Movie Ratings That Actually Work    Become a Member

"One of the 50 Coolest Websites...they simply tell it like it is" - TIME

The Gospel of John | 2003 | PG-13 | - 2.6.0

A word-for-word big film adaptation of the Gospel of John, which relates the life of Jesus of Nazareth. It is based on The Good News Bible translation from the American Bible Society, and it depicts Jesus' teachings, miracles, conflicts with the Jewish authorities and ultimate crucifixion and resurrection. With Henry Ian Cusick, Daniel Kash, Richard Lintern, Stephen Russell, Scott Handy, Stuart Bunce, Lynsey Baxter. Narrated by Christopher Plummer. Directed by Philip Saville. [2:55]

SEX/NUDITY 2 - A man drops his robe and we see him bare-chested with a cloth wrap around his waist (it's a loin-cloth type garment). We see bare-chested men in a few scenes, with cloth wraps around their waists. A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage and bare shoulders.

VIOLENCE/GORE 6 - Three men are nailed to crosses with large spikes run through their feet and hands (we hear the nailing and the men moan, and then we see their bloody hands and feet). Two men have their legs broken while on the crosses with heavy wooden mallets (we hear the strikes and crunches and hear the men cry out), and one man is stabbed in the side with a spear (after he is apparently dead) and blood pours from the wound. A man rushes another man, pulls a sword and cuts his ear off (we see the man holding his head, blood trickles down his hand and he screams in pain). A man wears a crown of thorns: we see that a couple of the thorns have poked into his skin and he is bleeding. A man hits another man in the face (we see blood on his mouth). We hear a man being whipped repeatedly. A man is forced to carry a very heavy piece of wood up a long uphill path. An angry mob picks up stones, rush toward a man, prepared to throw them at him, he disappears into the crowd and the mob continues to look for him. A man lunges at another man and grabs him around the throat. Armed guards and soldiers approach a group of people, tie one man's hands and take him away. A group of people and guards scuffle: the guards reach for their swords but do not draw them. A woman is held, shoved to the ground, accused of adultery and the people who were holding her say she should be stoned to death. We see scars on a man's wrists and side. A large storm at sea throws a small boat around in the rough water. We hear that a group of people wants to kill a man. A man in a rage runs through a marketplace cracking a whip, setting penned animals free, and people around him scatter in fear. We hear that a man's son is dying. People argue in several scenes. We see many sick and disabled people gathered around a pool: one man struggles to drag himself to the water (he is unable to walk), and another man is missing an arm and we see the stump at his shoulder. A man tells people to "eat my flesh and drink my blood," and a man tells a group of people that "those who do not believe will dry up and be thrown into the fire..." A man spits in dirt to form mud that he smears it on a man's eyelids. There is a loud clap of thunder and people appear frightened by it.

LANGUAGE 0 - None.

SUBSTANCE USE - People are shown drinking wine.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - God, Jesus, Judaism, Christianity, the Christian Gospels, baptism, miracles, grace, faith, miracles, betrayal, adultery, persecution, proof, sin, demons, blasphemy, torture, crucifixion.

MESSAGE - Not everybody welcomed Jesus of Nazareth and his teachings. The Pharisees were especially antagonistic and pressured Pilate to crucify Jesus.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $1/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we don't always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter

Know when new reviews are published
We will never sell or share your email address with anybody and you can unsubscribe at any time

You're all set! Please check your email for confirmation.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This