I'm not sure how to explain this amazing documentary properly, other than to give you a roadmap of the content. Mordillat and Prieur, over a ten year period, taped leading biblical scholars from all over the world who inquire into the mystery of Jesus. Corpus Christi consists of twelve episodes, starting with the crucifixion and ending with the extremely volatile Gospel of John, and it's a mind-blower. Never pushing an agenda, it's four DVD's and close to thirteen hours of scholarly minds that shed light into the enigma of the historical Christ. I'm going to attempt to post one DVD per day until Jesus Week is over, and I'll bump the post with each new addition. Enjoy!
Editorial note: Uh, okay, so it's several days into February and I'm only just now adding the fourth part, but better late than never, right? We've been busy. - L&S
From Facets:
For over ten years, filmmakers and writers Gérard Mordillat and Jérôme Prieur have worked together to investigate the earliest Christian texts and the beginnings of Christianity.
Their most acclaimed effort to date has been the Corpus Christi series, broadcast by Arte at Easter in 1997 and 1998. In twelve 52-minute episodes, Corpus Christi analyzed the six verses of the narrative of the Passion as it appears in the Gospel according to John. Its success and importance were considerable. The series won two consecutive Clio Awards, in addition to the Yedi Frends medal (Jerusalem) and the Golden Rainbow of the Cambridge Historical Film Festival (Great Britain).
While they were making Corpus Christi, the idea for the new series came to Mordillat and Prieur, one that would chronicle the beginnings of the Christian religion. After Corpus Christi was completed, the pair were eager to uncover and explore the true story of the origin of Christianity-the era that begins with the death of Jesus and follows through the division of Christianity and Judaism. In the same vein as Corpus Christi.
In an interview with Facets Video, Jérôme Prieur recalled that it took four years of interpreting of ancient texts, reading scholarly tracts, attendeding lectures, and meeting with experts as part of the extremely long, arduous process of research. Prieur emphasized the sheer volume of volume of information they collected before beginning the process of refining it into a clear narrative.
Prieur also recalled the difficulties of such an ambitious project. The two were absolutely dedicated to getting it right. "It had to be accurate," Prieur stated, noting that it was hard because of the diverse interpretations of the ancient sources. But, the pair felt that a series on Christianity's origins, a topic "most relevant for all of us", was important for today's world. With that in mind, he sought to produce a version of the origins that was scientific, objective, and thorough but one not grounded in a specific theology or ideology.
For the future, Jérôme Prieur and Gérard Mordillat hope to explore this subject matter further. After collection so much research and materials about the origins of Christianity, the pair realize they could pursue this topic "into the next century." As Prieur noted, with only a hint of exaggeration, "It will never be finished."
Technical Information:
Title: Corpus Christi: Inquiry into the Historical Jesus
Year: 1997
Country: France
Director(s): Gérard Mordillat and Jérôme Prieur
Source: DVD9 Retail
Format: NTSC
Container: VIDEO_TS
Size:
Disc 1- 6.86 GB
Disc 2- 6.76 GB
Disc 3- 6.94 GB
Disc 4- 6.70 GB
Length:
Disc 1- 1:54:10
Disc 2- 1:51:10
Disc 3- 1:21:04
Disc 4- 1.50:08
Programs used: DVD Decryptor
Resolution: 720X480
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Video: MPEG2 @ ~6000 Kb/s
Frame Rate: 29.97
Audio: Dolby Digital 1.0 English, French, German
Subtitles: English, French, German (only for the descriptions)
Menu: Yes
Video: Untouched
DVD Extras: None on source
Thanks to Spendius from 'Tik for the original up!
Corpus Christi- Disc 1 of 4 Megaupload Links
Corpus Christi- Disc 2 of 4 Megaupload Links
Corpus Christi- Disc 3 of 4 Megaupload Links
Corpus Christi- Disc 4 of 4 Megaupload Links