Jesus Christ Superstar is a 1973 American musical drama adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera. It was shot on location in Israel and the Middle East. Carl Anderson as Judas and Ted Neeley as Jesus Christ play the all time greatest version of their respective musical characters. While the staging and costumes have not aged well because that 70s look is not timeless—it screams a cringe worthy, yesterday’s hippie look, their performances are still gut wrenchingly, bring down the house amazing. Interestingly both men were only understudies in the Broadway versions of the musical, but they were ready for their close up when the opportunity arose.
Full disclaimer: I’m really into the rock opera so if on principle, you hate Andrew Lloyd Webber, I’m not trying to convince you to feel otherwise. When you’re brought up fundamentalist, if entertainment has a Jesus angle, it gets past the bouncer whether or not it should otherwise you’re stuck listening to a bunch of Christian musical artists doing a watered down version of what is actually popular on the radio or blander, but sincere fare. It is all worship music all day so anything that isn’t that sounds exciting in comparison so Jesus Christ Superstar is like a blast of fresh air without the sneaking around to listen to FM radio. I own the soundtracks to the original motion picture and the British theatrical production. I’m not going to be critical of the actual musical. I love it. If you want an objective opinion, go back in time and read someone else’s review because you won’t get one from me.
The problem with old movies like Jesus Christ Superstar is that you take for granted that the average singer can sound like that, but as you get older, you realize that all the singers acting in this production were extraordinary, surreally accomplished vocalists who could do what most cannot come close to today. You were being ruined from enjoying anything else, but you had no idea at the time. Sure there were probably multiple takes, and we’re seeing the best ones, or maybe the recording was done separately from the on screen performance, but you should never forget that at some point, Anderson and Neeley sounded that superb, and no one will ever touch the hem of their respective garments on their best day and record it for posterity. All other attempts only made me realize how I took the magnificent for granted as if it was expected and ordinary.
Just listen to Anderson’s “Damned for All Time.” Some mornings, I misguidedly sing his version of “Heaven on Their Minds.” Just try to do it without even attempting to sound good. You can’t. I have zero words to technically describe what he does vocally, but he rapidly goes up and down his entire vocal range in seconds repeatedly as if it is the easiest thing to do, and it most certainly is not. It is bananas. Anderson had such talent and skill to be able to control his breath and deliver such a dynamic and commanding performance in desert conditions. Also making Judas a sympathetic character is a tough order for anyone, but Anderson made it seem easy. Any concerns that making Judas, the original villain, a black man evaporates the minute that he opens his mouth. He manages to embody the sincerity of the activism of the time of that movie’s release without losing an ounce of ego. It becomes rooted in that era’s urgent desire for change over concerns of demagoguery, a cult of personality. Out of all the costumes, his early look manages to be modern without looking ridiculous like the Pharisees. He is showy, but in the most stable way.
Neeley is clever. It is as if he knows that he looks like the typical Nordic American mousy Jesus complete with the traditional garb that the other cast members are not shackled with and is completely laid back in letting others showboat around him, but then he gradually ratchets up his performance to stand out and just belts out a lyric, specifically during “Everything’s Alright,” “When I’m gone,” and seizes the moment out of nowhere. It is a supremely confident performance that betrays zero insecurities if he possessed any. It leaves viewers going, “Wait, who is this?” It makes the viewer lean in to pay attention and then he later blasts out with an unexpected projection of the force of his voice leaving us stunned like the Memorex commercial. When he finally takes center stage, his performance is physically and vocally powerful and commanding which belies his appearance. The contrast is so startling that it elevates his interpretation of the character. If I never thought that I could like a metal sound, Neeley disabused me of that notion. He didn’t shy away from finding a way to embody Jesus’ anger and doubt without diminishing the final decision. Like Anderson, he takes an image that could be negative and transforms it into something powerful, counterintuitive and relatable.
I also think that the editing during Gethsemane is really effective in the way that it overlays shots of Neeley climbing a mountain, then choosing a static medium shot for the majority of his scene as he almost sings directly to the viewer which later gets edited with a montage of images of Jesus in paintings dying to forebode what will happen as if he can see it. It puts the viewer in the position of God silently demanding that Jesus die, and Neeley’s Jesus is begging us for answers and mercy, which is not given. So as the viewer, we are simultaneously God, blood thirsty spectators demanding his death. We are implicated for an insatiable desire to witness Jesus’ suffering. It emotionally reprises and echoes the earlier ensemble performances, The Temple and its reprise, Lepers, in which people are like zombies converging on Jesus. A sacrifice usually characterized as love for us is also shown on its flipside: an indifferent cruelty and desire to completely consume Jesus without concern or thought to Him as a person. [Side note: I loved how The Temple and Lepers showed the spectrum of humanity at its nadir, and I know that the point is for it to be rushed and frenzied, but I always wished that those particular numbers were longer because they sound so great.] What better way to describe a moviegoer hungry for vicarious spectacle.
While I’ve already expressed my complaints about the visuals of Jesus Christ Superstar, I think that the staging of the final scene is chilling and haunting. For Christians, it is a breaking of the fourth wall as all the performers return to the bus a bit more subdued after their experience of playing Biblical characters, but Neeley is not there, and in the distance, a sunset with a shepherd walking across makes it feel as if some element of this story, in spite of all the explicitly expressed cynicism, is true, and this movie has tapped into that truth. For non-Christians, it speaks of a senseless loss of someone’s life because of others’ fears. Either way, it hits hard and effectively, especially after all of the songs wailing about this impending loss.
At some point, I just need to give in and buy Jesus Christ Superstar so I can watch it whenever I want because for all its flaws, it is still the best production of the rock opera (seriously?) EVER!