Review of Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) by James M — 06 May 2009

Perhaps the film I was least likely to have ever seen, Jesus Christ Superstar is interesting for two reasons: Telling the story of Jesus from the point of view of Judas, and containing some good, catchy songs that create a true Biblical rock opera, sans irony. Carl Anderson is great as Judas, who's shown here to be a conflicted friend who in the end kinda got a crummy deal. Ted Neely as Jesus is sadly less interesting, which is a shame because the character's inner doubt as to his purpose is a intriguing, little-explored angle to the man who's most often portrayed as unwavering in his mission. Neely more often than not came off as whiny rather than sympathetic in the role.

The songs are of course the meat of the film, and they were mostly very good. Highlights for me included Hosanna, Blood Money, I Don't Know How to Love Him and the title track. It's a testament to the music that it was able to rope this Atheist into one of the most popular and celebrated Biblical stories ever. Interestingly enough, the movie ends at Jesus' cruifixation, entirely leaving out the Resurrection. Perhaps implying Judas and Jesus' doubt as to his Divinity were true?