Talk:Jesus Christ Superstar

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The songs hint at the idea espoused by Unificationists that Jesus did not come to die, but hoped to be accepted by enough people as the Messiah, that he would be able to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth during his lifetime. --Uncle Ed 23:17, 11 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Just want to clarify the info re: the U.S. premier of "Superstar"...before it opened on broadway there was a much publicized Robert Stigwood authorized original concert tour which opned the summer of 1971..Jeff Fenholt, Carl Anderson and Yvonne Elliman were the first (Jesus, Judas and Mary) to perform the piece in the U.S. I was also in the production, originating the role of King Herod here in the states. I'd very much like to find a copy of the review that appeared in Playboy of our opening in front of 12,000 people. (Alan Martin - muchachofeo@msn.com)

Removed:

More recently, Barbra Streisand has married Barry Dennen, an actor-singer who appeared in one of the first versions of the show. He's written a book about their relationship called My Life with Barbra. They are currently preparing to film another new version of "Superstar," set to star Dennen repeating his role as Pilate and Streisand as Mary Magdalene, which will be released to benefit an AIDS prevention organization.

Ellsworth 15:22, 12 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Contents 1 Title 2 Judas 3 Independent performances 4 Race 5 Censorship 6 Moving the film to a separate section 7 Music 8 Reactions of the Church? 9 Could We Start Again Please 10 Original 1970 Album Cover 11 Please note new article created on film

[edit] Title

Shouldn't the title of this article be "Jesus Christ, Superstar"? There's a comma in there, isn't there? Graham 01:47, 30 Mar 2005 (UTC)

The Internet Broadway Database lists it as Jesus Christ Superstar. So does my copy of the cast recording. Cigarette 19:16, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC)

No, Jesus Christ Superstar is effectively Jesus of Nazareth's title throughout (ignoring the biblical tone and looking at Jesus as a character). In This Jesus Must Die, the "mob of blockheads in the street" sing: "Jesus Christ, Superstar!" If they had been addressing, say, Pilate, the lyrics would have been, "Pontius Pilate, Prefect (/Governor/Roman Puppet)!"

Even though Christ is Jesus' title, Superstar would appear to be a further amendment, for who has not heard the "Greatest Story Ever Told?" --Ixius 21:55, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Judas

Cut from intro:

is told largely from Judas's irreverent point of view

There's nothing further down in the article to back this up. On the other hand, the first song in the opera is Heaven On Their Minds, in which Judas expresses fears that Jesus' campaign to gain followers could backfire. Nonetheless' I don't see how this constitutes an irreverent attitude. Uncle Ed 23:16, September 4, 2005 (UTC)

I find this odd. Several numbers take place after Judas' Death, and several Judas nor any apostle was not present at (i.e. This Jesus Must Die, I Don't Know How to Love Him, Gethsemane etc.) --Ixius 21:56, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

The movie portrays JEsus as mortal: a man with man-like faults. It is told from Judas' perspective in that it shows Jesus through his eyes: a mortal. Esentially the movie portrays charaters like Judas and Pilate in a subtly positive light, rather than the condeming picture usually given. --Kiran 90 03:03, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

The show is most definitly from the point of view of Judas Iscariot. We must remember that, although he dies well before the finale, his big song, "Jesus Christ Superstar" comes only before the crucifixion. He ties up the story. It is irreverent because he has a different view then the other apostles and most modern christians. For example: "It seems to me a strange thing, mystifying/That a man like you can waste his time on women of her kind." That is irreverence. --IAmAwesome

[edit] Independent performances

Before the official play came out on Broadway, there were many unofficial versions trying to set the music to a play. I recently got to hear a firsthand account from one of the actors in the production. They had been sent repeated cease-and-desist letters and, up until the end of the production, they were never sure if they were going to be sued for their work. Does that fit in the context of the article? If so, I could track this guy down and get a more informative piece out of him. -Fuzzy 03:45, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Race

Some years ago, when I lived in Dallas, I had a friend there, a lifelong resident, who had performed the role of Jesus in summer stock productions in San Antonio back in the mid-Seventies. Knowing how conservative many people in Texas are, I was surprised to hear this, and I asked my friend if there had been a big uproar. He replied that people indeed took offense, but not at the film's story or music--rather to the interracial cast. --bamjd3d

• When I was in Junior High School (early 90's) there was discussion about how people charged the movie version as being "racist" because Judas was played by a black man. Of course he was also portrayed sympathetically (Judas being a historically maligned figure), but still. This was part of a discussion we had over the "controversy" of the time such as the allegation by some that Mary Magdalane clearly was sexually attracted to Jesus (as if that was the only kind of "love" a person can have for another of the opposite gender). In later years it seems the controversies have been the portrayal of the Jewish leaders as caricatured villians (black clad "vultures") and Mary Magdalane as a former prostitute (a "sin" committed by nearly all Hollywood Jesus movies anyway).

[edit] Censorship

The text on the film had: When it was released on DVD, part of the lyrics was censored: When Jesus had originally said to a group of beggars overpowering him "Heal yourselves, leave me alone!", the DVD version had a voice-over of a female beggar saying "Heal me, Jesus!" although this is not present on the laserdisc version.

Several persons who own the original videos and the screenplay have denied that claim, so I deleted it. --85.187.203.123 10:09, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

• Agreed. "Leave me alone!" is the DVD line (I own the first DVD version of the 1973 musical). The album line is "Heal yourselves!"

Also, in the 1973 movie version, Caiaphas' line: "What you have done will be the saving of Israel!" is edited to: "What you have done will be the saving of everyone!"

