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Thoughts about this movie on it's 40th Anniverary (2013)

posted 12 years ago by lakewoodmatt67
9 replies | jump to latest

Today is Friday, March 29, 2013, or "Good Friday" to those of the Christian faith, and this year marks the 40th anniversary of "Jesus Christ Superstar" the movie being released. Having just watched the film again, there were some thoughts this writer wanted to share with all of you nice people reading it.

Firstly, a brief disclaimer about me...

Even though I was born, "baptized" and raised a Roman Catholic (altar boy duties and all), i've pretty much lost or abandoned most of my faith, and today, i believe in but a few things. That being said...

Even to an agnostic/athiest (whatever term works better for you) such as myself, i'm still able to see, hear and appreciate the inherent beauty and artistry in the story and music of "J.C. Superstar" (as many of us fans refer to it as). Setting aside the discussion of "how accurate is this a portrayal of Jesus' life?", taken as a dramatic interpretation on the figure of Christ as portrayed in the Gospel according to John, "Superstar" is actually a very reverent and thought provoking piece of work.

Obviously, there have always been and shall always be religious busybodies who can only accept any portrayal of Jesus as absolutely pious, adorific and at the end of the day, cliched as all hell. For viewers such as these, there is no pleasing them. Fundamentalists and orthodox alike castigated a film like Martin Scorcese's "Last Temptation of Christ" WITHOUT EVEN SEEING ONE FRAME OF THE FILM! In their eyes and minds, nothing short of a Holy Mass is worthy of depicting Christ in any form. To even suggest that Christ was born a human, and as a human, obviously felt many of the same human frailties, complexities and feelings as all of us do is out of the realm of what they deem "proper". Let's just let those people go have their church picnics and leave them out of this shall we?

As to the "historical" accuaracy of "Superstar". It's difficult to "accurately" depict what are perceived to be "facts" when all you have to work with are manuscripts written over 2000 years ago, with no vetting process, corroboration, or determination of physical evidence or concrete proof. Yes, some of the dialogue and/or incidents in "Superstar" differ from those in the Gospel of John, but keep in mind, "Superstar" was NEVER sold as an "authentic" documentary on the life of Christ. More to the point, "Superstar" is an INTERPRETATION by way of music and singing, to illustrate what the last week in the life of Christ might have been like, based on the accounts that do exist.

As to the film itself, it is truly a product of it's time, the early 70's. At this point in American pop culture, the counter culture was having it's waning days as a force in America, but the residual effects in terms of style and presentation were still greatly felt. Which is why you have so many cast members in "Superstar" attired in blue jeans, fringe vests, tinted eyeglasses and so on. This was standard issue garb for any card carrying member of the "hippie generation" in the 60's/70's. There have been criticisms that these elements, along with other business like soldiers with machine guns, tanks and jets, etc., detract too much from the "reality" of the film. Again, consider the time period in which this film was released, and while it may not resonate with someone born later in life, it was definitely on target for the audiences that were coming to see this film in 1973 America.

Some say that the singing is "bad" in this film, and yet, America is the land where Bob Dylan became a folk singing legend. Uhh, have you ever HEARD Bob Dylan's voice? Sometimes, singing a song is not all about hitting all the notes properly, but more about conveying a feeling, an idea, an emotion, even with a voice not as tuneful and harmonic as others. If nothing else, this defines Dylan's career to a T. So it is with "Superstar", some singers in the cast are better then others, but NOBODY is phoning it in! (Unlike the "Glee" episode of your choice...)

Finally, there are those who decry "Superstar" since it omits the entire denoument of the gospel's allegation that Christ was resurrected and the Christianity movement started in earnest. Once again, remember that "Superstar" was a character study regarding the last week of Christ, and not all elements past and future, relating to his story. Seeing a depiction of Christ "rising from the dead and ascending into heaven", while probably being a pleasing sight for many devout Christians, would have actually undermined and defeated the purpose of the narrative of "Superstar"; that being the notion that Christ felt trepidations about his imminent torture and execution (as any human being would), and a "resurrection" scene would only feel like a tacked on "feel good" ending, a practice many film studios today insist on when dealing with some films that portray adverse events.

Hopefully, I haven't bored you to sleep (like i was so many times during a priest's after-gospel homily in church) with this analysis, but perhaps have caused you to think of "Superstar" along different concepts.
Bottom line, "Jesus Christ Superstar" is great entertainment, regardless of your religious persuasions. Check it out on video with your family this holiday weekend!

HAPPY EASTER!

[–] woofdaddyo 12 years ago

I am watching it now and love it just as much as I did in my mid-teens back in 1973. Thank you for your analysis lakewoodmatt67 - not boring at all and I agree. I saw the film 3 times at the theater in 1973, the only film I ever paid admission 3 times to see!! The postcards, tanks, etc...made me think this could be happening right now, present day. Very profound. Happy Easter to you and yours.

[–] lakewoodmatt67 12 years ago

Thanks for the positive feedback, woofdaddyo. Apart from owning the film as part of my video library, i've also been fortunate enough to see the show live on stage numerous times, including one fantastic performance that featured Carl Anderson and Ted Neely reprising their screen roles, and a show stealing performance by Dennis DeYoung, former lead singer of Styx, bringing down the house as Pilate! Great stuff!

In a way, the tanks and jets, etc., actually tie in to Judas' "if you'd come today, you would have reached a whole nation" lyric in the title song. What, indeed, would the modern world, even in the 70's, have thought of Jesus and all he said and did? Ghandi would have loved him, but I'm sure there's a few televangelists who would have run for their lives knowing "The Boss" was in town, ha ha...

