Other Titles • Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar (2000)
Synopses for Jesus Christ Superstar (2000)
1.
Director Gale Edwards's film is an updated stage version of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's acclaimed masterpiece. Experience the last seven days in the earthly life of Jesus through the magic and wonder of a catchy and inspirational score. From his triumphant entry into Jerusalem and the enmity that this naturally arouses to his trial by the sympathetic but ultimately partisan Pontius Pilate, follow Christ as he assumes the role he was born to play. Notably, in a career change that some British comedy fans may find a bit odd, Rik Mayall (known to fans of THE YOUNG ONES as left-wing New Waver Rick) stars.
(20 votes)
2.
Jesus Christ Superstar has been the definitive rock musical ever since its 1972 London stage premiere. Revived to great acclaim in the late 1990s, it has everything you'd expect from a blockbuster: great songs, strong characterisation and, crucially, a cracking story. This video is based on the 1998 London production. Director Gale Edwards pulls few punches in her efforts to draw a truly modern interpretation from a gifted cast. Pilate's cronies are sinister Darth Vader look-alikes. The whole thing has a hard, brutal edge, which both startles and thrills. And anyone who dismisses musicals as lightweight confections could do worse than look at the way Lloyd Webber and Rice treat Judas: this is a complex, well-written role. The performances are largely excellent: Jerome Pradon' Judas shines, and Renee Castle's Mary reinvents "I Don't Know How to Love Him" as a delicate exploration of her dilemma, far removed from its usual overblown treatment. Rik Mayall's relentlessly gurning Herod is less of a bonus than he would like us to believe, but will doubtless appeal to his fans. And the quality of Glenn Carter's singing in the title role makes up for a slight deficiency in the charisma department. --Piers Ford
On the DVD: Die-hard groupies will appreciate the inclusion of a documentary about the making of the video, which includes interviews with the cast, the production team and Lloyd Webber and Rice. There are also previews for video productions of Cats and Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
(16 votes)
3.
Before Andrew Lloyd Webber took over Broadway with his operatic productions and Tim Rice tossed in his lot with Disney's animated musicals, they were the young turks of musical theater and their rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar was their calling card. Director Gale Edwards's 1999 stage revival, which became the basis for this video production (also available on CD), takes the show out of ancient Jerusalem to an indeterminate mix of modern New York (complete with graffiti-scrawled walls and T-shirt garbed disciples) and timeless Rome. The grandly abstract sets, rainbow lighting, and striking costumes are more theater than cinema, but like the previous made-for-video Lloyd Webber-Rice production Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the enormous soundstages give the director free reign to combine the mediums.
The setting folds fascism, intolerance, and revolution into a portrait out of time, robbing the play of its powerful historical grounding but injecting it with energy and insight. As Christ, Glenn Carter (who played the role in the 2000 Broadway revival) flashes his anger and rolls his eyes at Judas (Jerome Pradon) but cannot deny the truths of Judas's fears: "Every word you say today gets twisted 'round some other way." As Christ sees his cult of personality overtake his message and struggles with the fears of his sacrifice, he reaches within for faith and forgiveness, giving the show the spiritual dimension it so often lacks.
It's an entertaining, thoughtful, and well-sung production. Edwards avoids the tepidity of Norman Jewison's solemn 1973 film, driving forward with energetic editing and swooping cameras, and guided at all times by the dramatic, exhilarating score. --Sean Axmaker
(15 votes)
4.
Jesus Christ Superstar tells the story of the last seven days in the life of Jesus. It describes his entry into Jerusalem, the enmity that his preaching and his popularity causes among the Jewish religious leaders, his betrayal by Judas, mocking contempt of Herod, and the trial in front of Pontius Pilate, who, despite his sympathy towards Jesus as a person, bows to the demands of Caiaphas, the chief Priest, and has him crucified
(15 votes)
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