The Passion (TV serial)
The Passion | |
---|---|
Genre | Religious drama |
Written by | Frank Deasy |
Directed by | Michael Offer |
Starring | Joseph Mawle Paloma Baeza Ben Daniels James Nesbitt David Oyelowo Penelope Wilton |
Composer | Debbie Wiseman |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
No. of episodes | 4 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Hillary Salmon |
Producer | Nigel Stafford-Clark |
Editor | Paul Knight |
Running time | 172 minutes |
Production companies | BBC Productions HBO Films Deep Indigo Productions |
Original release | |
Network | BBC One |
Release | 16 March 23 March 2008 | –
The Passion is a television drama serial produced by the BBC and HBO Films in association with Deep Indigo Productions. It tells the story of the last week in the life of Jesus. The serial was first proposed by Peter Fincham in 2006, on the success of the contemporary-set Manchester Passion. Writer Frank Deasy and producer Nigel Stafford-Clark were inspired to make a drama that opened up the story beyond the "vacuum" it is often told in. They did this by expanding the roles of Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas, and exploring the politics of Judea at the time. Deasy and Stafford-Clark were aided by scholar Mark Goodacre, with whom they put together an extensive research manual about the topic.
The part of Jesus is played by
Plot
This article needs an improved plot summary. (January 2009) |
Episode 1 — In the first hour-long episode, Jesus's arrival in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday causes a stir among the Jews. The Romans are having to deal with a small rebellion and the High Priest wants to be rid of Jesus, since he is causing a disturbance and challenging his authority.
Episode 2 — In the second half-hour episode, the High Priest Caiaphas calls a council to determine how Jesus should be dealt with after he is overheard mocking the Temple, and his fate is sealed.
Episode 3 — The third hour-long episode, relates the events from the Last Supper to the Crucifixion of Jesus.
Episode 4 — The final half-hour episode, features the Resurrection of Jesus, the sightings of him by Mary Magdalene and others, and his departure from the disciples after impressing upon Peter the importance of spreading his word. Caiaphus' wife gives birth to a son, and Pilate and his wife return to Caesarea.
Production
At a conference in April 2006, Controller of BBC One
Following his appointment as writer, Deasy spent the next year researching the gospels in Israel and consulting Goodacre.[3][5] His first draft was submitted in the autumn of 2006. Drawing on what he had learned from Jesus of Nazareth, Deasy chose to portray Jesus as the "human character" in Matthew and Mark, rather than the god-like figure in John. He also incorporated Jesus's relationship with women as written in Luke.[3] For the opening scene of Episode 1, he was influenced by the opening scene of Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004):
In it, a peasant coming to Passover in Jerusalem is frightened when he comes across the disciples, because they've been in the desert or in Galilee for two years. They've been sleeping out and they appear slightly intimidating to him. It attempts to introduce a world in which Christianity didn't yet exist and these precepts and concepts that are so familiar to us now, were startlingly new and really exploded on the scene during this crucial week.[3]
Deasy and Stafford-Clark were also interested in opening up the story beyond the "vacuum" in which they believe other depictions of the week are set. They did this by expanding the roles of Caiaphas and Pilate beyond mere "panto villains", and examining the politics of Judea at the time; Deasy explained that it was "much more rich to see Caiaphas as a flawed human being".[3][4] Joseph Mawle was the first actor auditioned for the part of Jesus. He was cast in May 2007 and prepared for the role by reading "the Gospels, research papers, medical documents, endless books and prayers".[6] Mawle wanted to meet actor Robert Powell to discuss his portrayal of Jesus in Jesus of Nazareth, but the two could not arrange a convenient time. By chance, the two met in the toilets at Gatwick Airport when Powell was going on holiday with his family and Mawle was leaving for Morocco to film The Passion.[7] James Nesbitt was filming in Belfast when his agent sent him the script. He initially did not want the part, but took it when his agent told him that Stafford-Clark was the producer; Nesbitt had enjoyed his version of Bleak House. He played Pilate as "a cold, hard warrior", and was inspired—by the peace in Ireland—to play him Irish.[8] Paloma Baeza felt a "responsibility" when she was offered the part of Mary Magdalene because of the scale of the story being told. Of playing Mary, she said, "I was looking at her journey, who this person was and her relationship to Jesus. And looking at her as a woman and her predicament."[9]