• Ditto.

In the same movie, Judas' Death is sometimes cut just before he hangs himself. --Ixius 21:48, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

Its just 'heal yourselves', not so horrible as saying, "Leave me alone".

[edit] Moving the film to a separate section

The section hasn't grown that much yet, I think it reads best as part of an article. And what kind of summary would you leave here instead? --85.187.44.131 20:05, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Music

I just watched the movie, and I found that a lot of the music was using 7/4 beat measurement. Does this signify something, considering seven is a 'divine' number? Meutia Chaerani 02:18, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Reactions of the Church?

Aside from one half-sentence I cannot find anything related to what the response was to the play/film. I would be interested in what the standpoint of the Church was in connection with this film, and has it changed over time. I mostly interested because before the first screening of the film in Hungary where I live, there was a little bit of a scandal over it from Church circles, stating that the film is offensive to Christians (or something similar, this scandal happened quite a few years ago so I'm not sure in the contens). So if anyone has anything on that I'd be glad to hear it. AdamDobay 11:07, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

• As I stated above, I too am curious about this. It seems the key issues as I understood them (though I admit I wasn't alive for the original screening of the film): Judas being portrayed as a black man, Mary Magdalane supposedly having "sexual feelings" for Jesus, Jesus being portrayed as a "Hippie", and the lack of a "resurrection" scene. Many years later the issues seem to have changed to charges of anti-semitism (over the top villianhood of the Jewish leaders) and insinuations that Judas is TOO sympathetic therefore the film is urging people to "doubt Jesus" (as a divine figure of Christian faith). Various complaints from more conservative or fundamentalist circles over the blasphemous nature of rock music or the "scanadlous outfits" of some of the dancers didn't reach the ears of a Catholic schoolkid, but apparently they were out there too.

• I do have the feeling that perhaps people overreacted before seeing the movie, however they COULD have gotten wind of some of the possible objectionable elements for people of faith from the broadway musical and the album. There have been many different versions, and I can see some of the controversy. The 2000 DVD edition of the stage remake portrays Judas as an ambigiously gay character who possibly is jealous of Mary Magdalane and Jesus. Additionally Jesus in that version was portrayed by a leader of the controversial (and allegedly hippy) Raelian cult (portraying Jesus as a "cult leader" would perhaps have been a subtly important element but to choose somebody like the Raelians, known for their socially edgy views on issues like sex probably would offend a lot more people). This version also shows the 39 lashes in an interesting and controversial way: instead of being whipped, every "lash" is a member of the (Jewish) crowd running forward and "slapping" fake blood from their palms onto Jesus' back. This was criticized in one review as explicitly blaming the Jews for Jesus' death (and the glee of many of the actors probably helped bring this message home to that reviewer). Of course Pontius Pilate is also portrayed wearing a Nazi SS hat (not so subtle choice for the Romans treatment of the Jews). In many ways it almost seemed as if this version was going out of its way to "shock" in some sense. Then there was that version with the Indigo girls and having Jesus portrayed by an openly gay woman (I didn't see it though). So of all the versions out there, perhaps the 1973 version is the "most reverant" to mainstream Christian sensibilities. But at the time it may have seemed controversial for various reasons. Anyway, sorry for the soapbox, but I thought I'd share my experiences. Definately more sources would be appreciated, both contemporary and modern. [Paraforce]

As far as I know, Christians have taken offense, to a lesser extent, at Judas being portrayed as a sympathetic figure who means well (contrary to the story of the Bible) and, above all, at Jesus being portrayed as a man and not as a God. This second aspect is much debated, as many of the Christian fans of the show feel that it is ambiguous about the divinity/humanity of Jesus. However, Rice and Webber had clearly stated that their purpose had been to portray Jesus as human (although they had emphasized that it wasn't their intention to either confirm or deny his divinity). The non-divine and non-Christian moments include the implied semi-romantic relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, his feelings of anger, sadness etc., (especially as expressed by Ian Gillan on the original recording and Jeff Fenholt on Broadway), his ignorance about his own fate ("there may be a kingdom for me somerwhere - if I only knew") and about the meaning of his sacrifice ("why should I die?"). And while the Christian Christ is, according to the Christian credo, redempting the sins of humanity, the Jesus of JCS seems to be dying mostly with the ambition to be remembered and influence the way people live. --85.187.44.131 18:21, 4 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Could We Start Again Please

I can't recall where, but I'm quite certain I read on the internet or heard (possibly on the DVD) the the soung "Could We Start Again Please" was written for the movie because the producers felt as though Mary and Peter needed more screen time. If I find the source I'll change it, but has anyone else heard this? --kubfann 15:06, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

Actually, the song was added to the 1971 Broadway production. It appears on the cast recording. The one song that was added to the 1974 film was 'Then We Are Decided'.--Carlosmnash 01:22, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Original 1970 Album Cover

I just added two scans for the original album cover. One is the UK version (Jcs_uk_cover.png) and the other is the US version (Jcs_us_cover.png). I own the LPs and decided to scan the covers. I felt that it would be beneficial to have the album art in the article, but I couldn't strongly decide which of the two to actually use. Currently the UK version is in the article. However, the US version features the logo that is typically used in subsequent productions. Comments. --Carlosmnash 03:37, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Please note new article created on film

Some users are starting Jesus Christ Superstar (Film), I guess this is because the Jesus Christ Superstar (film) contains a redirect. If the split is in order, please notify someone in WP:RM#Uncontroversial proposals to help with the move. If not, please get in contact with the users creating the new article. Hoverfish 21:52, 27 October 2006 (UTC)