Customer Reviews

Jesus Christ Superstar

5 star:		(121)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(28)
2 star:		(21)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

Filmed at Pinewood Studios, this production has sparse sets with scaffolding that serves for nearly every scene, and has the feel of a stage performance; it has been updated to an indeterminate era, but definitely a time one wouldn't want to live in. There are Nazi-like authority figures, punky gun-toting youth, and the walls are covered in graffiti. The colors are provided by the lighting, and are usually in either a monocromatic dark blue or yellow-orange.
Inevitably, many people will compare this to the 1973 Norman Jewison film, which is a pity, as they are so vastly different. This is much more somber, and the final scenes are wrenching.

Glenn Carter is astounding as Jesus, vocally exceptional in what must be a difficult part to sing, and looking like an Albrecht Durer painting. His Gethsemane ("I Only Want to Say") is superb, and worth the price of this film alone.
Jerome Pradon is also excellent as Judas, and Fred Johanson's Pilate is marvelous, though the entire cast is good, both as actors and singers.
It is interesting in this film how skillfully the evil in a character is portrayed in the song and dance numbers, by Herod (who is so well played by Rik Mayall), and Judas.

One feels the exhaustion and horror of Jesus' last days palpably in this film. The drama of the scourging is a magnificent piece of staging, and powerful; it is a visual punch to the gut, and the crucifixion scene is brilliantly done and moves me to tears every time I see it.
Not an easy film to watch, but well worth the purchase, as it gets better with each viewing.

I agree with an earlier reviewer that this version is different than the 73 film. It takes a bit of time to get used to it. For me it was hard not to see some of the actors / singers from the earlier film, particularly Carl Anderson. Once I got over the adjustment, I found this production to be simply wonderful. Because it is shot on a set rather than outdoors, and because of the advances in cameras etc. the viewer is transported into the action. You see all the subtle facial expressions and interactions between the characters that is simply missing from the technically challenged Jewison film. There is for example, no "day for night" film that leaves one barely able to make out Jesus singing the climactic song in the Garden of Gethsemane. Glen Carter is refreshing as Jesus though I, unlike many others, always liked Ted Neeley's performance. Jerome Pradon presents an engaging Judas. Chiaphas and Annas are perhaps a bit over the top, yet they are entertaining, as is Pilot. I still am debating the appropriatness of giving the Romans/Pilot's uniforms a Nazi look, and I think Pilot's Characterization is over stated, but it is very intense, captivating and powerful. Mary is beautiful and has the greatest voice of any of the Marys to date. Her presentation of "I Don't Know Hot to Love Him," in my opinion the most important song in the musical, is breath taking. In my estimation, I think this version, with modern look and feel, will help make the entire piece more approachable to younger viewers. It will better communicate the emotions of fear and pain that Christ experienced. The strength of Superstar has always been the ability to make Jesus more than just an historical figure. He is someone who was real, as was his sacrifice. Another valuable perspective is that of Judas. He is more complex than is traditionally presented. This Judas is someone who has faults, but they are similar to the everyday faults we all share. Superstar portrays Judas as committed to the ministry, but not fully committed to Jesus. He is competitive with Christ to the point that he thinks he can force his hand if Christ is arrested. The motivations for Judas's betrayal are akin to subtle self centeredness that most of us battle on a regular basis, and they stem from his ego rather than his greed. This production best conveys to youth today some sense of what these real people actually felt and how they experienced life. A few years ago, I showed the 73 film to a youth group. They were so turned off by the very obvious 70's characterizations, costumes and choreography, that they laughed at some of the most powerful and intense moments. No one does that with this version. The 39 lashes is most powerful as is the "Could We Start Again" seqence. Again the voices from top to bottom are top notch without sounding too theatrical/formal which I have found to be distracting in other recent recordings. Alas, I simply find this production to be, in the words of one of the Pharisees, "top of the pole."

Jesus Christ Superstar, in any incarnation, will always be about the sound - music and vocals. This DVD, though full of energy, falls really short.
If you've seen the 1973 movie Jesus Christ Superstar or heard the original concept album, you'll invariably judge this newer stage video production against the benchmarks set earlier.
For me, the new JCS was interesting at best, terrible at worst.
Here are my pros and cons of this DVD which at times I compare against the 73 film which featured Ted Neeley as Christ and Carl Anderson as Judas.

Pros:

1. Fred Johanson as Pilate is stunning - more powerful than the original. Great voice, great emotive visual delivery. His performance is the only plus of this production over the previous.
2. Caiaphas and Annas both deliver powerfully.

