Jesus Christ Superstar (Wide Screen) (Collector's Edition) (DVD)

...film staring Ted Neeley as Jesus Christ. Let's just say, for the £15.99 that I paid for the DVD, I was less than impressed by what I found!

THE PLOT

'Jesus Christ Superstar' tells the story of the last six days of Jesus' life, but interestingly doing so through the eyes of Judas Iscariot, played by Carl Anderson. The film begins when Jesus' popularity, according to Judas, is getting out of control, and we have the first ...
...sense the clear tension between Jesus and Judas. Jewison shows this clearly, and focuses on it, making this a key feature of the film. From these opening scenes the audience does not hate Judas, but more sees him as a man who is out of his depth and struggling to cope with the fame of Jesus.

Meanwhile, Caiaphas, a Roman official, if trying to decide how to deal with the growing popularity of Jesus, and come to the conclusion that ... more

THE FILM

As a musician, playing Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical 'Jesus Christ Superstar' is an absolute joy. His use of tone, both major and minor can sometimes be exquisite. However, I was interested as to how his stage work would translate on the big screen, so went and bought myself a copy of the 1973 Norman Jewison film staring Ted Neeley as Jesus Christ. Let's just say, for the £15.99 that I paid for the DVD, I was less than impressed by what I found!

THE PLOT

'Jesus Christ Superstar' tells the story of the last six days of Jesus' life, but interestingly doing so through the eyes of Judas Iscariot, played by Carl Anderson. The film begins when Jesus' popularity, according to Judas, is getting out of control, and we have the first song 'Heaven on their minds.' I love this song, a really up tempo number, in a film you would think has a rather depressing edge to it. We then meet Mary Magdalene, a prostitute played by Yvonne Elliman, who soothes Jesus' worries and sings the beautiful song 'Everything's Alright.' So in the first 20 minutes of the film we are given some of the most beautiful songs and the plot begins to develop, as the audience can sense the clear tension between Jesus and Judas. Jewison shows this clearly, and focuses on it, making this a key feature of the film. From these opening scenes the audience does not hate Judas, but more sees him as a man who is out of his depth and struggling to cope with the fame of Jesus.

Meanwhile, Caiaphas, a Roman official, if trying to decide how to deal with the growing popularity of Jesus, and come to the conclusion that 'This Jesus must die.' This is definitely a song for those with a lower vocal tone! I've never heard a song sung quite so low!

Jesus and his followers then visit Jerusalem and the temple, and are greeted with cheers by a vast crowd, who are singing the rousing song of 'Hosanna.' Again, this is a brilliantly simple song, but one with changes in key which make it sound complex. The vast number of people singing in this number adds to its greatness. Sadly things get out of control, and Jesus can not see all the people who want him to heal them. This is a turning point in the film, as now it takes a decidedly negative turn, which really echoes the negativity in the life of Jesus.

Jesus meets with the twelve apostles and they eat the last supper. Here we find a song, appropriately named 'The Last Supper' which is sung in beautiful harmony between the twelve apostles. They show their happiness at being apostles and following Jesus.

Things go down hill from here really, Jesus is betrayed, and Judas kills himself- at which point we have the song 'Judas' death' which mainly constitutes a lot of screaming from Carl Anderson! I was less than impressed with his performance shall we say! One moment on a lighter note is the sending of Jesus to King Herod. Here we have the jazzy number 'King Herod's Song.' This is a brilliant number; almost 1930's in style, with dancers, the wonderful singing voice of Josh Motsel as King Herod is an absolute joy.

Finally, the last twenty minutes seem to be a lot of screaming and screeching by the crowd. They want him killed and make themselves known. The film then ends with the crucifixion scene, with 'Superstar' being played loudly in the background.

WHATS RIGHT WITH IT

Well, to put it simply lots! Sadly all the brilliant things about the movie stem from the brilliance of the stage production. The director can hardly be blamed for this, as when dealing with a production that famous it must be hard to be original. The music is wonderful, with catchy lyrics and a great score. Almost everyone I know who has seen the film has a favourite song; my personal favourite is tied between 'Heaven on their Minds' right at the beginning, and 'King Herod's Song' which is near the end.

There is the added bonus that you can not go wrong with such a famous plot line. Yes. There will be people who are offended by the content, but that is to be expected when dealing with a biblical subject.

At the 1974 Oscars 'Jesus Christ Superstar' was nominated for nine awards, winning three (mainly music and costume related.) So, the distinguished members of the academy must have thought there was something right with it!

WHATS WRONG WITH IT

Sadly it seems rather dated today. It has a feel of the 1970's stamped all over it, there is no mistaking that fact. Jewison messed around with when it was set, setting it in modern times. As such the soldiers wear metal helmets and carry guns. Plus they seem to set it in the middle of the desert, thus the people are the focus rather than the scenery. However, by changing the date set a modern feeling is added, but this is not a feeling that still remains, and as such it seems extremely dated. This is particularly evident when looking at the King Herod scenes, when much of the cast seems to be wearing Mary Quant style outfits!

Oh…and for a film of such a dense plot, it seems to drag rather. Towards the end I began to feel the 108 minutes that I had been watching it!

The DVD offers no extras beyond an original trailer. A bit dissapointing I thought!

CONCLUSION

I would definitely recommend any musical fan to watch this. Ignoring the strange costumes and the time frame in which it is set, the film is wonderful to see and a visual delight! All in all it does the stage version justice.
 

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