Jesus Christ Superstar (Special Edition)

Neeley & Anderson great vocals!

E. Staley, Bullhead City, Az United States

I never saw this film in my own era, so I was pleasantly surprised I found the music forms still enjoyable.

Though clearly a product of its time, the depiction of the tension between Judas and Jesus was enlightening. The deeply expressed emotions of Judas as he tries to understand why Jesus is not following the expected political agenda is almost heartrending. Carl Anderson carried the role beautifully, his voice unforgettable when he mourns the direction Jesus has chosen. Ted Neeley's voice I didn't expect, but I found his voice appropriate for his role and his upper range musical screams very successful denoting the emotions Jesus felt, especially in the temple.

Understanding that this opera's version of the Gospel is told from Judas' point of view is an important point or believers may find some scenes to be especially irreverent or heretical.

The scene with Jesus swamped with diseased ones seeking healing pictured Jesus as incapable of healing them all. If Judas felt Jesus was wasting his time and energy healing others, then the scene makes more sense. Otherwise, it does not agree at all with the Gospel accounts of the miracles and healing Jesus performed.

Likewise, the scene of Jesus praying to his Father in the Garden of Gethsemany while climbing up the hill, does not match Gospel accounts. Jesus is portrayed as tired to the bone of trying to teach the truth and now uninspired to follow through with the plan that takes him to the cross. Finally giving in, Jesus yells at his Father to take him, kill him now, before he changes his mind. I had a hard time finding any way to accept this interpretation of Jesus' prayer and in my opinion it diminished Jesus' deity by weakening his spirit to do his Father's will. Yes, the flesh is weak, but not the spirit.

Even the superstar scene denotes such doubt as to who Jesus is, and with "angelic" beings asking the question! Retro to the late 60's and early 70's when everything was questioned by the existing pop culture and perhaps that scene makes more sense.

The most emotional part of the film for me was the counting of the 39 stripes of the scourging. Very powerful.

In summary, if you consider this rock opera as a contemplative example of late 60's music and interpretive thought, not as an accurate representation of the last week of Jesus' life or of who He is (God in the flesh), then you may find it enjoyable.

Singing rated 4, representation of truth rated 1. Rating = 2.5

great rock opera

Mark R. Wilcox, Central IL

I saw this play in the 70's and have enjoyed the movie version over the last many years. I had to replace my DVD so I bought this special edition.

Just as I remembered

A. D. Turner, Shreveport , LA USA

There are some reviews saying that the audio and video for this DVD is not very good. I found both the audio and the video to be just fine. The movie is just as I remember it from when it first came out in the 1970s. Still good songs. Some of the costumes reflected the pop culture of the early 1970s so some might find that a bit strange.

Glorious

Jude

This is the best of the rock operas. All the players' voices are glorious but Ted Neeley has it over any one who ever sang the title role. And he still has it at 67 years old. Beautiful on DVD and the sound was perfect.