Happy Easter to you too, woofdaddyo!

[–] pdbrat 9 years ago

Great thoughts, and I, too, saw the show including Dennis DeYoung and am fortunate to have photos taken with all the leads following the show. It was the first time I saw it LIVE, which I've now seen 3 times. Great movie, great show, and definitely thought-provoking.

[–] Lyrakill 12 years ago

I agree with everything you said, except for one critical FACT: the books of the Bible were NOT repeat NOT written over 2000 years ago. Jesus himself was born 2013 years ago -- right? and the books of the Bible were written between 50-200 years after he died! So the books of the Bible were written somewhere around 1800 years ago, not more than 2000. And we all know there are books, contemporaneous with the books of the Bible, that didn't make it into the Bible "final cut"... right?

Sorry if that seems like a minor point, not worth correcting -- I think it is imperative that we all understand that the Bible was not written while Jesus lived, or even right after he died. Just as the Qu'ran wasn't written while Mohammed lived! It too was written hundreds of years after that prophet died, and there are many who argue that Mohammed would not have agreed with what was ultimately written down by the authors of the Qu'ran -- that they took significant liberties with his teaching to score their own political points.

[–] lakewoodmatt67 12 years ago

Hi there, Lyrakill! Thanks for reading my review and adding your insight. Perhaps what I meant to say is that Christ is reported to have been BORN some 2000 years ago, give or take a year. I recall from some of the theologian classes I took in Catholic school, some religious scholars estimate the approximate year of Christ's birth was believed to be, by chronological standards, "4 B.C." (which ties in with the "Israel in 4 B.C." line in the title song, "Superstar".) As to the actual publishing of the Christian bible, specific publishing dates vary regarding which subdivision of the Christian faith you subscribe to. There are those who believe the Roman Catholic version is the correct one, others put stock in the King James edition, still others hold to the Gideon edition, and so on. I defer to your factual input that the writings themselves originated at some point in the century following the death of Christ. Pinpointing an exact publishing date is ambiguous at best, based on the alternating accounts mentioned above.

I believe that herein lies a substantial part of the controversy regarding what is or is not "accurate" by biblical standards; that being that if there's no universally accepted commencement timeframe as to exactly when these writings were released, it's difficult to get an exact fix on which of the any number of writings are the "correct" version. Keep in mind, too, that the Vatican in it's long history has approved (and according to some, rejected or otherwise suppressed) certain segments of documentation that have been made available to the general public.

Basically, it comes down to what specifically you choose to believe regarding authenticity and accuracy regarding these accounts.

Just one last thing I'd like to add: Even if a person chooses not to adhere to religious beliefs, The Bible can still hold forth as a collective of insightful and instructive "good ideas" for any civilization to adhere to. Concepts of loving your fellow man, having respect for life and the world around you, and aspiring to raise above your station in life for a more meaningful and useful purpose in the universe...these are all wonderful concepts that anyone, believer and non-believer alike, can and should try to emulate.

A religious concept can be debated back and forth infinitely, whereas good common sense and an adherence to being honorable and forthright is simply a universal virtue we all should practice daily, no matter if these good ideas come from the bible, the Talmut or the Koran.

Good discussion, Lyrakill! Thank you!

[–] pdbrat 9 years ago

Lakewood, I hope you're a public speaker or author. You're very eloquent with your words!

[–] Toasted_Peaches 11 years ago

Anyone in the Boston area?

Brattle Theater will be screening the film tonight.

Ted Neeley and Barry Dennen (Pilate) will be attending.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/events/553328408065652/

~*~ Melba ~*~

[–] gjahnig 10 years ago

Greetings:

As a teenager, I got the Original Recording when it first came out. My good friend at the time and I would sing along and we would take turns with the different parts - sometimes I got to be Jesus and sometimes I was Judas. What was really interesting about that is I was a Christian and he was Jewish. We must have been around 12 years old since I do remember going to my friend's Bar Mitzvah about a year after the album came out. Never had a discussion about the content - we just really enjoyed the songs! It was and still is a tremendous Rock album.

In 1973, I went to see the movie in a small theater in South Florida. Back then, I couldn't really appreciate the nuances of the film like the guns and tanks, but what the heck, it was a great movie and I was signing along softly along with the movie.

A few years later, when I was a freshman in High School, I started going to a Baptist church that a friend of mine turned me on to. I was more into the music of the church than scripture. We had a youth group and we would wear the grooves out on the album. Many of the "elder" of the church got really upset and would scream blasphemy! What they really didn't know is that by listening to the album or watching the movie, it really did spark interest in the life of Jesus and the Gospels and was the one thing that got me involved in the church. Also, the music director there was really hip and he was OK with the youth getting into the album.

With each viewing of the movie, I find something different that moves me. That is the sign of a great movie. However, I must say that I consider myself spiritual but not religious at this time of my life.

For me, whenever I listen to the album or watch the movie, I cannot help singing along!

Just my two cents!

[–] MoviemanCin 9 years ago

Wow! It actually has been 43 years now since it's 2016. That is amazing!

Thanks for your excellent post, matt. However you seem to suggest that an atheist and an agnostic are the same. This is inaccurate. An atheist says there is no god. We humble agnostics say we don't know if there is a god.

That is a very important distinction.

Btw my late aunt was a Catholic Nun, and she loved it.

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.