumatized by Gibson's film into feeling guilty about his own Jewish heritage. Never ones to flinch from taboo topics or political correctness, series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone outdid themselves with this amazingly rapid response to Gibson's film, and it's destined to rank as an all-time South Park classic. <<
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002ERX22/sr=8-1/qid=1154374774/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-9843718-5979904?ie=UTF8
God has used some really terrible people to do great things in the past. Mel Gibson harboring anti-semitic feelings and drinking a lot is bad, but its not like he sent his lover's husband off die in battle or he had anyone who disagrees with his theology killed. Perspective, people, perspective.
Much ado about nothing. Gibson was attacked by a number of Jewish organizations for his Passion of the Christ. Where was the outrage when the anti-semites Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton ran for President? What has Hillary said about the Jews? Selective outrage is only for people like Gibosn who buck the system.
Quite the opposite, they were two of his best films. Remember, Christopher Hitchens is a brit, and it has to be looked upon in that light.