Jesus Christ Superstar has too much spunk to fall into sacrilege, but miscasting and tonal monotony halts this musical's groove. Read critic reviews
Jesus Christ Superstar
1973, Musical, 1h 47m
26 Reviews 25,000+ RatingsWhat to know
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Movie Info
Adapted from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Broadway rock opera, "Jesus Christ Superstar" recounts the last days of Jesus Christ (Ted Neeley) from the perspective of Judas Iscariot (Carl Anderson), his betrayer. As Jesus' following increases, Judas begins to worry that Jesus is falling for his own hype, forgetting the principles of his teachings and growing too close to the prostitute Mary Magdalene (Yvonne Elliman). After Jesus has an outburst in a temple, Judas turns on him.
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Rating: G
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Genre: Musical
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Original Language: English
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Director: Norman Jewison
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Producer: Norman Jewison, Robert Stigwood
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Release Date (Theaters): wide
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Runtime:
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Distributor: MCA/Universal Pictures [us]
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Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo
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Critic Reviews for Jesus Christ Superstar
Audience Reviews for Jesus Christ Superstar
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A super tacky rock opera that looks awfully outdated and has only a few good songs amid many horrible ones (of course, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice), but even worse is how it soon becomes a tedious, inconsequential series of Biblical events after a promising beginning.
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Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar is brought to the big screen in this most unusual adaptation. Shot as a contemporary play, a theater troop drives out into the Israeli desert and proceeds to put on a production of the Gospel Story. There are no real sets as it's all shot on location, and the costumes bare all of the trademarks of '70s fashion (from bell bottom pants to rose tinted sunglasses). And, there's a little bit of disco in the choreography. Yet this all ends up giving the film a bombastic energy that's a lot of fun. Plus, the music is incredibly catchy and has a lighthearted humor to it. Though it's a bit dated, Jesus Christ Superstar presents a unique vision and has a sort of a kitschiness that makes it tremendously entertaining.
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Well I can't say I expected a serious drama from something called Jesus Christ Superstar, but a musical on Jesus story is really something I would have never imagine on seeing. With such an odd combination of music and Jesus it's strangely a blast to watch. The movie first problem is that there is no dialogue; it's just constant singing throughout the whole movie. With nonstop singing this means you have to be told everything in musical numbers. Which means no acting, rare moments of silence, and you having some knowledge about the story since it's really easy to miss the plot in song form. Despite some obvious problems with a movie only consisting of musical numbers, it's fun to watch. Think about it, how often are musical revolving around Jesus are made? Not that many and this has it fair shares of good moments, like seeing Jesus briefly holding a gun and destroying things is something you won't see anywhere else. In case you're wondering about the accuracy it's really off. We have tanks, airplanes, pants, machine guns, a van and many other modern items in this Jesus musical. To be fair on the movie it's a more enjoyable take of the familiar story and actually tells it in an original way. Often time movies about Jesus are way too serious and too familiar to enjoy as we have literally seen the story told in nearly every serious way possible. The song themselves are truly strange with some of the most bizarre lyrics. How can you take Jesus followers seriously when they sing songs with lyrics "What the buzz? Tell me what is happening?", you simply can't. Though not all the songs are good, once you've finished hearing a exciting song it'll go to a slow song which makes the movie loose momentum. The editing is not always good as songs sometimes end abruptly. You still got to this, it's insane to see Jesus sing a rock song, strange fading dancing, and the songs unlike anything you'll see in any other adaptation with Bible verses. There are literally no words to explain how odd the existence of this musical is and it's even stranger to see it yourself. Jesus Christ Superstar is an oddity in the musical genre with a fresh approach to a familiar religious story and bizarrely fun songs to listen to. It's strange piece of cinema that should witness, there's literally nothing else like it.
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A surreal portrait of Jesus with a mix of 70's and music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Jesus Christ Superstar it's also a tense, unique and sometimes boring, but the soundtrack and the oddity made this controversial cult classic charming musical a likable movie.
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