Production was based at the Atlas Studios in Morocco.[5] Sets were constructed on locations in Ouarzazate from May to August 2007. Principal photography took place from 27 August to 23 October.[10] Scenes in Jerusalem were filmed in Tamnougalt.[4] Many scenes were filmed with hand-held cameras to make it appear that the audience is "eavesdropping" on characters' conversations.[11] A significant scene was the crucifixion in Episode 3. The scene was filmed over three days and was frequently interrupted by torrential downpours. Mawle's make-up call came at 3.30 a.m. and it took five hours to apply cuts, bruises and blisters to his body. As he carried the cross over the sand, Mawle imagined the pain and exhaustion Jesus felt when he did it.[6] Contrary to traditional depictions of the crucifixion, where Jesus is shown nailed to the cross by his hands, production designer Simon Elliot chose to show Jesus in the foetal position, with the nails through his arms. Mark Goodacre advised that this was the most common and effective method of crucifixion used by the Romans, and Elliot believed that "the Victorian image" did not match historical evidence; The Passion's interpretation was based on a skeleton of a crucified man that was discovered near Jerusalem in the 1960s.[12] 3,000 extras participated in the trial scenes in Episode 3.[8]
The first episode was given a preview screening by the BBC at the Apollo West End cinema on 28 February 2008. The episode was introduced by BBC controller of fiction Jane Tranter to an invited audience of press and religious leaders.[13] The producers delivered the final cut of Episode 4 on 11 March.[10]
Cast
Jesus and followers
- Paloma Baeza as Mary Magdalene
- Thomas Buchanan as James, son of Alphaeus
- Lewis Clay as Thomas
- Tom Ellis as Phillip
- Matthew
- Eoin Geoghegan as Andrew
- James
- Stuart Kidd as Simon
- Joseph Mawle as Jesus
- Darren Morfitt as Peter
- Steve Morphew as Thaddeus
- Paul Nicholls as Judas
- Vinette Robinson as Mina
- Jamie Sives as John
- Mary
- Eugene Wood as Bartholomew
At the Temple
- Ben Caplan as Yehuda
- Ben Daniels as Caiaphas
- Laila El Mrabti as Caiaphas' daughter
- Laura Fraser as Abigail
- Simon Kassianides as Temple guard
- Munir Khairdin as Second Temple guard
- Denis Lawson as Annas
- John Lynch as Sagan
- David Oyelowo as Joseph of Arimathea
- Elif Yeşil as Nita, Caiaphas' servant
Romans
- Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Syrian prefect
- Mansour Badri as Roman sergeant at Golgotha
- El Housseine Dejjiti as Centurion at bakery
- Karim Doukkali as Garrison Centurion
- Robin Floriant as Rufus, tax collector
- Matthew Flynn as Third Roman soldier
- Esther Hall as Claudia, Pontius Pilate's wife
- Martin Hutson as Pilate's secretary
- Mark Lewis Jones as Marcus
- Gerard Monaco as Capito
- David Maybrick as First Roman soldier
- James Nesbitt as Pontius Pilate
- Ross O'Hennessy as Second Roman soldier
- Driss Roukhe as Roman soldier at procession
- Mohammed Taleb as Robe centurion
People in Jerusalem
- El Jirari Ben Aissa as Simon of Cyrene
- Daniel Catlagirone as Eban
- Stephen Graham as Barabbas
- Mercedes Grower as Neta
- Jamila El Haouni as Widow
- Johnny Harris as Asher
- Mustapha Jamal as Unhappy butcher
- Richard Katz as Money changer
- Barnaby Kay as Man on road to Emmaus
- Abderrahim Moustaid as Simon the Leper
- Craig Parkins as Man at tomb
- Gary Pillai as Merchant
- Nadia Sadik as Screaming woman
- Abdelouahed Sanouji as Young baker
- Kiran Shah as Jude
- Peter Sullivan as Lawyer
- David Rubin as Pilgrim
- René Zagger as Bird seller
Reception
The serial opened with an hour-long episode on 16 March, followed by a half-hour episode on 17 March, another hour-long episode on 21 March and a concluding half-hour episode on 23 March. An omnibus-style repeat of the first three parts was broadcast in the afternoon of 21 March.[14] The first part opened with overnight ratings of 4.1 million viewers and a 15% audience share.[15] The second episode, scheduled against popular ITV soap opera Coronation Street, dropped to 3.2 million.[16] Episode 3 brought in 3.7 million viewers and Episode 4 received 4.9 million and a 21% share.[17]
