Superstar - Of Its Time - On Purpose

 It's that time again.  Holy week is when I watch Jesus Christ Superstar.  These days, I can allow myself to turn away from the screen during some of it.  I sing along with pretty much all of it -- well, when the house is empty like it is these days -- and most of the shots are well etched into my memory.

Still, there are scenes which always draw my attention.  As I was watching them again this year, I was struck by how the show is steeped in "1970s." The performers were from a time before everyone in movies was either chiseled from stone or buxom or both.  Josh Mostel's soft-bellied Herod was the only one hinting at the shape most of us normal Americans would be in 40 years later.  (Yes, it's been 40 years!)

Of course the costumes and hairstyles make us think of those psychedelic times and the anti-establishment nature of the day.







Jesus Christ Superstar still works, though.  There are many reasons for that fact, of course.  The music, the acting -- all first rate.  Carl Anderson put so much humanity into Judas.  Ted Neely was born to play Jesus, and to sing those incredibly difficult songs.  The Kings were perfectly cast.  And then there's Yvonne Elliman, whose voice and look brought us a Mary Magdalene who was real, sympathetic and as far from both trashy and glamorous as possible.  (Either would have stained the film.)


I suppose I should ask people in my children's generation whether the '70s nature makes this movie look "old" to them.  My view is that it was carefully constructed to be, in a sense, a "period piece," even though it was created from within the period it depicted.

I suppose the film, like the opera itself, doesn't have the same sense of defiance it had at the time.  I remember as a young near-teen hearing people decry it for not be accurate enough, etc., etc.  (Then again, almost any film dealing with Jesus's life will still have that problem, won't it?)  It certainly was a different slant on the events of Holy Week than the vast majority of us American Christians were being taught.  Today, far more of us have been exposed to variations of the story.  No one should take this movie as Gospel, of course, but it's impressive how many of the key messages are contained.  We all need to realize that depicting a Jesus who is both true God and true Man is probably beyond any of us. The JCS Jesus is more Man, but a very good Man.  The film also asks us to accept that the people around Jesus were real people, with real personal motives.  And hey, that message is even there in the Gospels.

Ultimately, though, it's about the music and the performances carrying the drama and the messages.  I still find this film well worth an annual visit.

I suspect I'll listen to the music again a couple of times before Easter.  I suppose I had better close the office door, though, in case I happen to forget where I am.  I might start singing "Who is this broken man / cluttering up my hallway?"  I don't want to offend anyone.












[Still, this last image is just a bit creepy, don't you think?]