JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (1973) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1997 Ted Prigge
Director: Norman Jewison Writer: Melvyn Bragg, Norman Jewison, Tim Rice, and Andrew Lloyd Webber Starring: Ted Neely, Carl Anderson, Yvonne Elliman, Josh Mostel
Anyone who's ever heard Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera, "Jesus Christ Superstar," is familiar with its liberal approach to the gospel. It's not just some dumbing down way of presenting the story of the death of Jesus to the hippies in the 60s, but also a new look at it. With cool, hummable music, a new perspective (told mostly from that of Judas), and a satirical look at not only Judas's outlook on Jesus, but of his followers, who turned on him after he was arrested for merely preaching the word of God. The film is also a liberal version of the telling, combining gospel fashions with that of camp 70s clothes, and machine guns, hard helmets, tanks, and airplanes, creating a film that is camp AND satirical. It's also a really cool flick.
The film chronicles the death of Jesus from before Palm Sunday to his crucifixion. It starts off with the actors getting ready during the overture (extended just for the film), then the film takes off with Judas (Carl Anderson, who apparently started some controversy since he was black - yes, that's real bad, guys) singing about how he thinks Jesus is not really the Messiah, but has great ideas, and has become to obsessed with power. He tries to warn him about his ever-increasing popularity, and some of his alleged hypocrisy, seeing that he's in love with the whore Mary Magdelene (Yvonne Elliman, who would go on to sing a cool tune for "Saturday Night Fever"), and how he uses valuable lotion for himself. But Jesus explains in calm and logical terms that everyone is good in his sight, even whores, and that there will always be poor people and we should just take advantage of what we have.
Of course, Judas is right about his increasing populairty, as a bunch of leather-clad pharises led by the Barry White-voiced Caiaphas and his pal Annas, the high priests of the bunch, get together and talk about getting rid of him, even as he is riding into town and having palms thrown at him. And Judas is still pissed off at him, especially when he goes into a temple and starts throwing stuff around, claiming that they're blaspheming his house of worship by gambling in it. So Judas inevitably is conned by the pharises to help them find and arrest Jesus.
And the inevitable of that happens, Judas gives Jesus away with a kiss, and he is taken off. Almost immeadiately, his 12 apostles flee, claiming not to know him, and all his other followers turn against him in the big trial, telling Pontious Pilate, who in this way is given a sympathetic perspective as he has no choice but to crucify him, even after he tells them "this man has done no wrong," which he hadn't. We almost wonder if Jesus died to save our sins or was he just betrayed by us. And, of course, was he really the Messiah?
I'm an agnostic, but was a Christian for years. I believe that Jesus was a person, but with all these people coming out and saying their prophets (i.e. David Koresh), I have had trouble thinking about it. Was Jesus really the Messiah, or just some crazy Israelian? Or was he just one nice guy? Ted Neely's performance opens up some new levels to the "Was Jesus the Messiah?" question. He brings a human level to the character. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Norman Jewison don't know if Jesus was the Messiah, and leave this question open, since there can be no real proof on either side of the argument. I mean, for all I know, I'm the second coming of Jesus. Probably not.
The acting's very good, especially from Neely and Carl Anderson as Judas. Anderson has a big problem, since Judas is always seen as the villain of the bible, betraying Jesus and all. But this film reveals him to be a tragic hero, like some sort of Brutus. He's a good guy who believes in the beliefs of Jesus (though he questions his divinity), and the film (and opera) nicely show his descension into being a paid baddie for the jerk system. I mean, Judas had no choice but to hang himself at the end (sorry if I'm spoiling the storyline).
This film opens a lot of biblical questions which are not really standard, and also takes a very original approach, much like the rock opera. Even if you're not a Christian, you should dig this flick. For it's unique style, approach, and the overall coolness of it all, I give this a high reccomendation. But I warn you, get ready to laugh at some of the costumes, especially Herod's (Josh Mostel, from "City Slickers" fame), who sports funky glasses and a pair of boxers. If only all biblical films could be this groovy...
MY RATING (out of 4): ***1/2
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