Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)

Director Norman Jewison took the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice rock opera out to desert locations in Israel to film an unconventional movie musical version of the last seven days of Christ’s life on Earth.

Unfortunately, the film never really found a satisfactory style to match the driving energy of the music.

Unknown Texan Ted Neeley played a petulant, flaxen-haired Jesus, Carl Anderson gave an outstanding and electrifying performance as Judas Iscariot. Hawaiian-born Yvonne Elliman (sometimes backing vocalist for Eric Clapton) made an impression as Mary Magdalene with I Don’t Know How To Love Him.

The character of Jesus is so poorly drawn that we never understand either the appeal that he generates or the hostility he provokes.

His greatest show of clout comes when entering a temple overrun with drugs, weapons, whores and other examples of rampant depravity. But his most remarkable physical feat proves to be the mere dislodging of a rack of postcards – thus marking him as history’s earliest opponent of tourism!

The highlight of the production is an uber-camp performance by the flamboyant King Herod (Joshua Mostel, son of Zero Mostel) – accompanied by a bevvy of dancing girls – who tries in song to persuade Jesus to perform various miracles (“Prove to me that you’re no fool, walk across my swimming pool”).

Jesus Christ
Ted Neeley
Mary Magdalene 
Yvonne Elliman
Judas Iscariot 
Carl Anderson
Pontius Pilate
Barry Dennen
King Herod
Joshua Mostel
Caiaphas
Bob Bingham
Simon Zealotes
Larry Marshall
Annas
Kurt Yaghjian
Peter 
Philip Toubus
James
Robert LuPone
Thaddeus
Thommie Walsh
Andrew
Richard Molinare

Director
Norman Jewison

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