Significantly, Hollywood's most successful translator of the Bible - DeMille - was at heart a pagan. His religious epics spring to life only when the sinners set up the golden calf and boogie down for a colorful orgy. By contrast, the auteur of "Braveheart" - another film in which the hero is tortured to death for his people - is a true believer, a devout Catholic who belongs to a conservative splinter sect that celebrates the Latin Mass and rejects the reforms of Vatican II. Perhaps the real reason "The Passion" has stirred such interest and ire is that Gibson has produced a religious epic that is really about his religion.
The elites are going to realize their greatest horror in this movie- Jesus umambigiously shown as Savior in a widely seen film made to high techincal standards by a top director- and they will call it anti-Semetic in an attempt to taint the movie.
The ADL will probably have picket signs and protestors at every movie that DARE show a Pro-Christian movie!!! And they wonder justWHY anti-Semitism is up!! They are taking away everything that could be construed as Christian from the public....even Christmas Trees!!!