The Passion Recut

According to this piece from The Australian newspaper, Mel Gibson has softened the original version of his movie The Passion and excised seven minutes of the most excruciating scenes - the crow pecking out the eyes of the bad thief; the spike being hammered into Jesus' palm; the worst moments of the scourging at the pillar, when flesh and blood splatters across the screen; and later when Roman soldiers taunt the almost flayed Jesus, who by now resembles a quivering hunk of fresh tripe. Gibson assures that despite this recut he maintained the integrity of the movie.