Cons:
1. Too theatrical, even though meant to be so. Too many dramatic facial expressions and excess body language (Jesus, Mary, et al) detract from the purity of the score and lyrics.
2. Even though Jesus, Judas, and Mary have good voices, they do not match the raw beauty of the original 73 movie, or of the older Ian Gillan (as Christ) concept cast audio recording. Despite some reviews written here, Judas from the originals - Carl Anderson and Murray Head - are incomparable, as is Mary.
3. While Glenn Carter here as Jesus is perhaps a little more voluminous in voice than Neeley of 73, he lacks the piercing simplicity of the latter. Neeley's "Gethsemene" was phenomenal, as was Ian Gillan's (even more so) in the concept album. Carter murders this singularly outstanding number with his flat, choir-boy, shriekish delivery.
4. Simon is weak...his delivery never reaches the power of his 73 predecessor.
5. Herod delivers a terribly choppy number sans harmony. Herod, though a freak characterization in the original, was a musical hit with his lilting, jazz-rockish mockery of the Star.
6. Even though the musical score does give you goose bumps at times, it does not match the originals; and, the surging vocal insets within numbers you aurally seek just don't happen nearly enough.

Suggestion: If you're torn between which JCS dvd to buy, get the 1973 movie. This stage production video lacks the hippie-rock grandeur, authenticity, and vocal masterpieces of the original. If a few bucks don't matter really, go ahead and get this production as well...otherwise save your money. This dvd will not receive your collector's pride as the original does, but art is art and thanks to artists, JCS continues to be performed. I bet seen live, this performance may redeem itself somewhat.
P.S. Try and get the audio CD of the pre-1973-movie concept album of JCS sometime, featuring Ian Gillan (Deep Purple vocalist, and a phenomenal high notes screamer), Murray Head, and others, for a taste of the true original sound of this classic. That CD and the 1973 film are masterpieces.

This is actually a fairly bloodless, passionless retelling of JCS. The singing in general leaves much to be desired. The directing is fairly bland and unimaginative. To be honest just decorating a set and costuming it in a new and different way does not a directorial vision make. Acting is generally weak and the choreography is ridiculous.
Skip this and see Norman Jewison's version instead.

Oh, my.

If you like the original (Brit) cast recording, I'd recommend borrowing this from the library so you can have a good laugh. The 73 film version is a freak-fest, but at least it's of the era, and the singing ranges from good to excellent (in the case of Judas). And it mostly rocks.

Since the advent of the Broadway versions, however, JCS has stopped rocking. And for that I am very, very sad. Since Broadway got a hold of it, all of Jesus's rock-screamer high notes are now warbled as if sung by a soprano in a production of Cats: this version follows that lead. And the visuals in this version are mostly awful. This looks like a cross between a Kajagoogoo video, an episode of 21 Jump Street, Fame, and an 80s gay porn movie (arcane references lost on younger viewers: but then, so are most of the visual references in the film). I say this without the slightest trace of homophobia. In fact, I think it's sort of interesting to play Jesus and his disciples as gay, and the lyrics of the musical do support the possibility. I can imagine a version that would be quite interesting and radical. This one's just lame. Jesus looks like Robert Plant in a wifebeater. Simon the Zealot is in fingerless gloves. Judas is wearing a motorcycle jacket and looks like Rob Corddry from the Daily Show doing an impression of Rob Halford. Pilate looks like a Tom of Finland drawing. It's such a bizarre, dated set and costuming....and overacted as if being performed on a stage in an amphitheatre.

Musically, it is weak. The vocals are so far in the front that one can't hear the band/orchestration. Purists beware for more reasons than this: lyrics are inexplicably changed. Come one: you can't take out the line "Jesus is cool"!!! Even more lyrics are changed than in the Broadway version.

Seriously, this is cringeworthy. If you want a film version, go for the classic with all its flaws.

As Lent rolls around every year, I always pull out my well-worn copy of Jesus Christ Superstar on CD. (I wore out the album, twice). The music of ALW and Rice is superb and moving. I've seen the Jewison version of this movie a number of times, and my fiance and myself actually thought that's what we were buying on DVD when we purchased this copy...however. It didn't take us long to figure out this wasn't the same movie we'd seen before.

In terms of the sheer power of the story, this newest entry into the market is head and shoulders above the Jewison rendition. While I much preferred the way the first JCSS was filmed (on location, etc.) the performances in the Edwards' film were much more powerful. It pays to remember that when ALW/TR wrote the original score, their goal was to bring Christ to the people of the day. This staging certainly accomplishes that, even if it's not really my 'style.'

