Customer Reviews

South Park - The Passion of the Jew

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

When you watch "South Park" you know what to expect. This DVD is no exception: episodes packed with controversy, foul language and fun from beginning to end. "The Passion of the Jew", besides being a brilliant episode, synchronized with the release of the Mel Gibson classic "The Passion of the Christ", goes beyond making fun of a Gibson portrayed as a lunatic (something at which it's very effective). It showcases the dangers of extremes when it comes down to religious matters. Both sides presented, those who went to extremes to defend or discard the movie, end up being ridiculized.

The episode showcased is accompanied by two other episodes, both of which are hilarious as well: "Christian Rock Hard" and "Red Hot Catholic Love". One touches on the topic of illegal downloads, its enforcement and the somewhat questionable stance some of its early opposing musicians had about it, contrasting it against the fact that high record sales don't necessarily imply that the music in those records may be any good or honest (written for artistic reasons). Last, the "Red Hot Catholic Love" episode tackles the serious issue that took on huge proportions a couple of years ago, as several sex abuses by priests took on the front page of many of our media.

Overall, these three episodes of "South Park" continue to be innapropriate for kids and those who become offended easily. However, all three of them converge in the middle-of-the-road, after presenting opposite views about the three issues at hand. This is done in a brilliant and fun way. While I am not precisely a fan of the show, I must admit I found this DVD extremely funny and highly recommendable.

Though Trey and Matt get their seasons out on DVD much quicker than certain other long-running animated series (mainly because those other series go for full-length commentaries), these 3 to 4 episode packs are kind of a waste. Red Hot Catholic Love is one of the best all-time episodes in my not-so-humble opinion, and the other episodes are pretty good, but I wouldn't buy a DVD for them. I'll most likely just wait until next June for season 6 to come out (the season featuring Red Hot Catholic Love).

As long as they're releasing random episodes on DVD, Jared Has Aides would make a great candidate. I think the episode has only been shown once since its premiere, and I believe that was during this weekend's 25 most notorious episodes countdown. On top of all this, South Park DVDs are always lacking in special features. (How did the original pilot episode and the two versions of The Spirit of Christmas never end up on a DVD? Not to mention cut scenes.) Sometimes a full-length commentary would be nice because there are all kinds of jokes and references in the episodes that I'm sure a bunch of people just don't get.

So, in summation, I wouldn't buy this DVD because not only do I have these episodes recorded to VHS for my personal viewing pleasure, but I'm willing to wait for the release of the season box sets:
Red Hot Catholic Love - Season 6 - June 2005
Christian Rock Hard - Season 7 - December 2005
The Passion of the Jew - Season 8 - June 2006

This dvd contains three South Park episodes and a few trailers, nothing else. The episodes are: Passion of the Jew, in which Cartman starts a neo-Nazi group, Kyle feels guilty for killing Christ, and we find out that Mel Gibson is a bit ... eccentric; Christian Rock Hard, in which Cartman starts a Christian band; and Red Hot Catholic Love, about the priest sex scandal. As usual, the dialogue is profane, insightful and hysterical -- and NOT appropriate for the kids!

In an attempt to exploit from the release of the real "Passion" on DVD, Comedy Central attempts to rake in a few bucks by releasing this lackluster collection of three episodes of the show. While the three episodes are superb, it's really not worth you shelling over your money. You're better off waiting for these episodes to be on the season sets ("Red Hot Catholic Love": Season 6, "Christian Rock Hard!": Season 7, "The Passion Of The Jew": Season 8). And besides, for only a little more than double the price, you can get one of the season sets that are out already, and have five times the number of episodes. Think about THAT.

This episode is quite paralleled. Hitler, Cartman, attempted extermination of the Jews...again. Hilarious. I love Kyle, and this is like his own special episode. I'm Jewish and this episode absolutely cracks me up. My favorite to date by far. I love South Park, and Cartman never fails to amaze.

Ok, the other reviews do have a point. All of these episodes will later be released in the sets for their respective seasons, and with Paramount announcing Season 5's release for as early as November, you may be owning them sooner than some of the estimates given. Still, we have to keep in mind that the title episode for this set is less than 6 months old, so you pay a little bit extra for the priveledge of owning it so early. Hell, they haven't even finished its season yet. That is what makes this DVD a good buy. That, and the fact that you can say, f*ck Gibson, I'm buying the South Park one instead.

yes, $5 an episode is more than it costs in the season sets, but in the end, its worth it to own these great episodes so much earler. They're all hilarious, with my personal favorite being Red Hot Catholic Love, so give this set a shot, as long as you're considering buying it BEFORE the seasons are released. If you're reading this in 2006, don't bother, and grab the seasons instead. If you're reading in 2004, BUY THE F*CKIN THING!

Trey Parker and Matt Stone taking on Mel Gibson's blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ" is obviously the hook for picking up this trio of religious themed "South Park" episodes, but "The Passion of the Jew" is not the best episode here. There are three plotlines for "The Passion of the Jew" (03/31/2004) and the best is the main one, where Kyle is talked into seeing Gibson's film and is so traumatized he urges everybody at Temple to apologize for what the Jews did to Jesus. Meanwhile, Cartman is enjoying the apparent endorsement of his anti-Semitic views and is bringing together other fans of Gibson and the film in an apparent attempt to revitalize the Nazi party, while Stan and Kenny have also seen the movie and want their money back, even if it means going to see Mel Gibson and get it back from the man himself. There are some good shots taken against some of the reactions to Gibson's film, but reducing Gibson to the level of Chris Kattan's Mr. Peepers lets the target get away as far as I am concerned.

