Jesus Christ Superstar Film Review

Recently, I watched the 2000 film version of the “rock opera” Jesus Christ Superstar. I was vaguely familiar with this material because my school put on the play when I was in high school, and I had also seen the 1973 original film version. While I prefer the older version of this film for cinematic and musical reasons, its subject matter does touch upon some of our class discussions.

This film – originally a Broadway play – details the final days in the life of Jesus (often referred to as the “Passion”) told from the point of view of Judas Iscariot, the apostle often most-known for betraying him. It follows Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem to his death on the cross and is rife with symbolism and music (Here is the link to the Wikipedia describing what a rock opera technically is, for those who are interested).

A thought-provoking thing about Jesus Christ Superstar is how political views are often woven into the scenery of the film/play. I noticed countless examples as I was watching this film. For example, the setting is very “90’s grunge” (one apostle has frosted tips) and to fit the theme, the set is spray-painted with different phrases, including “Anti-fascism,” “Democracy for all,” “liberty and revolution,” and, one of my favorites, “Jesus is cool.” Further, the song sequence “The Temple” was a clear critique of the culture of the day; the lyrics “there is nothing you cannot buy” resonate even today. This scene is a retelling of the biblical story in which Jesus is furious at the merchants at the Temple in Jerusalem. In the 2000 film, the Temple is rife with gangsters, women dancing in cages, military hardware like planes and machine guns for sale, and, perhaps most problematically, white men dressed in the traditional Middle Eastern keffiyeh holding nuclear weapons. While this demonstration was probably a commentary and/or protest against American involvement in the Middle East and nuclear politics in the 1990s, it definitely could have been avoided or done less offensively. Setting aside this point, the temple scene is relevant to our class because we have learned countless times how politics and Christianity have intersected throughout history. It is interesting to see how the Jesus story is still being used, in a “secular” setting, to make certain political points.

A huge theme of this film is also the relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus. Mary sings several songs clearly stating that she loves him and – in an addition unique to the 2000 film – Judas observes Mary try to kiss a sleeping Jesus. While I can definitely see how this depiction would offend a wide range of Christians, I interpreted it as a plot point to demonstrate the humanity of Jesus.

In fact, much of this rock opera seems to be depicting the humanity of Jesus, leading into the age-old debate over Jesus’s humanity and divinity. Other than his closeness with Mary Magdalene, many of the song lyrics point to Jesus’s humanity. At one point, while in the Garden of Gethsemane, he sings, “Once I was inspired, now I’m sad and tired.” In fact, the entire song sequence (“Gethsemane/I Only Want to Say”) relates especially to the human feelings Jesus felt. However, this emphasis on the humanity and despair of Jesus was powerful. Despite this, another issue of mine with this movie was the character of Jesus. I found myself getting annoyed with the character because he was so angsty and moody; I stopped counting the amount of times that he grit his teeth and rolled his eyes. Perhaps part of my issue with this portrayal was a previously unknown bias in my personal background, in which I am not used to a depiction of such an angry, sometimes- rude Jesus. However, as the Mary Magdalene relationship did not bother me, I am more inclined to believe that this depiction of Jesus is too over the top to be taken seriously. Rather than focusing on the music Jesus was singing, I found myself marveling at his acting.

Despite the humanity of Jesus, the film and its music also hints at his divinity. For example, in the song, “Poor Jerusalem,” he states, “If you only knew what I knew,” suggesting more of his divine side. In fact, whenever he lectures his disciples, he seems to be aware of his upcoming death, another mark of his divinity. This mixed depiction of Jesus as divine and human fits nicely into our class discussions, particularly from the beginning of the class and the lectures about the Council of Nicea. It is interesting to see how different individuals manifest this centuries-old debate into their work. I would say that Jesus Christ Superstar definitely leans on the side more to focusing on the role of Jesus as human.

This idea is further emphasized because the story is supposedly told from the point of view of Judas. It is clear that he thinks Jesus is just a human prophet; at one point he sings, “No talk of God then [at the beginning], we called you a man.” In fact, much of Judas’ issue with Jesus in this film seems to be that he does not fit into the traditional Messianic model. This topic was also mentioned in class, when we discussed the terms “Messiah” and “Christ.” As a reminder, there are three different types of Messiahs: Prophetic, Royal/Kingly, and Priestly. Jesus Christ Superstar touches on this point, particularly during the song “Simon Zealotes/Poor Jerusalem.” A key lyric: “You’ve made it and you’re easily as strong as the filth from Rome who rape our country and have terrorized your people for so long…There must be over 50,000 screaming their love and more for you…Keep them yelling their devotion, but add a touch of hate at Rome.” The song not only demonstrates the variety of Messianic figures that different people were suggesting, but also hints at the relationship between the Jews and Rome during this time period.

Interestingly, while this is touched upon and Pilate is a central character, the antagonists of this film are namely the Pharisees and Sadducees. While this part of the plot was probably drawn from biblical narratives, the focus on the Jewish authorities as being evil has been accused of being anti-Semitic, something I could definitely see. Pontius Pilate is seen as sympathetic, so the “blame” on Rome is not really there, placing further blame on the Jewish characters. I would say this is a weakness of the film.

My final critique of the 2000 version of Jesus Christ Superstar specifically is its portrayal of Judas. As I mentioned before, the film is billed as being told from the point of view of Judas. In other versions I have seen, Judas is seen as a more sympathetic figure, someone who struggles with what Jesus’ mission has become and his (divinely-intentioned) role in his friend’s death. In this version, however, Judas is portrayed as creepy and almost seems to revel in Jesus’ downfall. A key example of the difference in portrayals is seen in the iconic song “Superstar.” In the 2000 version, after Judas dies and comes back to sing, he is wearing red and seems to be making fun of Jesus. This version was much less sympathetic towards the character than the 1973 film version, where Judas comes back in white and sings with angels., he is portrayed in red, surrounded by devil women, while the older version was much different. See both versions here (1973) and here (2000). While my dislike of the change may be personal preference, it was still something that bothered me. Why tell the story from Judas' point of view if you are going to make him worse than he is already normally portrayed?

Overall, I enjoyed the plot and music in Jesus Christ Superstar. While I would recommend it to other people, I would perhaps suggest watching the 1973 film rather than the 2000 version. I think this film is an excellent example of how religious stories may be reinterpreted and used in more modern contexts. In a way, it reminded me of the Holy Land Experience; while Jesus Christ Superstar was not used to convert people (in fact, I believe its creators do not identify as particularly religious), it also follows the Passion story like the theme park does. Finally, I realize this review is very long, so kudos and thanks to those who read this all the way through!