Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Jesus Christ Superstar is a mediocre movie with a reasonably well developed plot and a top notch musical cast. I certainly am a fan of the stage musical itself and it is lovely to see the songs being brought to life in this form, the main theme and Gethsemane, in particular, are beautifully choreographed and shot here, with stellar performances from Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson as Jesus and Judas, respectively. For the most part, however, it is a very underwhelming movie that does not capture this musical favorably or is in any way an honourable adaptation. It was clearly a rushed production, we can see this from the lazy, uninspired set pieces and poor editing that is featured throughout. The stage musical came out in 1971, and this film was released in 1973, so there's no way there was a whole lot of time or effort put in to it, they just got it done fast before the Superstar band wagon died down. As well as that, a large majority of the songs are put together in a way that just looks messy, unrehearsed and uninspired, particularly King Herod's Song, which should have been so much more fun. There was no sign of interest or investment from any crew members. Generally unfavorable and forgettable. Some fans of the musical may enjoy it, but I was not impressed by Jesus Christ Superstar and would not recommend it. Follows Jesus Christ six days before his crucifixion. Best Performance: Carl Anderson / Worst Performance: Josh Mostel

I remember when I had to watch this movie in junior high, in my music class. Many of my classmates enjoyed it, but, I was too busy being insulted by it. I'm a Catholic. I take my faith very seriously. I'm deeply respectful of the Catholic faith. This movie (if you can even call it that) just treats it like a big fat joke. I mean, really? The temple selling AK-47s? Herod having a pool party? Come on! Also, Jesus doesn't come off as the son of God, or as the savior of mankind, he just comes off as a jerk. There's a scene where lepers come to Jesus, asking him to heal them. The real Jesus would be moved by sympathy, and healed them. In this abomination, Jesus tells them "Leave me alone" and "Go heal yourselves". Jesus never would have done that! Also, I hate the use of sixties slang (like "What's the buzz") in this movie. It feels very out of place. Judas is played too sympathetically, and, the movie says he was Jesus' second in command. No, he wasn't. Peter was. The music is also poorly written. And, it's a shame, because there are some writers and composers with real talent: Andrew Lloyd Webber (who made the Phantom of the Opera), and Tim Rice (who wrote the lyrics for the songs in my favorite movie, The Lion King), but, here, they don't do a very good job. It also doesn't help that the singers were just awful. Bottom line, this movie is an atrocious piece of trash, that has no respect for the Catholic faith, and should be avoided. If you want to see a real movie about Jesus, watch the movie "Jesus" or even "The Passion of the Christ", or, even the miniseries "the Bible" from the history channel. But, avoid this by all means.

The music is great, especially those three songs sung by Yvonne Elliman, who has a divine voice. Ted Neeley is not a good choice, neither as an actor or as a singer. Nor can it be compared to Robert "Jesus of Nazareth" Powell... Carl Anderson as Judas Iscariot is OK. Just as Barry Dennen as Pontius Pilate, Larry Marshall as Simon Zealotes and Josh Mostel as King Herod. The revelation of the film is Mary Magdalene played by Yvonne Elliman. A super-delicate presence on the screen with a unique great voice, which anoint your soul. The direction of Norman Jewison is brilliant. The image of Douglas Slocombe also impeccable. To be seen and reviewed anytime, with immense pleasure.

I held off watching Jesus Christ Superstar for the longest time. I could not understand how Jesus and the apostles could be portrayed as hippies, which I thought was disrespectful and irreverent. I tried many times to start watching the film but found it difficult to get through those radical opening sequences featuring more of Judas than Christ. However, when I finally did get through that first song number, I found myself quite engrossed in the way the story of Christ's Passion was told and enacted in rock songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Yes, the sets and props were strangely anachronistic (like t-shirts, postcard racks and machine guns), but I guess that symbolizes the timelessness of the story.The song "Gethsemane" was so vital, it is just breathtaking to hear. The lyrics capture the conflict within Jesus at that contemplative moment in the Garden perfectly. This song is Ted Neeley's high point in the whole film as Jesus Christ. Another song that moves me is "Could We Start Again Please." With a melody so simple and lyrics so bare, the emotional punch of this song is astounding. It moved me to tears, honestly, when I hear Yvonne Elliman (Mary Magdalene) and Philip Toubus (Simon Peter) sing those earnest words which echo our own sentiments with our own faults:"I've been living to see you Dying to see you, but it shouldn't be like this This was unexpected, what do I do now? Could we start again please?I think you've made your point now You've even gone a bit too far to get the message home Before it gets too frightening, we ought to call a halt So could we start again please?"The Judas character plays a co-equal role in this interpretation and Carl Anderson so passionately portrays him. We see and hear a lot from him that was why this play was controversial back in the day. The words he sings vivify the conflicts within this disturbed man. Magdalene's love song "I Don't Know How to Love Him" takes on a different meaning when Judas sang it before his climactic suicide song. Talking about hanging, that scene was so chillingly and realistically shot.Special mentions would be the odd but welcome comedy respite provided by Josh Mostel as King Herod, and the unusual contrast of the deep voice of Bob Bingham vis a vis the falsetto voice of Kurt Yagjihan, as the high priests Caiaphas and Annas. The 39 Lashes scene with Barry Dennen as Pontius Pilate was also very memorable.