JesusCristSuperstar

Jesus Christ Superstar

     Several months after Godspell (1973) was released into theaters another musical Jesus would grace the silver screen. This time it would be the Jesus of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. This Jesus movie, like Godspell (1973) before it, would receive mixed reviews. However, when all is said and done, although it was a "theological disaster" it has become quite an "economical triumph" (Kinnard and Davis 182).
     As Godspell (1973) originated in a masters thesis, Jesus Christ Superstar originated with a single song. From the single song (written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber) developed a two album set of music, and out of that the opera developed (Tatum 1973). Norman Jewison became interested in bringing this show onto the big screen while he was filming Fiddler on the Roof (1971). In addition to directing it, Jewison would write the screenplay and co-produce the film. Ted Neeley was cast to play the part of Jesus. Neeley had played the role of Jesus in the Los Angeles stage production. His weak build and falsetto voice made him an easy target for criticism. Carl Anderson was given the part of Judas. He also had this part in the Los Angeles stage production (Tatum 118).   There was some controversy over casting this black Judas against the white Jesus; however, after watching the movie this criticism was easily dismissed because it is apparent that Judas is a much more attractive, as well as a stronger, character than Jesus anyway (Baugh 38).
     This film is an opera, and much like a musical one recognizes that it is not a historic retelling of the life of Jesus. However, the play that musicals have with history gets a little blurred with Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) because it was filmed in Israel and thus gives somewhat of a historic feel to the film (Stern, Jefford and Debona 177). The story in Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) is telescoped, much like the gospels and early Jesus films, to revolve around the passion story and events leading up to it. It is similar to King of Kings (1961) insofar as it uses one character as a jumping off point into the life of Jesus. This time it is not a fictitious character like Lucius, but rather Judas acts as our window into Jesus' life. This movie is also framed like The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). The frame around this movie is an acting troupe that arrives in Israel to perform this passion play.
     At one point during the film, Pilate refers to Jesus as an "innocent puppet." This is much the classification that we get of Jesus in the film. There seems to be a rumor going around in the film that Jesus is God, but Jesus himself neither confirms nor denies the title. This question is left wide open and Judas even asks him this in his final number when the heavenly choir of angels sing "Jesus Christ, Superstar, do you think you're what they say you are?" (Stern, Jefford and Debona 164).   I think the reason this question is left unanswered is because the Jesus of Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) would not have had an answer. Jesus is as confused about his identity as he is about his mission. He has no prophetic or messianic role (Baugh 40). He knows simply that he is to die. He is very much God's puppet in this matter (Baugh 40). Jesus must die because that is what God wants him to do. He is neither clear on why he is dying nor if his death will have any significance whatsoever in the grand scheme of things. He is also the puppet of the Sanhedrin.* They use Jesus as an example to both show their loyalty to the Romans and to deter future "rebel rousers."
     Perhaps the most interesting scene of the movie is the closing one. In it, all the actors board the bus much the same was as they came. There are four notable exceptions. The actor who played Jesus is totally missing.** Also, the actors who played Pilate, Mary Magdalene, and Judas all look back to the spot where the passion took place. The bus pulls away with Judas still looking back. The audience then looks back also. When they do, the empty cross is observed alone on the hill. The sun is seen behind the cross on the horizon. One gets the impression that it is late in the day and the sun is setting; however, perhaps this is not the case and rather the sun is rising*** (Tatum 124). Also, in the foreground one can make out the shadow of a shepherd moving across the bottom of the hill with his sheep. Although this is not explicitly identified as Jesus, it does leave the resurrection as an open-ended question (Stern, Jefford and Debona 178).
     Catholics, Protestants, and Jews condemned this movie as bad theology.   This led one critic to suggest that this move was an "ecumenical triumph" because it had such diverse clergy attacking it (Tatum 130). Despite all the problems, financially this was and is the most successful Jesus movie ever.
     It presents us with a unique picture of Jesus. This movie poses many questions about Jesus' identity and how he viewed his own life. One is left in uncertainty about these questions after viewing the film. Many of the questions raised in Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) will be posed again fifteen years later by Martin Scorsese in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988).

*For this the movie is charged with being anti-Semitic, and this charge is not very easy to defend against.
**This actor is never actually seen getting off the bus in the beginning, he just sort of appears in the mist of all the actors.
***There is a play with the words son and sun earlier in the film when Jesus is taken before Herod. Herod is wearing sunglasses and it is implied that what he is blocking out is the son (Baugh 36).