Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)

Jesus Christ Superstar
Directed by Norman Jewison
Written by Melvyn Bragg and Norman Jewison based on the Broadway musical, book by Tim Rice
1973/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental

Judas: [singing] Did you mean to die like that, was that a mistake? Or, did you know your messy death would be a record breaker? – “Superstar”, lyrics by Tim Rice, music by Andrew Lloyd Weber

I have a feeling this is a movie you either love or hate.  Don’t expect a positive review from me, despite the my fondness for the music.

This musical version of the last week in Jesus Christ’s life was filmed on location in Israel at the Dead Sea.  It is presented as a story being put on by hippy actors who arrive in a psychedelic bus.  Gradually the presentation morphs into a bizarre world where most of the Christians wear hippy clothes, the Pharisees wear black robes with headgear reminiscent of Pasolini, and King Herod is a fat, half-naked, debauchee.

Jesus (Ted Neeley) has a loyal fan base but it is growing and he becomes perceived by the authorities as a dangerous man.  Mary Magdalene (Yvonne Ellison) is his devoted servant and maybe his lover, this is left unclear.  Judas (Carl Anderson) heartily disapproves of the relationship and the expense of anointing Jesus with expensive ointments.

The Pharisees think Jesus is becoming far too popular.  Soon Judas provides them with a means of getting rid of him.  All the basic incidents of the Passion story ending with the Crucifixion are presented.  After his suicide, Judas reflects on what it all meant.  Then the hippies get back on the bus.

Jesus Christ Superstar was a hit concept album before it was a stage musical.  The album was in regular rotation at my house at the time.  There are a few fantastic songs but Rice and Lloyd Webber would go on to do much better.  I can remember seeing a concert version of the musical but don’t think I have ever seen this movie.

Anyway, I think it is a real mess.  Jewison and his creative team just seemingly threw together all their random ideas for irreverently presenting the piece and it does not work in my opinion.  It is cringingly 70’s.  Also, the key issue of this film is whether Jesus succeeded or failed as a superstar.  We get none of the message of the Gospels.  To top it off, being a “rock opera”, all of the dialogue is sung.    What worked for Jacques Demy seems dreadfully silly in this movie.

I am going to wash the taste out of my mouth by revisiting 1973’s  other hippy Jesus musical Godspell.  It’s lower rated on IMDb, but in my opinion vastly superior and leaves the viewer uplifted rather than kind of disgusted.

Jesus Christ Superstar was Oscar-nominated for Best Music, Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation.

Carl Anderson and company perform “Superstar”