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Jesus Christ Superstar is a 1973 American film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice rock opera of the same name. Directed by Norman Jewison, the film centers on the conflict between Judas and Jesus^[2] during the week before the crucifixion of Jesus. Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson were nominated for two Golden Globe Awards in 1974 for their portrayals of Jesus and Judas, respectively.

Although it attracted criticism from some religious groups, reviews for film were still positive.^[3]

Plot[link]

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The film opens with a group of actors arriving in the Holy Land in a bus and preparing for the filming of Jesus Christ Superstar during the overture.

Judas is sitting on a hill watching Jesus surrounded by followers. Judas is worried about Jesus' popularity — he is being hailed as a God, but Judas feels he is just a man, and fears the consequences of their growing movement ("Heaven on Their Minds"). The other disciples badger Jesus for information about his plans for the future, but Jesus will not give them any. Mary Magdalene tries to calm Jesus by dabbing cool water on his face ("What's the Buzz?"). Judas' arrival and subsequent declaration that Jesus should not associate with Mary dampens the mood. Angrily, Jesus tells Judas that he should leave Mary alone, because his slate is not clean. He then accuses all the apostles of not caring about him ("Strange Thing Mystifying").

A new song added for the film introduces the High Priest, Caiaphas (Bob Bingham), and his religious second in command, Annas (Kurt Yaghjian). Caiaphas is worried that the people will crown Jesus King, which will upset the Romans. Annas tries to calm him, but he finally sees Caiaphas' point, and suggests that he convene the council and explain his fears to them. Caiaphas agrees ("Then We Are Decided").

Mary Magdalene rubs ointment on Jesus' face to calm him. The relaxing mood is again shattered by Judas, who says that the money spent on ointment should have been given to the poor. Jesus rebukes him again, telling him that the poor will be there always, but Jesus will not ("Everything's Alright"). The council of the Priests meet, and they all discuss their fears about Jesus. Caiaphas tells them that there is only one solution: like John the Baptist, Jesus must be executed for the sake of the nation ("This Jesus Must Die"). Jesus and his followers joyfully arrive in Jerusalem, but Caiaphas orders Jesus to disband the crowd for fear of a riot. Jesus refuses and speaks to the crowd ("Hosanna"). Later, the apostle Simon Zealotes, and a crowd of followers, voice their admiration for Jesus ("Simon Zealotes"). Jesus appreciates this, but becomes worried when Simon suggests directing the crowd towards an uprising against their Roman occupiers. Jesus sadly dismisses this suggestion, saying that they do not understand his true purpose ("Poor Jerusalem").

Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, reveals that he has dreamed about a Galilean man (Jesus) and that he will be blamed for this man's death ("Pilate's Dream"). Jesus and his followers arrive at the temple, which has been taken over by money changers and prostitutes. To Judas' horror and as the priests watch in the background, a furious Jesus destroys the stalls and forces them to leave. Jesus wanders alone outside the city, but is confronted by a crowd of lepers, all wanting to be healed. Jesus tries to heal as many of them as possible, but is overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and eventually gives up, screaming at them to leave him alone ("The Temple"). Mary comforts Jesus and Jesus goes to sleep. Mary loves Jesus, but is worried because he is so unlike any other man she has met ("I Don't Know How to Love Him"). Judas goes to the Priests and expresses his concerns, but he is worried about the consequences of betraying Jesus ("Damned for All Time"). The Priests take advantage of his doubts, and offer him money if he will lead them to Jesus. Judas initially refuses, but Caiaphas wins him over by reminding him that he could use the money to help the poor ("Blood Money").

At the Last Supper, Jesus reveals that he knows Peter will deny him and Judas will betray him. A bitter argument between Jesus and Judas ensues, in which Judas asks what if he ruined Jesus' ambition and stayed there without helping him to reach the Glory. Judas leaves ("The Last Supper"). As the apostles fall asleep, Jesus goes to Gethsemane to pray about his imminent death ("Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say)"). Jesus waits for Judas, who arrives and betrays him with a kiss, accompanied by guards. The disciples offer to fight the guards, but Jesus will not allow it. Jesus is taken to the High Priest's House, found guilty of blasphemy, and sent to Pilate ("The Arrest"). Peter, meanwhile, fearfully denies Jesus three times after being accused of being one of Jesus' followers ("Peter's Denial"). Jesus is taken to Pilate's house, where the governor, unaware that Jesus is the man from his dream, mocks him. Since he does not deal with Jews, Pilate sends him to Herod ("Pilate and Christ"). The flamboyant King Herod (Josh Mostel) is excited to finally meet Jesus, for he has heard the hype. He tries to persuade Jesus to perform various miracles. When Jesus refuses to answer, Herod orders the guards to remove him ("Herod's Song (Try It and See)").

