Mel Gibson hailed with standing ovation

Mel Gibson hailed with standing ovation in Venice for 'Hacksaw Ridge'

The Hollywood resurrection of Mel Gibson has begun.

Gibson, 60, unveiled his directorial effort Hacksaw Ridge at the Venice International Film Festival on Saturday night. The world premiere of the anti-war film starring Andrew Garfield went down big. Really big.

Trade website Deadline.com described a 10-minute audience standing ovation after the lights went up. Outside, fans greeted Gibson with their faces painted blue, Braveheart style.

Director Mel Gibson attends the premiere of 'Hacksaw Ridge' during the 73rd Venice Film Festival. (Photo: Andreas Rentz, Getty Images)

Gibson, the major Hollywood star and director of 2004's faith-driven blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, called his relationship with Hollywood "survival" at a Venice press conference before the world premiere, according to Reuters.

The Oscar-winning director (best picture and best director for Braveheart) first saw major tabloid scandal in 2006, when he was arrested in a drunken-driving incident on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, Calif., and responded with an anti-Semitic tirade to the arresting officers. That led to headlines around the world and the beginning of a Hollywood exile for Gibson.

Hacksaw Ridge, played out-of-competition at Venice, tells the true story of Desmond Doss (Spider-Man's Andrew Garfield), an army medic who refused to bear arms but later received the Medal of Honor for saving dozens of his comrades.

Director Mel Gibson signs autographs as he arrives for the premiere of 'Hacksaw Ridge' at the 73rd Venice Film Festival on September 4. (Photo: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE, AFP/Getty Images)

At the press conference, Garfield said Gibson was "like a good dad on set or a good mom, with that kind of wonderful nurturing instinct where you feel like you can do no wrong even when you're already doing a lot of wrong."

In a praise-filled review for Hacksaw Ridge, industry website Variety said "it will likely prove to be the first film in a decade that can mark (Gibson's) re-entry into the heart of the industry.

"Yet to say that Hacksaw Ridge finally leaves the Gibson scandals behind isn’t quite right; it has been made in their shadow. On some not-so-hard-to-read level, the film is conceived and presented as an act of atonement," the review continued.

The film opens Nov. 4 in the United States.

Mel Gibson (L) and Andrew Garfield pose during a photocall for 'Hacksaw Ridge' at the 73rd annual Venice International Film Festival. (Photo: ETTORE FERRARI, EPA)

source: www.usatoday.com