For me the classic episode is 2002's "Red Hot Catholic Love" (07/03/2002), where Father Maxi is apparently the only member of the Catholic clergy on the face of the earth who is not interested in sexually abusing altar boys (e.g., "The Catholic Boat"). Meanwhile, a counselor's question about Father Maxi's relationship with the boys has them totally befuddled until Cartman stumbles on the secret of interorectogestion. The result is a vivid visual metaphor for hypocrisy and a manifestation of the show's toilet talk humor. Fortunately every time I have seen this episode it has not been on a full stomach, but as funny as Cartman winning his bet with Kyle might be, it is nice to see Father Maxi defend being a Catholic priest, a job that was certainly getting nothing but bad press back then.

"Christian Rock Hard" (10/29/2003) involves another bet between Cartman and Kyle. Cartman says he can get a platinum record first recording Christian rock music. Cartman puts a band together with Butters and Token, and just rewrites familiar songs by putting "Jesus" in place of words like "baby" or "darling." Meanwhile, trying to find their sound Kyle, Stan and Kenny are busted by the Feds for illegally downloading music. The boys then learn about the suffering of rock stars because of downloading and Cartman learns never to count your platinum records before they are presented to you at a giant public ceremony. I like the commercial for Cartman's album (which cannot be found in stores).

The great irony of this trio of episodes is that not only do they all have a religious theme, albeit one usually mixed with elements of commercialism, but they are essentially parables. At the end of each episode some one, usually Stan or Kyle, underscore's the message of the story, while music plays that emphasizes we should be paying attention to what is being said because there is a @#&!*#@& lesson here. Actually, three @#&!*#@& lessons. Still, you know Parker and Stone are going to be so surprised when they go to Hell and discover it is nothing like the burning inferno they have depicted on their show.

This DVD is a trilogy of tales from South Park that have religious issues.

The first tale has Kyle watching The Passion of the Christ, Cartman's favorite movie, and being traumatized. While he tries to deal with the movie and what it represents to him, Cartman forms a fan club and takes it in disturbing directions. But Stan and Kenny find the movie a waste of money and try to track down Mel Gibson to get their money back. The three plot threads come togther cleanly and acceptably.

The second tale has the boys trying once again to form a band. Cartman splits off in his own direction and forms a Christian rock band. This is the weakest of the tree tales but still classic South Park.

The final story attempts to take on the issues of sexual misconduct that have plagued the church in recent years. South Park's resident Catholic priest becomes the champion to wipe out the problem. But not problem is simple and clear cut and the story proceeds in a way that only South Park can do.

Having recently become a fan of South Park, I had to see this DVD. I have to say it is full of all the little things that made me a fan. Underneath the sensationalism of foul language and the like, there exist real messages and insights in the show. These three episodes are prime examples. Check it out.

I am a huge fan of South Park. When I saw commercials for this episode on TV, I thought "My God, Stone and Parker are going to be murdered." I knew this wouldn't be an episode to miss and I was right. Just listen to some of the plot lines going through the episode:
Kyle finally sees The Passion. He is so tramuatized that he feels guilty about his Jewish heritage and feels he should apologize for killing Jesus.
Cartman sees the film as an excuse to carry out his "final solution" and forms a Neo-Nazi sect of well meaning, but unobservant townspeople who were genuinely inspired by the movie.
Stan and Kenny were dissapointed by the movie and travel to California to get their money back from Mel Gibson.
Yes folks, we are all going to hell. Especially if you laughed at this episode. But that's a silly observation. Stone and Parker are like the little voice in the back of heads that thinks of these things, but we never actually say them. South Park could even be considered the real voice in America because of the candidness of the subject matter. Enough people felt this way about the movie and because it was how they really felt. Its like a release of all our opinions that we have to keep inside because of our sometimes overly PC culture. How many people saw The Passion and wondered how much longer they were going to beat Jesus?
In addition The Passion of the Jew, this DVD set contains two other relgion themed South Park episodes. One about Cartman's attempt at a Christian rock band, Faith+1, and episode involving the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. In all three episodes Stone and Parker get it right by simply stating the obvious.
I loved all these episodes but I can't give the DVD the full five stars simply because they're still in rotation on Comedey Central. They're good episode, and a good buy, but I wouldn't recommend putting down money for these episodes right now. Who am I kidding? I'll probably buy a copy, and most South Park fans will too.

The hilariously irreverent, and now long running, adult animated series South Park soared to new heights when the title episode of this DVD primiered one month after the release of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Hilariously depicting Gibson as a greedy, crazed, self-rightous, ego maniac (Braveheart kilt and Mad Max-mobile as well), this episode is worth the price of admission alone, and is one of the best episodes of South Park of all time. Also included is "Christian Rock Hard" where Cartman forms a Christian rock group (hilariously spoofing Creed) and another episode where the town reverend attempts to uncover the secrets of the Catholic priest sex scandal while the kids and crew make a discovery of their own which will leave you on the floor laughing like an idiot.