Jesus Christ
Ted Neeley
Jesus Christ
Overview
As played out by a theatre troupe, the last days of Jesus Christ are depicted from the perspective of Judas Iscariot, 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.
Trailer
Jesus Christ Superstar Original Trailer (1973)
Cast
Judas Iscariot
Carl Anderson
Judas Iscariot
Mary Magdalene
Yvonne Elliman
Mary Magdalene
Pontius Pilate
Barry Dennen
Pontius Pilate
Caiaphas
Bob Bingham
Caiaphas
Simon Zealotes
Larry Marshall
Simon Zealotes
King Herod
Josh Mostel
King Herod
Annas
Kurt Yaghjian
Annas
Peter
Paul Thomas
Peter
Apostle
Pi Douglass
Apostle
Apostle James
Robert LuPone
Apostle James
Apostle
Jonathan Wynne
Apostle
Reviews
Andres Gomez
Risky adaptation of a great musical with catchy songs. Carl Anderson performs a great Judas. Some of the other actors are quite good too, like Barry Dennen as Pontius Pilate but Ted Neeley as Jesus is quite a whimp. In any case, a very interesting adaptation of a musical which deserves to be watched at least once.
Read full reviewCinemaSerf
Norman Jewison shipped everyone to Israel to help give this adaptation of the Lloyd Webber/Rice hit rock opera as much authenticity as possible for the big screen. Ted Neeley dons the robes for the title role and ably aided by a very much on form Carl Anderson (Judas) and Yvonne Elliman (Mary Magdalene) reimagines the stage performances that take us from modern day through the ages to the lifetime of Christ. Neeley certainly has that established look to him, but I actually found him rather underwhelming (it doesn't help that his are certainly not the best numbers). As the story gathers momentum the other two very much come into their own leading an ensemble cast that mixes historical and contemporary styles of music and dance, language and imagery to try to modernise (1970s style) this provocative story. Josh Mostel turns in quite a fun routine as the slightly camp King Herod, and Barry Dennen likewise as the conflicted governor Pilate but for me the whole thing really belongs to Anderson's traitor. The settings serve it well, Douglas Slocombe knows well how to use the ancient monuments and some modern lighting to deliver that extra layer to differentiate it from the stage performance - which, at times, this all too closely resembles. Groundbreaking it certainly was, but time hasn't been especially kind to it and fifty years on it almost comes across as much of a parody as "Life of Brian" (1979). Still, "I Don't Know How to Love Him", "Everything's Alright", "Heaven on their Minds" and the powerful "Gethsemane" offer robust lyrics for the unfolding story of the last few days of Jesus. I did enjoy this on stage, but this film not so much...
Read full reviewClips (1)
Jesus Christ Is Crucified | Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) | TCM
Featurettes (1)
Darren Bousman on JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
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