TWO ARCHAEOLOGISTS (Andrea Berlin and Jodi Magness) comment on historical questions relating to Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (posted on the Archaeological Institute of America website, via Bible and Interpretation News). They discuss language, costumes, torture methods, crucifixion, and historical context, and conclude:

As director of The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson was compelled to make narrative choices: when and where to start the story, what to emphasize, how to draw out each person�s essential characteristics. The end result is a movie that conveys a tremendous amount of pain and suffering, but also one that is, in many major and minor respects, unmoored from documented realities. Gibson strives to convey a theological message by recreating a convincing ancient context. The message that people take away from the movie should not, however, be mistaken for verifiable historical fact.

Amen to that.