Well, it seems the user comment on the main profile page has changed since yesterday. Actually, so has the first page of user comments (first 10 comments), which I could’ve sworn were all overwhelmingly positive. I didn’t change the filter as far as I know, but it’s possible it somehow got set to “loved it”. In any case, the “chronological” filter still seems to bring up mostly positive reviews, though not unanimously.
Ah. The review in your link was much better, though still less than glowing. From a theological standpoint, I can’t really say how inaccurate it is. I just like the staging and the singing. The best part is when Jesus sings
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This accounts, no doubt, for Christianity’s historical success. People want a God who can sing opera!
In The Ruling Class, Peter O’Toole made a great Jesus.
Just added this to my NetFlix queue. Thanks.
I haven’t seen it in over 10 years.
Jim
Really? I hear people say “Jesus!” all the time.
Another reason why I seriously doubt Ron Jeremy was in Jesus Christ Superstar is that I’ve gone through director Norman Jewison’s papers from that production. They include a complete set of daily call sheets for the shooting, which was done in remote Israeli locations where the cast and crew were bused in. I found no Ron Jeremy (nor his real name, Ron Hyatt) listed in the call sheets. The extras were virtually all locals.
The Big Lebowski
Yeah and then they do this :smack: .
See? Hard to talk about.
Aslan is naked for the entire film, does that count?
Me too on Jesus of Nazareth.
Cool Hand Luke and it has a bonus Jesus song.
I had a few thoughts about this subject, so I thought I’d share them.
It ain’t easy making a Jesus movie. For one thing, dramas are much harder than comedies. In a comedy, if someone accidentally makes a goofy face or misdelivers a line, the worst thing that can happen is the joke is made funnier, or maybe less funny. No huge deal. In a drama, a goofy face can really ruin the moment. Even the slightest fumbling for a prop, or a single misstep, or whatever, can rob the scene of its intensity. And even turn a dramatic moment into a funny one. The more intense the drama, the more comic potential there is. A director would have to keep a sharp eye out for anything – ANYTHING – that could possibly take away from the scene.
Sometimes this is used intentionally to great effect. We see it in plays more than in movies. I’m sure we can all think of examples. The one that springs to mind is a chick flick from the 80s about tree sisters who have an ill father. While one sister is out partying, the father has a stroke. The other two sisters visit him in the hospital. There’s about 20 minutes of footage of this, and things get very emotional and tense. When the sisters got home, they were very somber, as was the tone of the film. It was an entirely inappropriate place for anything not reverent for the father, who could die at any time.
In walks the third sister, all full of laughter and beer. The other two tried to calm her down and explain that Dad was, well, the thing with Dad… “So? I was out all night. It’s not like he’s going to have a stroke or anything, right?” “Well, the thing is, he sorta kinda… It’s like this…” Hilarity ensued. It was the funniest moment of the film. The great energy of the tragedy found an escape valve, and the humor was as intense as the drama. I’m sure that Einstein’s equations could predict the level of energy release.
And that was intentional. Imagine when lines are delivered poorly, in a very intense dramatic moment. It’s a minefield. And it’s hard to imagine a story as dramatic and intense as The Passion. If ever there was a more reverent drama, I don’t know about it. The tension is so great that the comedic potential is at megaton proportions.
The upshot of this is that directors have to navigate the filming very carefully. One misstep can turn a great film into a stupid one. As a result, directors can be tempted into being very conservative, and not taking many chances. This can result in a very dull and lifeless film. While a great one would not be impossible to shoot, such a thing would be very rare. In short, it’s difficult material to do well.
Does that make any sense?
Very much so. And considerable food for thought. Thanks, Tdn.
Thanks, Lib. I’m always willing to deconstruct art until it’s lost all meaning.
This whole conversation and no mention of Holy Mountain? It’s the only Christ movie that features a reenactment of the conquest of the Aztecs using frogs. A truly bizarre, at time disgusting, movie.