Jesus Christ Superstar
Short description
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera that retells the final days of Jesus Christ from the viewpoint of Judas Iscariot. A troupe of performers stages the story in the Middle Eastern landscapes where the events are said to have taken place, using song and dance to follow the path from Jesus' entry into Jerusalem through his arrest and crucifixion. As Jesus' following grows, Judas grows uneasy that his teacher has begun to believe his own reputation, drifting from the principles he preached and drawing too close to Mary Magdalene. The narrative builds toward Judas' act of betrayal, without confirming the resurrection that follows in Christian tradition.
The film was directed by Norman Jewison, who also wrote the screenplay with Melvyn Bragg, and it was produced by Robert Stigwood and Jewison. It arrived in 1973 as Jewison's seventh feature in a directing career that would eventually span nineteen films, coming between Fiddler on the Roof and Rollerball. Ted Neeley plays Jesus, Carl Anderson plays Judas, and Yvonne Elliman plays Mary Magdalene, with Barry Dennen as Pontius Pilate, Bob Bingham as Caiaphas and Larry Marshall among a credited cast of fifty-six.
Made for roughly four million dollars, the film took in about twenty-five million worldwide. On IMDb it holds a 7.4 rating from around thirty-two thousand votes, higher than the 7.1 from roughly six hundred votes on TMDB. A critics' score of 6.4 from thirty-one reviews places it somewhat below those audience figures.
What's left behind the scenes
- Huge blocks of ice were specially delivered from Tel Aviv to the desert filming location so that the actors could cool off near them every twenty minutes during breaks in filming.
- 17-year-old John Travolta auditioned for the role of Jesus. He didn't get the part, but producer Robert Stigwood (1934-2016) remembered the aspiring actor and in 1977 cast him in the musical drama "Saturday Night Fever" directed by John Badham.
- The Roman who nails Jesus to the cross was played by an Israeli who barely knew any English. For some reason, he decided that Ted Neeley's hands needed to be nailed to the cross by piercing his palms. Director Norman Jewison managed to stop him at the very last moment.
- Screenwriter Tim Rice had been considering the idea of telling the story of Jesus from Judas's perspective for some time in the late 1960s. When he finally presented the idea to Andrew Lloyd Webber, the latter called it "the most idiotic thing he had ever heard." However, Rice stood his ground, and the rock opera was completed in 1970. Soon after, the album was released, becoming a massive hit. Following this, "Jesus Christ Superstar" was staged on Broadway, with Ben Vereen appearing as Herod. Webber attended the musical's premiere, calling what he saw "vulgar" and offering criticism. All of this eventually led to Norman Jewison's film, which also became a hit. Webber also disliked the film version of the rock opera, but he enjoyed the 2018 reboot "Jesus Christ Live," which won an Emmy Award. According to Webber, it finally managed to capture the spirit he had imbued in the original rock opera.
- According to Ted Neeley and Norman Jewison, the shepherd shown in the film's final shot ended up there by chance. He was simply passing by and wandered into the frame, but the symbolism did not go unnoticed by the film crew, and they decided to leave the shot in the film (especially considering the already stunning sunset shots).
- The main filming location was Avdat – an architectural reserve in the Negev Desert on the site of an ancient Nabataean city in southern Israel.
- Huge blocks of ice were specially delivered from Tel Aviv to the desert filming location so that the actors could cool down every 20 minutes during breaks in filming.
- Director Norman Jewison recounted that once during filming, all the electricians disappeared. They were all Israelis, and Jewison was told that there had been a clash with Arabs nearby, and the electricians, like all adult residents of Israel, had gone to their respective military units. The electricians returned only two days later.
- According to Ted Neeley and Norman Jewison, the shepherd shown in the film's final shot ended up there by accident.
- 17-year-old John Travolta auditioned for the role of Jesus. He didn’t get the part, but producer Robert Stigwood remembered the actor and later cast him in “Saturday Night Fever.”
- Screenwriter Tim Rice had been contemplating the idea of telling the story of Jesus from Judas’s perspective as early as the late 1960s. When he finally presented the idea to Andrew Lloyd Webber, the latter called it “the stupidest idea he had ever heard.” Rice, however, stood his ground, and the rock opera was completed in 1970. Shortly thereafter, an album was released, which became an absolute hit. Following this, “Jesus Christ Superstar” was staged on Broadway, with Ben Vereen as Herod. Webber attended the musical’s premiere, called what he saw “vulgar,” and criticized it.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
