So I've just got through watching the 1973 film version of Jesus Christ Superstar and I will be damned if I can figure out what I just watched. I don't know if it's supposed to be pro-jesus or anit-jesus or don't-give-a-shit-about-jesus or what! So a guy I now know to be Judas spends a whole bunch of time telling Jesus how he's let this whole 'son of God' thing go WAY too far and they both know it's a load of crap and it's only a matter of time before they figure it out at kerb-stomp the pair of them. Then Judas spends some time telling Jesus how to be Jesus, while Jesus sits there and says you know what, fuck the poor, what am I supposed to do about it. Then, to his credit Jesus does his 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone' in defence of Mary but then turns around almost immediately after and starts whining like a teenage girl about how nobody really cares about him and maybe everyone would be happier if he was just gone... As far as I can tell Jesus is portrayed through the whole movie as this whiny little bitch with such a massive ego that he can't wait to tell the next person they don't care about him enough, and Judas is sat there saying the whole time 'Look dude, I just don't want us to get killed because you decided not to tell people they got the wrong idea'. Glossing over whatever the hell that was supposed to be with Herod, we find that Judas has had this sudden change of heart after finding out they want Jesus dead, which is fine I guess, and he kills himself out of guilt. But before he does this he has this whole monologue about how he's JUST A MAN AND NOTHING MORE, so even until the very end he insists that their isn't a damn thing special about the guy other than he is bloody persuasive. Then we get this bit where everyone has turned against Jesus, and believe me I am TRYING to feel sorry for the guy, but all I can do is think how much of a shit time Pilot is having. The guy is trying his hardest not to kill this guy and repeatedly says that yeah he may have gotten a bit carried away but he's done nothing wrong, certainly nothing worth killing him over. Then the crowd start calling him a bitch and basically saying they'll kick up a shitstorm if he doesn't do something and Caesar would be pissed, so he has Jesus whipped...then Jesus tells the guy he has no power here, and it's the straw that broke the camels back so now he's sentencing Jesus to death... Then for whatever reason everyone comes out wearing sparkly things and Judas is saying asking why the hell he picked 1st century Judea as his HQ and says he'd have done a better job if he'd have done it now (aka the 70's) because we have better communication systems... Just...what the hell is this film about?
First of all, I am familiar with this film, because my mom really likes it. Second of all, thank you so much for this thread. It really made my day. Please do more posts on actual bible stories. I would love to know what you think on them, because you hit the nail on the head with this one. No disrespect to any good and sane Christians, but that was perfect. :roflmao: Oh, and to answer your question... the world may never know, but at least it's a religious film can actually be enjoyed, even if it is just in a lol way. :lol:
Plain and simple, this musical is just a really jazzy version of the Gospel. Or at least of the events leading to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as told in the books of Matthew and Luke. Yeah, it's weird. But it's really cool. I went to see it on stage a few years ago with Ted Neeley playing Jesus. Gotta say, after all those years, he was still rockin' it. I love it when musicians can do that.
My dad used to love the movie despite being openly athiest throughout my whole childhood which I always thought was funny. I can't remember much of it maybe i'll watch again sometime
We did that and Joseph and the Amazing Techno-coloured Dream Coat, or whatever it is called at my public school when I was a kid, so I'm assuming it can't be that religious, and is more something that is enjoyed by a lot of different people. Religious stuff isn't really allowed in public schools, so the fact we were allowed to, and did every year for years, reproductions of those two musicals, is kind of proof positive, it is loosely religious and more for entertainment. Most of us had no idea it has religious links, because we weren't really exposed to religion anyways. I was Jesus for Hallowe'en like 5 times as a kid because I had a costume from it. Hilariously enough people thought I was trying to be a terrorist. "Jesus Christ, Super Star, Who in the World Do You Think You Are" was a common line at my school, and said as a joke, so again, not really that religious. Or can be taken non-religiously.
