Revisiting: Jesus Christ Superstar (DVD)

I have some lame traditions I do every year such as my not so scary Halloween movies in October or my Christmas-y movies during December and "The Nightmare Before Christmas" smushed somewhere in between the two as I still can't figure out what holiday it correlates best with. But one of the easiest traditions, as it doesn't require a full month of dedicating to movies, is watching "Jesus Christ Superstar" at Easter as I can't think of a better way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus than with a dated rock opera composed by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Which is not to say I don't love this movie. And maybe I don't love the movie as much as I love the music. Despite being written in the very early 70s (the movie came out in 1973) I think the score holds up very well today - and it's one I know almost all of the words too. So if you're looking for a one man production of "JCS," look no further, I'm your man. I think the first time I was exposed to the show was in middle school in music class where we watched this movie. What makes that all the more intriguing was that I went to a Catholic middle school - so I'm surprised this was allowed seeing how it does take some liberties with the Biblical story, but then again, the school's choir would sing songs from "Sister Act" during masses, so maybe it shouldn't be all that surprising. Well what I'm trying to say is that I love the score from this show,  it's one of my favorites, and so that's why I watch this movie every year during the time of year that Christians celebrate the story.

That all being said, I think the movie is sometimes chilling and beautiful to look at, as it was all filmed on location in Israel, which lends the movie some authenticity that the staged remake from 2000 that was all shot on a soundstage lost - but the original has wayyy too much 1973 in its DNA, which makes the movie very dated. I think the concept of a modern troupe of actors telling the story with a modern rock score in the ancient Middle East and shot on ruins of temples and such is awesome, but the modern in that sense, is the modern from almost 40 years ago. Bright fakey colors, outrageous costumes, and old school special effects (including, but not limited to: too much use of slow motion, freeze framing, and overlapping fades) give the movie a very 1970s quality. Not to mention the song "Could We Start Again Please?" which is shot on a mountain side and looks a lot like the "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" commercial from the same era. But I love it all so, and if you take the movie for what it's for, and take in the powerful performances from some great singers it's a good, fun movie and a tradition I'll be keeping for some time.

Happy Easter!


Patrick Approval Rating: 7/10


"Jesus Christ Superstar" @ imdb