The apostles and Mary Magdalene remember how things began, and wish they hadn't gotten so out of hand ("Could We Start Again Please?"). Jesus is flung into a cell, where he is seen by Judas, who runs to tell the priests that he regrets his part in the arrest. He hurls his money to the ground and curses at the priests before running into the desert. Filled with regret for betraying Jesus, he blames God for his woes for giving him the role of the traitor and hangs himself ("Judas' Death"). Jesus is taken back to Pilate, who questions him. Pilate realizes that, although he thinks Jesus is mad, he has committed no crime. The crowd yell for Jesus to be crucified. Pilate attempts to sway them by having Jesus flogged. Pilate's bemused indifference turns to a frenzy of confusion and anger, both at the crowd's irrational bloodthirstiness and Jesus' inexplicable resignation. Pilate realizes he has no option but to kill Jesus, or the masses will grow violent ("Trial Before Pilate (Including the Thirty-Nine Lashes)").

After Pilate washes his hands of Jesus' fate, Jesus' appearance transforms, the heavens open, and a white-jumpsuit clad Judas descends on a silver cross. This leads to the title song where Judas laments that if Jesus had returned as the Messiah today, he would have been more popular and his message easier to spread. Judas also wonders what Jesus thinks of other religions' prophets. He ultimately wants to know if Jesus thinks he is who they say he is ("Superstar"). Judas' questions go unanswered, and Jesus is sent to die ("The Crucifixion"), with ominous, atonal music, with Jesus saying some of his final words before dying.

Under the final score ("John Nineteen: Forty-One"), the crew is seen striking the sets, as the cast reboards the bus from the beginning of the film. The actor who portrayed Jesus is noticeably absent. The rest of the crew board the bus sadly but resignedly. The bus and crew drive off; in the last scene of an empty cross against the sunset, a silhouette of a shepherd with his flock can be seen walking across the screen.^[4]

Cast[link]

• Ted Neeley as Jesus
• Carl Anderson as Judas Iscariot
• Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene
• Barry Dennen as Pontius Pilate
• Bob Bingham as Caiaphas
• Kurt Yaghjian as Annas
• Josh Mostel as King Herod
• Philip Toubus as Peter
• Larry Marshall as Simon Zealotes
• Richard Orbach as John
• Robert LuPone as James

Musical numbers[link]

Production[link]

During the filming of Fiddler on the Roof, Barry Dennen, who played Pilate on the concept album, suggested to Norman Jewison that he should direct Jesus Christ Superstar as a film. After hearing the album, Jewison agreed to do it. The film was shot in Israel (primarily at the ruins of Avdat) and other Middle Eastern locations in 1972. The cast consisted mostly of actors from the Broadway show, with Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson starring as Jesus and Judas respectively. Neeley had played a reporter and a leper in the Broadway version, and understudied the role of Jesus. Likewise, Anderson understudied Judas, but took over the role on Broadway and Los Angeles when Ben Vereen fell ill. Along with Dennen, Yvonne Elliman (Mary Magdalene), and Bob Bingham (Caiaphas) reprised their Broadway roles in the film (Elliman, like Dennen, had also appeared on the original concept album). Originally, Jewison wanted Ian Gillan, who played Jesus on the concept album, to reprise the role for the film, but Gillan turned down the offer, deciding that he would please fans more by touring with Deep Purple. The producers also considered Micky Dolenz (from The Monkees) and David Cassidy to play Jesus before deciding to go with Neeley.^[5]

Like the stage show, the film gave rise to controversy even with changes made to the script. Some of the lyrics were changed for the film, partly enriching its content ("Hosanna", "The Temple") and partly making it more acceptable for a Christian audience. The reprise of "Everything's Alright", sung before the song "I Don't Know How To Love Him" by Mary to Jesus, was abridged, leaving only the closing lyric "Close your eyes, close your eyes and relax, think of nothing tonight" intact, while the previous lyrics were omitted, including Jesus' line. ("I know that I'll sleep well tonight."). In a scene where a group of beggars overpowers Jesus, "Heal yourselves!" was changed to "Leave me alone!", and in "Judas' Death", Caiaphas' line "What you have done will be the saving of Israel" was changed to "What you have done will be the saving of everyone." The lyrics of "Trial Before Pilate" contain some notable alterations and additions: Jesus' line "There may be a kingdom for me somewhere else, if I only knew" is changed to "There may be a kingdom for me somewhere else, if you only knew." The film version of the song also gives Pilate more lines (first used in the original Broadway production) in which he addresses the mob with contempt when they invoke the name of Caesar: "Well, this is new!/Respect for Caesar?/'Till now this has been noticeably lacking!/Who is this Jesus? Why is he different?/You Jews produce messiahs by the sackful!" and "Behold the man/Behold your shattered king/You hypocrites!/You hate us more than him!" These lines for Pilate have since been in every production of the show.

