Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I remember when I had to watch this movie in junior high, in my music class. Many of my classmates enjoyed it, but, I was too busy being insulted by it. I'm a Catholic. I take my faith very seriously. I'm deeply respectful of the Catholic faith. This movie (if you can even call it that) just treats it like a big fat joke. I mean, really? The temple selling AK-47s? Herod having a pool party? Come on! Also, Jesus doesn't come off as the son of God, or as the savior of mankind, he just comes off as a jerk. There's a scene where lepers come to Jesus, asking him to heal them. The real Jesus would be moved by sympathy, and healed them. In this abomination, Jesus tells them "Leave me alone" and "Go heal yourselves". Jesus never would have done that! Also, I hate the use of sixties slang (like "What's the buzz") in this movie. It feels very out of place. Judas is played too sympathetically, and, the movie says he was Jesus' second in command. No, he wasn't. Peter was. The music is also poorly written. And, it's a shame, because there are some writers and composers with real talent: Andrew Lloyd Webber (who made the Phantom of the Opera), and Tim Rice (who wrote the lyrics for the songs in my favorite movie, The Lion King), but, here, they don't do a very good job. It also doesn't help that the singers were just awful. Bottom line, this movie is an atrocious piece of trash, that has no respect for the Catholic faith, and should be avoided. If you want to see a real movie about Jesus, watch the movie "Jesus" or even "The Passion of the Christ", or, even the miniseries "the Bible" from the history channel. But, avoid this by all means.

This rock opera is an adaptation of the stage performance. When it was released in 1973, I went to see it at the local cinema with a friend. We exited the theater singing the thoroughly catchy songs. Then we saw it six more times that week. Obviously, we loved it. The reasons are many.First, the entire production is innovative. The very creative staging includes some outdoor settings that are minimalistic. The score uses various styles, even honky tonk. The film employs anachronistic elements that give it a timeless feeling. Though the story has biblical sources, it uses comedy and some hard rock music. And just being an opera--with all words being sung--is a huge gamble.The cast is wonderful. The songs are not easy to sing, but the vocalists come through with flying colors. This production promised the genius of Andrew Lloyd Weber (and Tim Rice) that was to follow. No wonder it was so compelling.

I've always loved Jesus Christ Superstar, and along with Phantom of the Opera and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat it ranks among the top 3 of Andrew Lloyd Webber's best musicals(well more like a rock-opera strictly speaking). My love for Jesus Christ Superstar was the main attraction into seeing this film, as well as the fact that it was directed by Norman Jewison, director of the brilliant Fiddler on the Roof. As a film, it's not quite as good but I did find myself enjoying the film enormously. I can understand why some mayn't like it so much, the costumes are not very appealing to look at all and the anachronistic touches like the students arriving to put on a show, Judas ducking jet fighters and the Army Tanks made it harder to properly decipher the period. However, it is also very easy to see why people love it. The desert setting is gorgeous and the camera work and editing were great, loved the colour in Herod's setting contrasting to the more purposefully drab moments of the latter part of the film. Lloyd Webber's score is brilliant and Tim Rice's lyrics are very witty, performed with gusto by the orchestra/band. The choreography is very spirited and dynamic, particularly in Superstar, and while the story has some fun moments like Herod's song- some might take offense but I think it's hilarious- and Superstar, and stirring moments like the Hosanna chorus, with I Don't Know How to Love Him, Gethesmane(especially powerful here) and Jesus' death scene it is also deeply moving. The closing shot concluded things beautifully. Jewison allows the performers to have fun and allows time to breathe for the more poignant moments to have their impact. The performances are terrific, a big shout-out to Carl Anderson as Judas, he has an amazing soulful voice that will lift your spirits every time you hear it, and he captures Judas' sorrow and anger with equal conviction. Ted Neeley's high notes have soaring freedom, and he brings a nobility and command to Jesus, while Yvonne Elliman's Mary is very moving. The Pontius Pilate of Barry Dennen is authoritative and troubled, Bob Bingham has a wonderfully booming bass voice that has a really chilling effect and Kurt Yaghjian is equally as menacing and sounds very comfortable in the falsetto range. Larry Marshall's Simon Zealotes is excellent, Joshua Mostel's Herod is hugely entertaining in the funniest moment of the film and the Peter of Paul Thomas shows loyalty, defiance and pathos with aplomb. On the whole, a very enjoyable film that may not rock as much as it could have done but not fully deserving of the flak it's gotten. 8/10 Bethany Cox

When I first heard about this film, I was honestly scratching my head. A musical about Jesus? Rather an odd concept but I was willing to give it a try. As a Christian myself, I didn't know how to feel about the movie. It feels like they are showing Jesus just as a normal guy that for some reason has to die and also Judas was portrayed as being way too sympathetic and I saw that as unrealistic entirely. I did like the music and some of the numbers though and that it was willing to at least try new things. Over all, I didn't like it and I didn't hate it. I realize some Christians got really up in arms about this film but I didn't feel offended but I did feel like they got it wrong.