Review of The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) by Matt P — 30 May 2011

There's a quote that Paul Newman said about this movie, said it had a big impact on him-"I don't understand how it could be considered sacrilegious . I can't believe that Christianity is so fragile that it can't stand inspection."--and I think Newman's quote pretty much sums up my overall feelings for this film. This film is a masterpiece , a work of art. But just because it deals with Jesus Christ and a different sort of view point it sparks controversy. Why? Because most of the heavy religious people don't care to see one man's personal depiction of how HE thought Christ went down and soon rose from the grave. Now I'm not going to ramble on endlessly about debating religion, I'll end it here. But I will say that "The Last Temptation of Christ" can't be considered blasphemous simply for offering a new way of looking at the story of Jesus Christ. It's not trying to put new ideas into people's heads, it's taking from Nikos Kazantzakis' novel and the thoughts he had in mind and translating them to the screen. The reaction the audience gets if only natural, but "The Last Temptation' is NOT introducing a new way of Bible study. If anything it's broadening the horizons.

Martin Scorsese had been wanting to make this film his whole life. He even drew storyboards for it at the age of 12. It was either become a Priest or a filmmaker, and once his career took off it took him until 1988 to make this picture. He even had to cancel it in 1983 and almost gave up filmmaking due to devastation. I think Scorsese's passion is blatantly eminent in what you see in this movie. The shots are neat (such as the opening one which quickly slides over to reveal Christ laying under the shade of a tree), and the story is well understood. Different, but understood. We follow Christ (Willem Dafoe) on his descent to find truth and eventually become crucified. In this version of the story, he knows of his death coming. But first he must reach salvation to do God's will. Dafoe's performance is just as passionate as Scorsese's directing, he let's it all out. Supporting him are Barbara Hershey and Harvey Keitel, some of the 12 Apostles. They guide him swiftly across the land to the very tragic end and the horrifying dream where Jesus is deceived by the Devil himself.

It's quite a religious-heavy trip, but when it ends you know you just witnessed some sort of a miracle. The film feels thick like the Bible itself, and is in my opinion just as good as Scorsese's much different "Goodfellas." It's the equivalent of that film in good terms. Once he got his religious passion out he could go on to perfect his criminal conscience. And this film is very deep. Large scenery shots, heavy biblical music, and a moving story. Those who don't "wish" to see a "what if" sort of movie that inspects the always divine story of Christ, I pity you. It will open your eyes to a different way of old common knowledge, regardless of whether ot not you enjoyed it or not.