Glenn Carter as Christ is tormented by his 'role' as the Messiah, obviously conflicted about his relationship with Judas (more on Pradon later), often poignantly affected by his coming trials. His voice did seem a bit 'weak' for the material, but it is the scenes of him in the final moments (after his arrest through his cruxifiction) that reduced me to tears. He lives the pain...it is apparent in every move he makes, every expression on his face.

Judas...what can I say. From the first moment, he captured me. I've never seen Judas as the cold, calculating man he is frequently portrayed to be. To me, he was a puppet in the hands of a power he couldn't begin to understand. He is afraid for Christ and the apostles, that much is made clear. To him, it's a obviously a case of saving Jesus from himself...but it backfires when he realizes what the Romans really have planned. Pradon in this role is perfect. First of all, his voice is stunning. He sings this role as if it were written for him. He's just flashy enough without letting it intrude on the story he's telling. The scene where he realizes what he's set in motion with his kiss is one of the most moving depictions I've ever seen/heard/read of that moment in time. I'll be looking for more of his work (hopefully in English!)

Fred Johanson is amazing as Pilate -- a towering presence with a soul. The pathos in his voice and face (and body language) as he pleads with Jesus to 'help me help you' made me stop and think about Pilate in a very different way. Rik Mayall as Herod is perfect. Herod has frequently seemed 'silly' in other productions. Mayall's rendition makes him a bored aristocrat with a razor edge of nastiness under the surface. Not someone I'd want to meet in a dark alley. Renee Castle as Mary Magdalene is good -- arguably better than Yvonne Ellison as an actress, though I think perhaps Ellison's voice was a little more suited to the music. That could just be because I've never heard anyone else perform it.

This is NOT, repeat NOT, a movie to watch with your children. (Mature teens will do fine, but it's just too intense for the little ones.) There is some interesting costuming in the scene where Jesus is carrying his cross and the graphic intensity of the beatings/floggings/cruxifiction are very disturbing. That's part of what made this version more powerful for me. If you love the music and want to really feel the pathos of the last days, I strongly recommend this.

The new re-working of "Jesus Christ Superstar" is not without its flaws. Because the cast is made up almost entirely of stage actors, techniques designed to be visible to a back-row audience seem over-acted when filmed in closeup. Glenn Carter as Jesus is not as charismatic as he could be, and after multiple viewings, I'm still not quite sure what to make of Rik Mayell's performance as King Herod.

However, Michael Shaeffer and Frederick B. Owens make an excellent dark duo. The apostles are energetic and talented. Tony Vincent's "Simon Zealotes" is a standout. Carter has a good voice, which is put to good use in songs like "Gethsemane."

And then, there is Jerome Pradon.

When I first saw "Jesus Christ Superstar," I was skeptical of Pradon's performance as Judas, largely because of his high notes, and the fact that he was not hitting them. I was disappointed and wished a stronger singer, like Tony Vincent, had been given the role instead. It wasn't until someone directed me to the Paris revival recording of "Les Miserables" (Pradon played Marius) that I realized that Pradon CAN hit those notes. It's Judas who can't. This seems very appropriate, as it stacks up as yet another thing Jesus has that Judas does not - the respect of large numbers of people, good looks, a beautiful woman, etc. At the end of the show, during the song "Superstar," we see Judas as he would have liked to be, singing almost pitch-perfect as he mocks Jesus.

Aside from this smart singing choice, Pradon is absolutely fascinating to watch. He plays the part superbly, putting his facial expressions to excellent use, and utilizing his entire body as Judas descends into madness. Though "Jesus Christ Superstar" is truly about the fall of Judas Iscariot, many production try to place the focus on Jesus. However, every time Pradon is onscreen, he rightfully steals the show back to where its focal point should be.

I just watched this version for the first time, back to back with the 1973 movie version. I found the singing very solid. Glenn Carter, Jerome Pradon, and the others were all good, Renee Castle especially. The Simon Zealotes character was exciting, I don't even remember if there was a similar one in the 1973 version. Pilate here was superb, a lot better than the 1973 movie, so with Caipphas and Annas. They may have been a bit much, but hey, this is theatre. I wasn't impressed with Herod. What I couldn't quite take though, was that Jesus was played with too much humanity, as if he lost his Godhood. Glenn Carter pouted too much, he cried too much. I thought that Ted Neeley had more fire in his eyes. Glenn's Gethemane was alright, but I've heard Michael Ball in a concert do better. Jerome Pradon was interesting but he wasn't Carl Anderson. I liked the film being staged in an indoor set with a lot of interesting possibilities. The set was not limited at all. The interviews showed many points of view, how the actors/singers approached their parts, how the technical bits were put together.