The series was generally well received. The main review in The Guardian of the first episode was positive, remarking "you could watch The Passion and totally forget that this story was central to a major world religion. And that's a good thing, I think."[18] However, another article in the paper, discussing UK television over Easter 2008, called it "a dramatisation so conventional and reverent that the only harrumphing angle the papers have been able to find has been the position of the hands on the crucifix".[19] The Independent's Thomas Sutcliffe commented that "only the most zealously dogmatic Christian could complain that it was irreverent",[20] The Daily Telegraph's James Walton's review of the same episode praised the humanising of Pilate and Caiaphas, and felt Mawle's depiction of Jesus, despite not having the same "spell-binding effect as Robert Powell did in Jesus of Nazareth", nevertheless was "more appealingly human".[21] Andrew Billen of The Times praised "some nice touches", but was overall more critical, calling Mawle's portrayal of Jesus too "meek, mild and hangdog".[22]
DVD release
The Passion was released on DVD in the UK by
References
- ^ Plunkett, John (26 April 2006). "BBC plans epic retelling of Jesus's life", The Guardian, Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
- ^ a b c d Brown, Maggie (7 July 2006). "From Prime Suspect to The Passion: Deasy tackles last week in life of Christ", MediaGuardian, Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Jenkins, Simon (2008). "Frank Deasy interview Archived 20 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine", Rejesus.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
- ^ a b c Wilson, Benji (15–21 March 2008). "Last days of Jesus", Radio Times, BBC Magazines, pp. 14–18.
- ^ a b Jenkins, Garry (1 March 2008). "The BBC's bold new interpretation of The Passion", The Times, Times Newspapers. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
- ^ a b Higgins, Ria; Joseph Mawle (19 October 2008). "Best of times, worst of times", The Sunday Times, Times Newspapers. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
- ^ Matthewman, Scott (20 May 2010). "Holby City’s Robert Powell on ‘flatlining’ acting style, the BBC licence fee and soap-vs-drama Archived 5 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine". The Stage Online. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ^ a b McLean, Craig (1 March 2008). "The leading man next door[permanent dead link]", Sunday Herald, Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
- ^ Jenkins, Simon (2008). "Paloma Baeza interview Archived 20 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine". Rejesus.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
- ^ a b Multiple contributors (March 2008). "Your questions answered Archived 25 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine", The Passion website (BBC Online). Retrieved 3 August 2008.
- ^ Jenkins, Simon (2008). "Nigel Stafford-Clark interview Archived 20 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine". Rejesus.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
- ^ Wynne-Jones, Jonathan (18 March 2008). "Why the BBC thinks Christ did not die this way", The Daily Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group.
- ^ Butt, Riazat (1 March 2008). "Judgment day for BBC's premiere of the Passion", The Guardian, Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 3 August 2008.
- ^ The Passion past episodes, BBC Programmes. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
- ^ Holmwood, Leigh (17 March 2008). "Dancing on Ice final wins for ITV", The Guardian, Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
- ^ Plunkett, John (18 March 2008). "O'Grady takes the teatime cake", The Guardian, Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
- ^ Plunkett, John (25 March 2008). "Minghella's last film watched by 6.3m", The Guardian, Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 9 January 2009.
- ^ Wollaston, Sam (17 March 2008). "The weekend's TV", The Guardian, Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
- ^ Lawson, Mark (17 March 2008). "TV matters: Are we celebrating Easter?", The Guardian, Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
- ^ a b Sutcliffe, Thomas (17 March 2008). "The Weekend's TV: Don't pass over this Easter treat", The Independent, Independent News and Media. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
- ^ Walton, James (17 March 2008). "Last night on television: The Passion (BBC1) - Gavin & Stacey (BBC3)", The Daily Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
- ^ Billen, Andrew (17 March 2008). "Weekend TV: The Passion; Gavin and Stacey", The Times, Times Newspapers. Retrieved 21 March 2008.
- ^ Staff (4 August 2008). "BBC One's The Passion coming to DVD Archived 13 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine", LastBroadcast.co.uk. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
External links
- The Passion at BBC Online
- The Passion at BBC Online
- The Passion at IMDb