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Saturday, April 17, 2004

`THE PASSION'    Painful Sequels

To the Editor:

Re 'The Passions of the Repeat Viewers' by Alex Abramovich [March 28]:

Because Mel Gibson's 'Passion of the Christ' has been such a box-office success, and because Hollywood producers are now apparently contemplating other religiously oriented movies, I suggest that they explore the stories of the Christian martyrs, whose deaths could certainly be dragged out in slow motion to two or so hours of torture rivaling anything Mr. Gibson produced. For starters, there is St. Cecilia, who was hacked to death, but refused to die on the first couple of tries; St. Agatha, whose nipples were plucked off by red-hot tongs; Abelard, whose emasculation would be something just a little different; St. Stephen, whose stoning could be a great, extended mob scene; and St. John the Baptist, whose actual beheading could be shown, not just the already severed head we are accustomed to seeing. This genre could provide the motion picture industry with a cash cow for decades to come.

Then to show he's even-handed, Mel could film in exquisite, loving detail the tortures the Church inflicted on "heretics" in the Inquisition. The possibilities are truly endless!

Jack Clark 11:14 AM [+]   
Post #108222567703763602