I saw this before seeing the 1973 Norman Jewison version and so I won't comment on that film here. (If you like, you can see my review at the other Amazon page where I do make comparisons.) This was in fact my first experience with Jesus Christ, Superstar, and I must say I was delighted, especially with the acting and the music. Surely this is a different production than that which ran in London and on Broadway since Directors Gale Edwards and Nick Morris use close ups of the actors' faces to great advantage, something not possible on the stage. Lost to the viewer, I suspect, might be the full range of movement and choreography. Not lost is the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, in particular the title song and the haunting, ironic ballad, "I don't know how to love him." When Mary Magdalene in the person of the velvety Renee Castle breaks into song our spirit is roused and our understanding of one of the ironies of Christianity heightened. The lyric, "He's only a man, and I've had so many men before..." somehow brings to life the enigma that Jesus, God in the flesh, is to all of us.

I recall when JCS was first performed a controversy arose about whether it was sacrilegious. I don't know how that controversy played out, but I can see how some might be offended. (Of course, I was not.) This production, while not directly sensuous does depict a very human Jesus, clad in one scene only in a very scanty loincloth. There is an emphasis on the blood that he shed, wiped from him onto the hands of us all, or, as some have complained, onto the hands of the Jews, who have been getting the bad rap for two thousand years. And there is the question, first of all of making Jesus into a political "superstar." Yet, that too is irony, a dramatic irony that is a truth. He is a superstar in this country and has been for a long time. Whether he is also the son of God is another matter. That is partially the point of this musical. The fact that it is played out in a contemporary milieu really adds to its universal power since it is conceivable that such a religious transformation could happen here.

One does wonder however about some of the costuming. Why are the Romans in Nazi uniforms, recalling an earlier era, and why is Judas in a leather jacket, looking a little like Marlon Brando from The Wild One (1954) or perhaps John Travolta from Grease (1978)? Perhaps what is suggested is a broader time era, say the entire mid twentieth century.

I found myself comparing this to some other filmed musicals that arose during that same era, the sixties and seventies, West Side Story, Grease, and Hair, musicals that in some sense seemed to break with the pleasant tradition long established with, for example, Where's Charlie?, South Pacific, Oklahoma, etc. In a sense these newer productions seemed out to shock the bourgeoisie as well as to entertain the burghers, to widen the parameters of the London/New York musical comedy tradition and to call on the audience to think. Indeed some imagined that a revolution was in the making. JCS in particular seemed to threaten the religious orthodoxy. In retrospect, however, Hair seems more dated than shocking and West Side Story and Grease totally within the tradition of My Fair Lady and Damn Yankees. Jesus Christ, Superstar now thirty years later also seems totally within that venerable tradition.

Glenn Carter as Jesus was very good. His combination of strength and vulnerability suited well the conception of a Jesus who believed he was sent to earth to die for our sins, a persona half God and half man. True he seemed to lack somewhat in charisma, but in attempting such a part, who wouldn't? Jérôme Pradon as Judas also was excellent in a nicely balanced characterization. When he too laments that he didn't "know how to love him" we know the truth of the very human trap he made for himself (although properly speaking, he was God's instrument). Renee Castle as Mary Magdalene was expressive and sung beautifully; indeed she seemed the very embodiment of a woman in love with a man she cannot possess. However there was something lacking not in her performance, but in the very conception of the part. I felt the need for some rags and dirt and some real destitution. Perhaps Mary Magdalene here is too sanitized, too pretty, too clean and too well behaved to be the real Mary Magdalene.

My only real disappointment with this engrossing and thought-provoking entertainment was in not seeing a glorious resurrection of Jesus. But in retrospect, I realize that would have detracted from the Rice/Webber conception of "a man, like any other man." I think they make a powerful point, because in the deepest religious sense, at least to my mind, we and Christ really are brothers, the immaculate made flesh.

I watched this last night on PBS (my local public TV station in Los Angeles). It was great! Glenn Carter was wonderful as Jesus: he had power, a great vocal range, and added depth and dimension to the role. The actors portraying Judas and Mary Magdalene were good as well. The staging was updated and interesting. It was like watching a bunch of punkers (the disciples) battle the fascists (the high priests & Pontius Pilate). The lighting, costumes and camerawork were well done. It was a little bizarre seeing back-up singers gyrating in leather and vinyl, but I think the director wanted to update the look of the musical, and she did! I know there are a lot of you out there that prefer the movie version or the original staging, but give this a chance. There's a lot of talent on display here. The music and lyrics are still as awesome and uplifting now as they were when they first were combined 30 years ago. Has it really been that long since Webber & Rice gave us this beautiful gift of a musical?