Language 'no barrier' for Gibson's New Jesus Christ Movie - in Latin

ABC News via Drudge ^ | 9/21/2002 | Staff

[Kermit]

Latin was spoken by the Romans and Aramaic was spoken by Jesus and the local Jews.

[alnick]

I think it would be fascinating. I'd love to see it. Some things transcend words.

[TopQuark]

This reminds me of a Texan school principal that, upon hearing students conversing in Spanish, told them to use English. "If English was good enough for our Lord Jesus Christ, it should be good enough for you," he said.

[Dumb_Ox]

And people laughed at me when I suggested that Gladiator would have made a better film in Latin.

[Gone_Postal]

don't see how this will work. It may be the greatest film ever made, but most of the world won't know what is being said.

Read the BOOK

[Malesherbes]

I think it is a brilliant idea - and further increases my respect for Mel Gibson which was already high.

I believe no one is sure exactly how Latin sounded in ancient times, but Church Latin is probably as close as we can get. It will be very interesting to hear it spoken in this film - as well as Aramaic. And, yes, Christians know the story well enough to follow the action without sub-title.

[discostu]

CENTURION: What's this, then? 'Romanes Eunt Domus'? 'People called Romanes they go the house'?
BRIAN:It-- it says, 'Romans, go home'.
CENTURION:No, it doesn't. What's Latin for 'Roman'? Come on!
BRIAN:Aah!
CENTURION:Come on!
BRIAN:'R-- Romanus'?
CENTURION:Goes like...?
BRIAN:'Annus'?
CENTURION:Vocative plural of 'annus' is...?
BRIAN:Eh. 'Anni'?
CENTURION:'Romani'. 'Eunt'? What is 'eunt'?
BRIAN:'Go'. Let--
CENTURION:Conjugate the verb 'to go'.
BRIAN:Uh. 'Ire'. Uh, 'eo'. 'Is'. 'It'. 'Imus'. 'Itis'. 'Eunt'.
CENTURION:So 'eunt' is...?
BRIAN:Ah, huh, third person plural, uh, present indicative. Uh, 'they go'.
CENTURION:But 'Romans, go home' is an order, so you must use the...?
BRIAN:The... imperative!
CENTURION:Which is...?
BRIAN:Umm! Oh. Oh. Um, 'i'. 'I'!
CENTURION:How many Romans?
BRIAN:Ah! 'I'-- Plural. Plural. 'Ite'. 'Ite'.
CENTURION:'Ite'.
BRIAN:Ah. Eh.
CENTURION:'Domus'?
BRIAN:Eh.
CENTURION:Nominative?
BRIAN:Oh.
CENTURION:'Go home'? This is motion towards. Isn't it, boy?
BRIAN:Ah. Ah, dative, sir! Ahh! No, not dative! Not the dative, sir! No! Ah! Oh, the... accusative! Accusative! Ah! 'Domum', sir! 'Ad domum'! Ah! Oooh! Ah!
CENTURION:Except that 'domus' takes the...?
BRIAN:The locative, sir!
CENTURION:Which is...?!
BRIAN:'Domum'.
CENTURION:'Domum'.
BRIAN:Aaah! Ah.
CENTURION:'Um'. Understand?
BRIAN:Yes, sir.
CENTURION:Now, write it out a hundred times.
BRIAN:Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Hail Caesar, sir.
CENTURION:Hail Caesar. If it's not done by sunrise, I'll cut your balls off.
BRIAN:Oh, thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. Hail Caesar and everything, sir! Oh. Mmm!

[Dajjal]

Mirabilis notio!!!

[Paulus Invictus]

As an old movie guy, my opinion is that Gibson's film will not work! We have an excellent film about Jesus in which the actor speaks in Aramaic, but the voice over translation, right out of the KJV New Testament, is in English. The spoken Aramaic is subdued and it is easy to understand the voice-over message. Having the actor speak in the language of Jesus was not a distraction, but without the English interpretation the film would be sure to fail.

Two other good questions: did Jesus speak Latin when he was interviewed by Pilate? Did he speak Koine Greek as he did grow up in a Greek-speaking area? (Sephoris is only a few miles from Nazereth and it is alleged that most everyone spoke Greek in that city. Signs found on Jewish tombs of the period and also on the Temple were written in Greek. Hmmm.

[Brices Crossroads]

St. Francis of Assisi once said that all Christians should preach the Gospel every day and, when absolutely necessary, use words. The Passion and death of Jesus Christ is about God's love for man,which surpasses all understanding. If it surpasses all understanding, it certainly surpasses all attempts to articulate it in a spoken language. That said, I believe that a very great number of people know the dialogue of the Passion of Christ very well indeed. I, for one, would be very interested to see it in the actual languges in which it occurred. Moreover, it seems to me that it will give the audience a greater opportunity to observe the actors. Jim Caviezel, by the way, is an excellent actor and a devout Catholic Christian. I am looking forward to seeing the movie. I am sure Gibson could care less whether it is a commercial success.

[Brices Crossroads]

Both Latin and Aramaic would be the languages. I don't think you can call them a good or a bad choice. They are, simply, the language spoken by the Romans, on the one hand, and Jesus on the other. If one could be transported back in time to witness the Passion, it would not be in English. You would hear Christ's seven last words from the Cross in Aramaic. You would hear the crowds shout, "Crucify Him, Crucify Him" in Aramaic. You would hear Pilate's interview of Jesus in Latin.(I read the earlier post questioning whether the interview with Pilate was in Aramaic. I believe that it would have been in Latin. And I think that most scripture scholars would agree with that.) You would hear Peter's denials in Aramaic, with all the inflections and gestures peculiar to that language. I, for one, would be interested to hear Jesus' actual words, delivered by a talented actor. I know what he said, but to hear his actual words would be a new experience. Subtitles would be a distraction and unnecessary for all but a few in the audience. For those who know nothing of the Scriptures, I think their interest would be piqued enough that they might read the actual story. Maybe Gibson could pass out copies as the crowd exits. :)