The soundtrack contains two songs that are not on the original concept album. "Then We Are Decided," in which the troubles and fears of Annas and Caiaphas regarding Jesus are better developed, is original to the film. The soundtrack also retains the song "Could We Start Again Please?" which had been added to the Broadway show.

Most of these changes have not been espoused by later productions and recordings, although most productions tend to retain the expanded version of "Trial Before Pilate."

Remakes[link]

Another film version was made for television in 2000, starring Glenn Carter as Jesus, Jérôme Pradon as Judas, and Renee Castle as Mary Magdalene. It was shot entirely on indoor sets. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has stated in the making-of documentary that this was the version closest to what he had originally envisioned for the project. He chose Gale Edwards to direct after seeing her interpretation of the musical in Dublin, which featured a more modernistic and sinister approach than the original stage productions.

In a 2008 interview with Variety magazine, film producer Marc Platt stated that he was in discussions with several filmmakers for a remake of Jesus Christ Superstar. It has been announced that Marc Webb will direct the remake and it will be released in 2014.^{[citation needed]}

Reception[link]

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The film as well as the musical were criticized by some religious groups.^[3] A New York Times review said, "When the stage production opened in October, 1971, it was criticized not only by some Jews as anti-Semitic, but also by some Catholics and Protestants as blasphemous in its portrayal of Jesus as a young man who might even be interested in sex."^[6]

Tim Rice said Jesus was seen through Judas' eyes as a mere human being. Some Christians^[who?] found this remark, as well as the fact that the musical did not show the resurrection, to be blasphemous. Some found Judas too sympathetic; in the film, it states that he wants to give the thirty pieces of silver to the poor, which, although Biblical, leaves out his ulterior motives (see also "Everything's Alright"). Biblical purists pointed out a small number of deviations from biblical text as additional concerns; for example, Pilate himself having the dream instead of his wife, and Catholics argue the line "for all you care, this bread could be my body" is too Protestant in theology.

In the 1980 book The Golden Turkey Awards by Michael Medved and Harry Medved, Neeley was given an award for "The Worst Performance by an Actor as Jesus Christ".^[7]

Yet Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson received Golden Globe nominations for their portrayals of Jesus and Judas in the film version and had subsequently gone on to recreate the roles in numerous national stage tours from 1993-2010 (2004 for Anderson, as he died of leukemia).

Soundtrack[link]

The soundtrack for the film was released on vinyl by MCA Records in 1973. It was re-released on CD in 1993 and 1998.

The soundtrack for the film was released in the USA on vinyl by MCA Records (MCA 2-11000) in 1973, as: JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR / The Original Motion Picture Sound Track Album.

References[link]

1. ^ "Jesus Christ Superstar, Box Office Information". The Numbers. http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1973/0JCSP.php. Retrieved May 27, 2012. 
2. ^ In Jewison's original conception, "... the conflict between Jesus and Judas would drive the film."
3. ^ ^{a b} Forster, Arnold; Epstein, Benjamin (1974). The New Anti-Semitism. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. pp. 91–101. 
4. ^ The shadow seen walking across the bottom was an Arab shepherd leading his flock who just happened to walk through the shot while the camera was filming. Jewison included this shot because he thought it was a very eerie yet perfect addition to the film.
5. ^ Richard H. Campbell and M. R. Pitts. "The Bible On Film: A Checklist, 1897-1980." Scarecrow Press, 1981
6. ^ Greenhouse, Linda (8 August 1973). "SUPERSTAR' FILM RENEWS DISPUTES:Jewish Groups Say Opening Could Stir Anti-Semitism Reasons Given Company Issues Statement". The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9904E3DD103DE63ABC4053DFBE668388669EDE. 
7. ^ Harry Medved and Michael Medved, The golden turkey awards: nominees and winners, the worst achievements in Hollywood history, Putnam, 1980, p. 95.

External links[link]

• Jesus Christ Superstar at the Internet Movie Database
• Jesus Christ Superstar at the TCM Movie Database
• Jesus Christ Superstar at AllRovi
• Jesus Christ Superstar at Rotten Tomatoes