Happy 40th Birthday, Jesus Christ Superstar! On August, 15, 1973 the film Jesus Christ Superstar
Happy 40th Birthday, Jesus Christ Superstar! On August, 15, 1973 the film Jesus Christ Superstar was introduced to the world. The film is based on the concept album, which was later turned into a broadway show, written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Film leaves the supernatural aspects of the story off-screen and puts the focus on the politics of ancient Judea, as seen through the lens of pop culture celebrity. Rice’s Judas is a disillusioned activist who views Jesus as a spiritual leader who has begun to believe his own hype. Judas feels that Jesus’ formerly humble ministry has become a cult with an anti-authoritarian message that threatens both Jewish religious leaders and their Roman occupiers. Judas’ conviction that he must stop Jesus before the authorities crack down on the Israelites leads him to betray his friend, but once Jesus has been betrayed, Judas realizes that the ancient prophecies have been fulfilled after all. An opera of the Passion would be daring enough even without this sympathetic portrayal of Judas – no opera composer in the 300 years from Monteverdi to Puccini had dared put Christ on the stage. But Lloyd-Webber and Rice, inspired by the success of Tommy and Hair, set the story to a propulsive rock beat, and shone the light of modern pop culture on the tale. The alchemical word “superstar” challenges us to ask whether divinity itself is just another form of celebrity (or is celebrity a debased form of divinity?) and whether religions are just glorified fan-clubs. Judas warns Jesus in “Heaven on Their Minds” that his followers will turn when he fails to deliver on every promise - and we are reminded of the gleeful way tabloids rip into stars who disappoint us with their fallible humanity. Jesus gains immortality by dying young - and we are reminded of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. It’s heady, provocative stuff, wrapped up in an irresistable package of witty lyrics and memorable tunes. Fun Facts: Barry Dennen, who played Pilate on the album, on Broadway and in the film, deserves credit for getting the Jesus Christ Superstar movie produced. While appearing in Norman Jewison’s 1971 film of Fiddler on the Roof, Dennen suggested that Jewison make Jesus Christ Superstar his next project, and lo, it came to pass. Thanks, Barry! Carl Anderson (Judas) and Ted Neeley (Jesus) remained friends up until Anderson’s death in 2004. Neeley sang “Gethsemane” at his funeral because that was Anderson’s favorite song from the rock opera. Ted Neeley met his wife on the set. She is one of the dancers in the Simon Zealot scene. “King Herod’s Song” is actually a number from “King Richard”, a failed Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Tim Rice had to write new lyrics for this number so that it could be added to “Jesus Christ Superstar”; originally, the number was called “Those Saladin Days”. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber often had disagreements about whether or not to include the resurrection. Rice didn’t want to include it, while Webber did. The “39 Lashes” scene in Jesus Christ Superstar was so realistic that Ted Neeley’s mother walked out on it. Mrs. Neeley had never laid a hand on young Ted in an anything but affectionate manner, and could not bear the sight of her son being whipped and tortured by anyone else, even though she knew it was just acting. John Lennon and Yoko Ono were originally cast as Jesus and Mary Magdalene. John Travolta auditioned to play Jesus. Obviously, he didn’t get the part. The actor who plays Peter in the film later went on to become a porn star. A totally new song was written especially for this feature, “Then we are decided”, where Annas and Caiaphas discuss the threat of Jesus and decide to take it up with the council. It was never used in any production again. Some of the original lyrics were changed for the film, partly enriching it’s content (“Hosanna”, “The Temple”) and partly making it more acceptable for a Christian audience. In a scene where a group of beggars overpowers Jesus, “Heal yourselves!”, was changed to “Leave me alone!”. In “Trial before Pilate”, Jesus said “There may be a kingdom for me somewhere, if you only knew”, while the original line had been “if I only knew”. And in “Judas’ Death”, the line “What you have done will be the saving of Israel” was changed to “…the saving of everyone.” Tragedy almost struck for real while the Crucifixion was being filmed. The Roman soldier we see nailing Christ to the cross is an Israeli actor who spoke very limited English; consequently, he thought Ted Neeley was actually supposed to have nails hammered through his hands! Just in time, director Norman Jewison saw what was happening and screamed, “NO! NOT IN THE HAND!” The shepherd walking across the frame in the final shot of the film was never intended to be there, and just happened across the shot as they were filming. Because of the significance of a shepherd in the teachings of Christ, Jewison and the crew were struck profoundly by the timing of this shepherd crossing the field, and kept the shot. Quotes: “I feel i’ve got no right to impose my views on other people. I have the right, everybody does, to say what my ideas are…All I want to do is put these ideas forward and let people take it from there.” -Tim Rice “I don’t go along with some of the things that Tim has written in the opera. The lyrics are extremely good for any composer to work with, but I don’t necessarily agree with all of them.” -Andrew Lloyd Webber “I don’t think he deliberately set out to betray Jesus. When everything around him fell to pieces, his only escape was to hang himself.” -Carl Anderson on Judas “The Jesus I portray is a man, not God. The stress is on the humanity of Jesus, not his sanctity. I play the part with it all coming from within him, all the doubts and the fears.” -Ted Neeley “My hope is that audiences will take it for what it is, an opera, not history. Rice and Webber are trying to take Jesus off the stained glass windows and get him down on the street. Some people are not going to like that. -Norman Jewison “Those who blame ‘Superstar’ for not being the Bible were much like super-fans of Stephen King or Tolkien who are guaranteed to despise any film adaptation of their favorite author’s work. One feels that nothing would satisfy these people short of a movie in which someone simply sits there and reads the written text.” — Robert M. Price Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] -- source link