A group of young people arrive in the Holy Land by bus and set about recreating the Bible story of the last days in the life of Jesus Christ in and around an ancient, ruined temple. In the story, Jesus (Ted Neeley) is riding a wave of popularity, yet one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot (Carl Anderson), is unhappy with the attention Jesus is getting and wishes his teacher could be clearer about his purpose, not accepting the line he's taken about being the Son of God. Little does Judas know that he will be playing a bigger part in the story of Christ than he realises.
Judas is not a happy man. His friend, Jesus, is a gifted preacher who talks of love for your fellow man and peace and good will. This simple message resonates with the people who are tired of the standoffishness of Caiaphas (Bob Bingham) and his priests and the oppressiveness of Pontius Pilate (Barry Dennen) and the Romans. But Jesus' entourage, the apostles, are clamoring for revolution and riot. Jesus tries to calm their fervor but it looks like he's starting to believe his own press about being the Messiah, the Son of God. Having a former prostitute, Mary Magdalene (Yvonne Elliman), close at hand isn't helping matters either. Judas can see Jesus has doubts, but when he tries to discuss what's going on, Jesus becomes combative. Matters are coming to a head and Judas has to do something. His decisions and their results will bring to a climax the legend of Jesus Christ Superstar.
One of the most powerful stories ever, the life of Jesus has been depicted in art, mystery plays, and film epics. But could it be made into a rock opera? Obviously lyricist Tim Rice and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber know how to put together some tunes and the album they produced was successful, as was the Broadway show that followed. Director Jewison had the unenviable task of taking an experience designed to be either purely aural or behind a proscenium, and translating it to the big screen. He decided to take it back to where it began and filmed on location in Israel. This was a risk since he would not have the control of the environment he would have in a studio. But the area presents the viewer with marvelous timeless vistas with mountains, deserts, caves, and ruins for the actors to sing and dance. It releases the action from a bound set to the wide horizons of the Holy Land. Jewison also uses a dramatic device, a troupe of young performers, to explain why there are a bunch of young hippies singing and dancing in some ruins. The opinion of some at the time that Jesus was the first hippie; so, Jewison uses that theme to give youthful energy to his production as well as a theme to some of his symbolism.
Another interesting aspect of the production is simplifying the costumes and props, making them more symbolic than historically accurate. By giving the audience a beautiful but sparse environment, Jewison is almost forcing us to concentrate on the characters and the music. The characters are shown to be human with doubts and fears, unlike the faultless icons we normally get. Part of this is not showing any of the miracles Jesus performed. Jesus expresses concern with the direction his followers are going and his own path, but reacts badly when Judas calls him on it. It's one thing to doubt oneself; no one likes being doubted by others. Mary Magdalene, in her famous song "I Don't Know How To Love Him," is confused when Jesus obviously cares for her but doesn't take advantage of her. Characters, like Judas and Pontius Pilate, are shown with more sympathy than in traditional works.
If there's one word that sums up the approach to the characters, it's doubt; every one of the main characters has serious doubts about their position in relation to God, including Jesus who not only is surrounded by the sick begging for help, but gets to do some whinging about his lot in life to the Almighty. Mary trills "I Don't Know How To Love Him" about her relatinship with Jesus, Peter has to deny him three times, but it's Judas who suffers the lion's share of heartache, complaining that God, by putting him in this state, has effectively murdered him. Mind you, he does get the reward that Jesus is supposed to get in Heaven if the ending is to be believed, as he descends on a shiny cross to sing the main theme. And as for Jesus? We never see him resurrected. Everybody just goes home. On its own merits as a musical, this is a well done production with solid acting and performances. But your opinion of the movies is more than likely going to be affected by your own views of religion.
But before we get to the main feature, let's enjoy...
The Pre-Show:
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Five are the number of documentaries which enhance today's main feature. There's even a special concerning the Spanish version of this rock opera by Camilo Sesto. Don't miss out on authentic behind the scenes footage, where Ted Neeley gives us the insights of the filming! An interesting moment in time captured for us live! And we continue, with our "TV On Deck" section with more hilarious adventures, popping straight at us from the 60s & 70s!
The Main Feature:
Title: Jesus Christ Superstar
Director: Norman Jewison
Cast: Ted Neeley / Carl Anderson / Yvonne Elliman / Barry Dennen
Release Date: 1973
Country: United States
On Your Way Out:
You all know what to expect when you get to this section of "Saturday Night At The Movies". My only concern is that you've all had a great time watching or re-watching a movie, and hopefully add something extra to the evening with some goodies. So, no time to waste, just grab 'em, use 'em and most importantly, enjoy 'em!
Cheers, Shade.
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