Days before the release of Mel Gibson's film chronicling the death of Jesus, which critics have accused of fuelling anti-Semitism, the filmmaker's father has added to the controversy.

Hutton Gibson told the American Talk Line Communication Network talk show, "Speak Your Piece!" that the Holocaust was mostly "fiction."

According to a transcript released by Talkline, the elder Gibson told interviewer Steve Feuerstein: "It's all -- maybe not all fiction -- but most of it is,'' when asked about his views on the Holocaust.

"They claimed that there were 6.2 million (Jews) in Poland before the war, and after the war there were 200,000, therefore he (Hitler) must have killed six million of them," he said. "They simply got up and left. They were all over the Bronx and Brooklyn and Sydney and Los Angeles."

The comments, to be broadcast Monday by the small U.S. network, comes at a sensitive time for Mel Gibson -- less than a week before his epic film "The Passion of the Christ" is due to open in theatres.

Even before it hits the screens, the film has already sparked widespread controversy.

On the one hand, some Jewish leaders and Catholic priests say the movie could fuel anti-Semitism for its portrayal of Jews' role in the crucifixion.

On the other hand, conservative Christians have praised it as a stirring depiction of the death of the Son of God.

Having produced, directed and co-wrote the film, Mel Gibson has repeatedly called the project a deeply personal expression of his own faith.

He reportedly based his script on gospel accounts, as well as the visions of a 19th century mystical nun, St Anne Catherine Emmerich.

He says the story is a faithful biblical narrative, and in no way is he, or his film, anti-Semitic.

"To be anti-Semitic is a sin," he said in an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer.

"It's been condemned by one Papal Council after another. To be anti-Semitic is to be un-Christian, and I'm not."

In previous interviews, his father, Hutton, has stirred controversy with his remarks on the Holocaust and Judaism.

The Gibsons are members of a tiny wing of traditionalist Catholicism that considers the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council as a conspiracy between Jews and Masons to take over the church.

In recent months, he had kept quiet. But in this latest interview, he pulls no punches.

Accusing Jews of wanting to take over the world, Hutton Gibson said he couldn't explain why. "It's all about control. They're after one world religion and one world government."

Asked in media interviews whether he shares his father's views, Mel Gibson has said that he loves his father and will not speak against him.

The owner of Talkline, which describes itself as 'America's leading Jewish radio and television network,' has been calling for a boycott of all of Mel Gibson's movies.

Earlier this year, the Vatican became embroiled in a controversy over conflicting reports about whether Pope John Paul had endorsed the accuracy of the film. The Vatican later said the Pope had not made any public judgment.