'We received many requests to re-release the film around the Easter holiday,' says Producer Bruce Davey. 'Mel (Gibson) decided he wanted to recut a version that appealed to a broader audience without compromising the integrity of the original film one bit.'

'With THE PASSION RECUT, Mel has succeeded in creating an experience just as emotionally riveting and powerful as before,' says Newmarket Films President Bob Berney. 'The goal was to try and reach toward a PG-13 level, but the MPAA felt it still was an R due to the overall intensity of the film, so we are going out unrated and perhaps it's ultimately somewhere in between. The end result is a shift in tone and balance that makes the film more accessible to a wider audience, particularly those that had concerns about some of the extreme moments in the original version.'