FromSchool of RocktoCalamity Jane, a lot of great movie musicals are having big anniversaries this year. It’s a great time to fondly look back at films that influenced you, the bygone era when they were released, and discuss the mark they made on the culture of that era and beyond it. When looking at the films that tick over to a new decade this year, I found a very funny connection: Two movies turn 50 this year, both releasing in 1973 within three months of each other, and both being rather similar in not only concept but in execution.Jesus Christ Superstar, directed byNorman Jewison, andGodspell, directed byDavid Greene.
From the outset, these two films share a lot. For example, both are based on early, yet still seminal work of two of the biggest juggernauts of musical theater.Jesus Christ Superstarwas composed byAndrew Lloyd Webberwith lyrics byTim Rice, the team that defined the mega-musical, creating some of the longest running shows on both Broadway and the West End,includingEvita, Cats, andThe Phantom of the Opera.Godspellwas the Broadway debut of the legendaryStephen Schwartz,a composer perhaps better known now for his work in film, writing the songs forPocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, andThe Prince of Egypt. Though, of course, what he’s most well known for is writing the theme song for the criminally underrated kids showJohnny and the Sprites… and also theater sensations likePippinandWicked.
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Of course, releasing the same year means that the context in which they did is also the same. It cannot be understated how important a decade the 1970s was for cinema, for every genre, including musical movies.1970s musicals had the grit and modernitythat the genre sorely needed,arguably beginning withWest Side Storyin 1961 before the rest of the ’60s got deeply oversaturated with the lighter material, with only a few being remembered to this day. Films likePhantom of the Paradise,The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Cabaret,andFiddler on the Roof, also directed by Jewison, were the jolt of electricity the genre needed.GodspellandJesus Christ Superstarwere the two big cult musicals of 1973, though of course there is the fondly rememberedCharlotte’s Web,andLost Horizon,which was a bit of a disaster.Godspellreleased in late March, andJesus Christ Superstarin late June.Both were referenced in season two ofSchmigadoon. I personally preferJesus Christ Superstar;Godspellwent a little over my head, but personal taste aside both are solid musical movies.
Two Musicals Both Based on One Bible Story
When looking at these two films in extremely broad strokes, it’s easy to see how very alike they are, down to the simplest of core concepts: A contemporary re-telling of the life and times of Jesus Christ, up to his execution, well, contemporary for the time anyway. Both primarily taking different parts of the same book: The Bible. Production wise there are absolutely similarities between the two films, both being filmed on location either at iconics sites in New York City, withGodspelltaking us from the Bethesda Fountain to Hell’s Gate Bridge, andJesus Christ Superstarshooting across Israelin Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Beersheba, and Nazareth.
They also both knew how to cast a movie musical, with stunt-casting nowhere near as pervasive as it is today, soJesus Christ Superstarmade a version of the cast one could argue as definitive withTed Neeleyas Jesus,Carl Andersonas Judas, andYvonne Ellimanas Mary Magdalene.Most ofGodspell’s casthad featured in one or more productions of the stage musical as well, includingVictor Garberas Jesus andDavid Haskellas both John the Baptist and (twist!) Judas. They also had a modern framing device, the actors themselves donning costumes and arriving on set as if to say that the movie is just that, a movie, a performance of the story. They’re also both really weird, filled with what I lovingly call “70s-isms”, and will likely be a bit too much for people who either aren’t big on musical theater, or these specific musicals. However, it doesn’t diminish their quality, in the same way their similarities don’t diminish their stark differences.
Even when looking at the premise for both films, there’s a shift in story perspective betweenGodspellandJesus Christ Superstar,down to the books within the Bible that they adapt.Jesus Christ Superstarfollows the story of The Passion, the last supper, Judas’ betrayal, ending on the crucifixion.Godspellon the other hand mainly adapts the parables from the Gospel of Matthew, lyrics being pulled from traditional hymns, but also ending on the crucifixion. Both texts caught a lot of criticism for showing the death but not the resurrection of Christ, but by adapting these two different ends of the Bible we can look at both versions with another level of depth.
There’s the loose, playful storytelling ofGodspellagainst the dramatic tension that’s natural with The Passion inJesus Christ Superstar, stories of good Samaritans vs. suspense, public executions, and existential crises. The characterization of Jesus of Nazareth is different in both of these films, the short end of it is thatJesus Christ Superstar’s is, well, a superstar, more specifically a ’70s rock star, and thatGodspell’s is more of a hippie. One has lost control of his fans and is hauntingly aware of his impending demise, and one, for the most part, is a guy who’s telling stories, helping people, and is just being good. What Christ taught vs. how Christ died has always been a dichotomy within religious communities, one too complicated to go into, and I’d fear for the comment section if I tried. But it’s fascinating how one life, one book, one man, can be looked at through two lenses in one year, in a way that becomes so distinctly their own. So I’d recommend checking both of them out if you haven’t already, it’s the perfect double feature for next Easter.
Or… Triple feature?
Wait, There’s A Third 1973 Movie About Jesus?
I’ll be honest, I didn’t even know about this one until I started researching for this article, but it’s such an oddity that I have to bring it up. Yes, there was a third musical trip through the life of Christ release in 1973,The Gospel Road: A Story Of Jesus.LikeJesus Christ Superstar, it was shot on location in Israel, but it’s not quite a musical production in the way the other two films were, more a walkthrough of Christ’s life, here up to the resurrection, with a complete musical narration from start to finish. Who narrated the film you might ask? Well, the same man who bankrolled the film’s production:Johnny Cash. The Man in Black, who was a devout Christian through thick and thin, made a movie about Jesus. It featuredJune Carter Cashas Mary Magdalene, you can go and watch it on YouTube right now, and no one talks about it.
These three films were all released in 1973, but the ’70s weren’t quite done with Abrahamic religion. In 1977, we got the 382-minute epic of a miniseries,Jesus of Nazarethdirected byFranco Zeferelli, and of course the incendiary and hilariousThe Life of Brianbeing released in 1979. The Bible found its way into many genres in the 1970s when you think about it, fromKen Russell’s incredibly controversialThe Devilstelling the story of the priest Urbain Grandier, you have satanic panic settling into the horror genre with films likeThe ExorcistandThe Omen. Of course there were films before the 1970s that were unafraid to get edgy with religion, such asBlack Narcissus, but with the decade being a place for such deep experimentationafter fully breaking free from the restrictions of The Hays Code,where ridicule of the clergy and blasphemy are both outlawed. It’s almost a forgone conclusion that after so long being barred from talking about certain, very important institutions, that a lot of films would be made that upset those institutions.
These films were needed when they came out,GodspellandJesus Christ Superstarboth, so religion isn’t kept in a gilded cage to never be touched or discussed in any way seen as disobedient,and while we are hopefully past that today,they’re still just as worth watching.
