Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)

7.1 ? Aug 15, 1973 1h 48m

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Overview

As played out by a theatre troupe, the last days of Jesus Christ are depicted from the perspective of Judas Iscariot, his betrayer. As Jesus' following increases, Judas begins to worry that Jesus is falling for his own hype, forgetting the principles of his teachings and growing too close to the prostitute Mary Magdalene.

Overview

Genres

Music Drama History

Release Date

August 15, 1973

Rating

7.1 /10

Runtime

1h 48m

Official Trailer from YouTube

Ted Neeley

Jesus Christ

Carl Anderson

Judas Iscariot

Yvonne Elliman

Mary Magdalene

Barry Dennen

Pontius Pilate

Bob Bingham

Caiaphas

Larry Marshall

Simon Zealotes

Josh Mostel

King Herod

Kurt Yaghjian

Annas

Paul Thomas

Peter

Pi Douglass

Apostle

Robert LuPone

Apostle James

Jonathan Wynne

Apostle

Thommie Walsh

Apostle Thaddeus

Richard Molinare

Apostle Andrew

David Devir

Apostle

Jeff Hyslop

Apostle

Richard Orbach

Apostle John

Shooki Wagner

Apostle

Darcel Wynne

Woman

Marcia McBroom

Woman

Andres Gomez

8.0/10

Mar 29, 2016

Risky adaptation of a great musical with catchy songs. Carl Anderson performs a great Judas. Some of the other actors are quite good too, like Barry Dennen as Pontius Pilate but Ted Neeley as Jesus is quite a whimp. In any case, a very interesting adaptation of a musical which deserves to be watched at least once.

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CinemaSerf

6.0/10

Apr 02, 2023

Norman Jewison shipped everyone to Israel to help give this adaptation of the Lloyd Webber/Rice hit rock opera as much authenticity as possible for the big screen. Ted Neeley dons the robes for the title role and ably aided by a very much on form Carl Anderson (Judas) and Yvonne Elliman (Mary Magdalene) reimagines the stage performances that take us from modern day through the ages to the lifetime of Christ. Neeley certainly has that established look to him, but I actually found him rather underwhelming (it doesn't help that his are certainly not the best numbers). As the story gathers momentum the other two very much come into their own leading an ensemble cast that mixes historical and contemporary styles of music and dance, language and imagery to try to modernise (1970s style) this provocative story. Josh Mostel turns in quite a fun routine as the slightly camp King Herod, and Barry Dennen likewise as the conflicted governor Pilate but for me the whole thing really belongs to Anderson's traitor. The settings serve it well, Douglas Slocombe knows well how to use the ancient monuments and some modern lighting to deliver that extra layer to differentiate it from the stage performance - which, at times, this all too closely resembles. Groundbreaking it certainly was, but time hasn't been especially kind to it and fifty years on it almost comes across as much of a parody as "Life of Brian" (1979). Still, "I Don't Know How to Love Him", "Everything's Alright", "Heaven on their Minds" and the powerful "Gethsemane" offer robust lyrics for the unfolding story of the last few days of Jesus. I did enjoy this on stage, but this film not so much...

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