VHS : Jesus Christ Superstar [1973]

Rating: - An excellent rendition of the classic ALW musical - if you just enjoy it for what it is
This is a very, very good, beautifully told, yet slightly tongue-in-cheek, musical version of the story of J.C.

There are some superb songs in this movie, which -- if you just go with the style --are very moving, funny, dramatic and exciting in places. In short, if you just let it be what it is, this movie is very entertaining.

Three things to remember however:
1) This was made in the 70's!!!!! Don't expect it to be fabulously produced (think Monty Python's - Life of Brian meets Spartacus/Moses - Man of God and you're about there).

2) It is _supposed_ to be slightly tongue-in-cheek. You should enjoy that aspect about this movie (and not dislike it for it). The movie is _purposefully_ funny/ridiculous/controversial in places - this is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical for heavens sake - he is trying to get you to think! It was made like this on purpose (tanks, Herod scene and all!). Pay attention to the (sometimes wicked and thought provoking) lyrics and enjoy it for what it is.

And finally...don't forget...

3) It is also, faithfully, a biblical story & an A.L.W. musical - if you have no interest in either you probably won't enjoy this movie. For the rest of however, it rocks!

All in all: a very, very entertaining way to present the story of J.C.

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Rating: - Fantastic.
I watched this film and was in stitches. The production is very dated, the costumes are hilarious and the coherence of the film itself (things splashing ten seconds after they've been thrown) is pretty odd. And yet, I cannot stop watching it. The music is brilliant, and the voices are tremendous - Jesus on the mountain before his arrest is sublime, and so is 'Heaven on their Minds' by Judas. In fact, those two are definitely stand out voices. Understandable when you think about it. The music certainly makes up for the shoddy/budget hilarity. I say buy it just because its so much fun to re-enact with your friends. EVERYTHING is over done, extremely camp, but its a classic.

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Rating: - Jesus Christ Superstar - The Original and Best
This has it all
... A classic soundtrack, Listen to the powerful Overture, the pain in Judas before he commits suicide, and the confusion in Mary's voice in the classic "I don't know how to love him"
... Inspired direction (All set in the desert, filmed in seven days, numerous clever touches and symbolism), and most of all ENERGY. Judas is the strongest character, and steals the show, but Jesus and Pontius Pilate for me are just behind, with Mary just behind again (Sorry but I have heard Mary's songs too many times !!).

For me the most compelling thing about this production is it's coherence. It is clearly produced in a certain period, but for all that it is ageless. Some of the singing is off, but beyond that everything just clicks wonderfully, and the dancing is exciting and impressive.

I looked around for a long time to get this, and even got hold of a multi-region player to watch it.
Early work by any composer always tends to have the raw edge and energy to inspire the audience, and this is certainly one for me.

BUY THIS!! Don't bother with the later production, I will be diplomatic, and say that I cannot watch it, because it is so bad, and this is so good.

This set a benchmark, and I don't expect another musical based on the life of Jesus to beat it any time soon.

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Rating: - Deep religious impact
Two things can be said about this edition of "Jesus Christ Superstar": It poses an important religious question and it is a complete and time-typical rendering of the musical.

First the religious: Judas is the main character in the musical, asking rightly (when seen from his political / human perspective) whether Jesus has strayed from the path. For Judas, this is a political quest, not a religious search. When it finally dawns on Judas that it has nothing at all to do with ordinary politics - that Jesus indeed is (believing himself to be) a savior, he has hanged himself and can only comment post mortem (in the title song). Judas was indeed murdered in the couse of the plot - the question is, was it necessary?

A reviewer found the apperance of the Israeli tanks (and perhaps also the jets) laughtable, but failed to see the significance: This is a demonstration of (Roman!) power and one should notice that it was only shown in connection with the lone and frustrated Judas-figure. A reflection on his thoughts.

The second observation for specifically this edition of JCS is that it is a true representation of the musical when it was first shown, in the happy-hippie days. The actors are carrying flower-power outfits (espc. Herod) and the dancing is "wild" or "free". Although the quality of the singing and dancing can be argued I personally will give this edition high marks for nerve. After all, this is an old production.

Only problem is that the encoding on the DVD-version is a strict region-1. Why could this edition not be found in region-2?!

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Rating: - Rice and Lloyd Webber's operatic passion play on film
After the bizarre Broadway staging of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera, the film version of "Jesus Christ Superstar" had to be a more traditional offering. Producer-Director Norman Jewison filmed on location in Israel, using natural settings and sparsely constructed sets for what is essentially a string of music videos (since it was written as a studio album first, the music presents problems for moving from one scene to the next). The framing device for the film is the cast arriving/departing by bus. Ted Neeley's voice is suited to the role, but certainly he is the shortest Jesus I can recall seeing in films. Yvonne Elliman and Barry Dennen remain from the original studio album and Broadway production as Mary Magdalen and Pilate, which is perfectly all right. However, it is clearly Carl Anderson as Judas who gives the best performance in the film.

The film version suffers from the inadequate voices of several of the supporting cast members (most notably Josh Mostel as Herod) and the grossly reduced chorus of singers which never comes close to matching the number of bodies on screen, and there are a few unintentional laughs, such as when Israeli tanks come over the dune and chase Judas: I literally fell out of my seat laughing at this the first time I saw this film in the theater. But the use of paintings depicting the crucifixion during "I Only Want to Say" and the final shot of sheep being herded past the cross the cast leaves behind on the hill, are particularly effective. Of course as with most movies, if you want to watch it you want to get a hold of the widescreen edition, otherwise you cannot appreciate the Last Supper tableau or just enjoy the compositional elements of the shots. Every Easter weekend I watch this film, even if I do not have time to do all of "Jesus of Nazareth" or "The Greatest Story Every Told." The only thing radical here is the music, but I still have to think it qualifies as the requisite joyful noise.