Mel Gibson’s controversial two-hour focus on the arrest, torture, and crucifixion of Jesus, starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus and Monica Bellucci as Mary Magdalene. The film was based as much on the visions of the 19th century stigmatic nun, Anne Catherine Emmerich, as it was on the Bible. When studios refused to produce the film (they were skeptical of audience turnout and Gibson’s insistence on Aramaic, Latin, and Hebrew dialogue), Gibson self-financed the production, and the film would go on to become the highest grossing R-rated film of all time. Its success would inspire a renaissance of religious cinema in the mid 2000s, although none of those films would enjoy similar financial success.