Hi…
When I saw The Passion today, I remembered that there is fan talk that it’s his hand wielding a hammer driving a spike into Christ’s hand.
During that scene, however, I thought I heard Mel saying one of the lines in Latin as the subtitle (paraphrasing) “Hey, you losers, this is how you drive a stake…” flashed on the scene."
Was I hearing/seeing things? Please be kind if I was…thanks.
I remember that line, although I don’t know if it was Mel saying it.
He told Diane Sawyer in an interview that it was his hand holding the spike. But since I didn’t see it, I can’t confirm any of the spoken words.
Don’t know it for a fact but somewhere in all the glurge building up to the release I heard that in addition to the hand holding the spike the scream Judas emits when he is killed was Mel’s voice. I’m not sure but I think there may have been a total of three such cameos (a quick googleing sugests that Mel’s feet may have been shown in sandals in some context). Allegedly these cameos symbolically depict Gibsons feelings of “personal responsibility” for Christ’s death.
I think Mel’s left hand was the one holding the first spike. I think the line you’re talking about came as the second spike was to be driven and they dislocated Jesus’ shoulder in order to line up his hand with the hole.
[slight hijack]
The creepiest cameo of all time has to be Michaelangelo’s guest appearance in his own rendering of the Last Judgement. His is the face on the flayed skin held up by St. Bartholomew.
[/hijack]
Was he trying to get the palm over the hole? I saw it as the Roman soldier dislocated Christ’s shoulder as he was trying to get the arm straight. It appeared that Christ was resisting (for whatever reason, I mean, the situation was hopeless at that point) by trying to pull his hand back the way a child would, the soldier got tired of it, and just yanked the arm straight, dislocating the shoulder. Maybe I interpreted it wrong, but it looked like the hole you are talking about was incidental, a remnant from a previous crucifixion.
