A devout religious person, who I have a lot of respect for, showed this film, which I had been told was blasphemous, to my brother and he said I should check it out...
Jesus Christ Superstar was released in 1973. It is directed by Norman Jewison (
Fiddler on the Roof) and adapted from the Broadway musical by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. It tells the story of the end of Jesus' (Ted Neeley) ministry, his betrayal by Judas Iscariot (Carl Anderson) and his execution by the Romans.
The controversy around this film focuses, mainly, on three accusations. One is that Jesus and Mary Magdalene share an implied sexual attraction. I find this to be pretty baseless. There are some scenes where she physically caresses Him, but this is not necessarily sexual. There is also one song,
I Don't Know How to Love Him, where she speaks of her attraction to him and says "And I've had so many men before". However, she also says, "Yet, if he said he loved me I'd be lost. I'd be frightened". The point of this song is that her feelings toward Jesus are complicated and she has no real basis or prior experience to compare them with. They go deeper than sexual love, which makes sense because only Jesus, as the Son of God, can fulfill the deepest longings and desires of our hearts. Regardless, Jesus himself is never shown to reciprocate these feelings in any way.
The second accusation is that the film is antisemitic. Though I don't feel that this was intentional I do understand that the story of Christ's death at the hands of the Sanhedrin can carry certain antisemitic tones if not handled carefully. As there are no real sympathetic Jewish characters in this film who aren't Jesus' followers this may be problematic for some, though it is not explicitly antisemitic.
Finally, and most importantly, many condemn this film's portrayal of Jesus as too flawed and human. Jesus is often shown to be unsure of His mission and there is one scene in particular, which gives me pause. A bunch of Lepers surround Christ and beg him to heal them. Overwhelmed He screams, telling them to leave him alone. This is certainly not a Christ-like thing to do, but it could be argued that this is an inner expression of Christ's feelings, as song lyrics often are, rather than something He's audible saying. If this is indeed the case, I feel inclined to give the writers artistic license in this regard. St. Paul tells us, "we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15)." I think this gives artists a fairly wide berth for interpretation as to what Christ may have been thinking or feeling at any moment. What's important is that his
actions are never sinful. Aside from this, the film never makes it clear if Jesus believes himself to be the Son of God. It would appear from certain interviews that lyricist Tim Rice is an agnostic, but he's also a member of the Church of England. I can't help but feel that some of his more controversial statements, that he see's Christ as a man and not God for example, may have been to attract a younger, less religiously inclined audience to his musical. In any case it's clear that this musical was trying make Jesus to a young audience in the 1970's, so it leaves the question of Christ's divinity for the audience to answer for themselves. That's perfectly fine by me.
The songs, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Tom Rice, are mostly solid with
I Don't Know How To Love Him and
Damned For All Time being standouts. The film opens by showing the cast arrive in Jerusalem in a bus and modern anachronistic props and costumes are used throughout. This gives the film a meta quality, we're made acutely aware that this is a modern reenactment of Christ's life. It also gives the movie a hip 70's vibe, one that is reinforced by Webber's rock infused score and Rice's lyrics which mixes biblical words with modern jargon. Sometimes this works, "Could Muhammmed move a mountain, Or was that just PR?" but other times it feels a little forced, "Hey JC, JC won't you die for me?"
Similarly, the 70's setting makes for some indulgent film-making at times. Norman Jewison makes good use of slow motion and there is one freeze frame in
Hosanna that is particularly inspired. Other numbers particularly
Simon Zealotes/Poor Jerusalem go way over the top with music video montage editing, and countless freeze frames. Overall, I think Jewison did a really good job with limited material.
Jesus Christ Superstar was originally a concept rock album (in the same vein as The Who's
Tommy) before it was brought to Broadway and, as a result, the story is very truncated, moving from one song to another with very little room to breath. Using the magic of cinema the director is able to overcome this, in part, and add some brief, quiet moments amidst all the bluster. Indeed some of the film's most powerful moments are those with no music at all.
Of the cast Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene and Carl Anderson as Judas put in the strongest performances. Both can sing rather well but also imbue there respective characters with passion. Ted Neely as Jesus is more inconsistent. He has some brilliant moments, particularly during the climax but his singing is, at times, a little shrill. Philip Toubus does well in his scenes as Peter but his character really could have used more screen time. Barry Dennen's Pontius Pilate is more smarmy then most while Bob Bingham's Caiaphas is more assertive (this does not help to allay the Anti-semetic undertones of the story). Finally, Josh Mostel's portrayal of Herod is probably the most debauched I've seen.
In the end
Jesus Christ Superstar is not the most pious (or well made) film I've seen about Jesus' life but it's certainly the most unique. I would probably avoid it if your easily offended but if you enjoy unconventional takes on traditional stories and don't mind a little 70's cheese I think you'll probably enjoy it.
Score: 8/10
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