MOVIE · 1973

Jesus Christ Superstar

DramaMusical108 min

A troupe of performers arrives in contemporary Jerusalem and acts out the last days of Jesus through the eyes of Judas, who fears that Jesus’ rising fame is pulling him away from his own teachings. Ted Neeley is Jesus, while Carl Anderson’s Judas gives the story its argument, suspicion, and hurt. The film keeps the stage roots of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s rock opera in view, with costumes, choreography, and desert locations turning the biblical story into something both theatrical and modern. Mary Magdalene, priests, and apostles circle the growing conflict as devotion and doubt start to split the group.