Rating: 
Summary: I hope JESUS was smiling when HE saw this up in heaven...
Review: I'm a 22 year-old college student who is also the daughter of a UMC pastor. Nevertheless, aside from these minute and unimportant facts, I MUST say, as a MOST devoted Christian who thinks of THE WORLD when it comes to Jesus, the Son of God, I found myself getting goosebumps throughout much of the scenes. When I 1st saw Jesus, I thought, "Hmmm...he has no beard, his hair is sooo nice and shiny, and BOY does he look young!! And also handsome..." At first, I was offended by this new version of a more hipper and more adorable looking Christ. But then, I thought, what would Jesus think if he saw this new version of him portrayed by Glenn Carter? Thus I left it up to Him to decide, and simply enjoyed the awesome musical. The songs and the lyrics and the singing and the costumes and the staging...they were all very CREATIVE and BLEW this pastor's kid away! When it comes to religion, BOY! is it difficult to talk about...and I KNOW many people are offended and disgusted by the concept of the ever important and holy role of our Lord and Savior being portrayed by some actors and singers who themselves have said they do not accept Jesus as the son of God, and to make matters worse, the casting of Jesus has almost always been the handsome-faced, strikingly resembling the Jesus of the western European, and of course a GREAT voice helps. I'm NOT here to convert anyone to Christianity, nor am I here as a messenger of God. I'm just here as a regular 22 year-old college gale, a pastor's kid, to say that there have been and will be many different renditions of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Some will be inaccurate and will offend some people. But I ask that you do give THIS one a fair chance. Hey! I even bought the video and CD...and my parents even liked it!!! It was a bit different, I admit, but I'm sure Jesus Himself would understand the pure and innocent concept behind this new and great musical. I give it Two Thumbs up!! And so do my parents. So all in all, I suppose it's more like... six thumbs up :)!!!
Rating:
Summary: They Top There Best Yet Again
Review: This is the 3rd instalment to the universal spotlight collection and let me tell you it is also the best. In comparason to the first JC superstar filmed in the 70's, this verson holds true more to the spirt of the stage show. Not only that but it is just one of the best musical's ever writen by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. I also recomend the other two videos from the spotlight collection: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat, staring Donny Osmond and Jone Collins, and Cats, staring Elaine Paige, Ken Page, and Sir. John Mills.
Rating: 
Summary: Another production that falls short of the material
Review: When I saw the promo for this video on my copy of "Cats", I was very excited. I love the soundtrack to Jesus Christ Superstar, and found Norman Jewison's 1973 movie version lacking.Unfortunately, this 2000 production is just as flawed. It is, in its own way, every bit as dated, and Glenn Carter's portrayal of Christ is even less charismatic than Ted Neeley's Jerome Pradon, as Judas, has a marvelously expressive face and brings the role the depth it needs. However, his singing voice is not Broadway quality. Except for Fred Johanson as Pilate, no-one's vocals come close to the original Broadway or London casts, and most even fall short of the cast from the 1973 movie version. I am terribly disappointed. There is no need to modernize this musical. The 1973 movie slipped back and forth between being about modern actors doing a Passion Play and actually being about Jesus' life. This version's conceit seems to be "What if Jesus came back today?", but the guns, graffiti, glitz and "Jesus Rules" flyers add nothing, and will soon seem at least as dated as the '70's stuff does now. While the video version of "Cats" dressed up the just-OK music in the best version possible, this video takes a great play and makes it tawdry and boring. I'll stick to listening to the soundtrack and visualizing a perfect version in my head!
Rating:
Summary: Tissue Please!!
Review: This movie is absolutley WONDERFUL, I thought the acting was the best ever, compared to the 1973 movie of Jesus Christ superstar, this one blows it out'a the water!! The end is so powerful, and the acting is great, when the crucified him, the tears just come out, you cant hold'em back!!! I suggest this movie to anyone, it's just awesome!!
Rating:
Summary: Superb Superstar
Review: This is a fabulous performance of a wonderful work, and I recommend it most highly. The listener need not be a Christian or a pop/rock devotee to enjoy it--I have no particular ideological or aesthetic sympathies with its subject matter or style. (I am a devout agnostic/secular humanist and a composer of contemporary classical music, with little affinity to most pop music--and proud of it.) It is simply a fine artistic statement, very moving, engrossing, and involving on many levels. Musically Andrew Lloyd Webber is at his finest. There are a few unfortunately trivial moments ("Gethsemane (I Only Want To Say)" has some awfully uninspired and repetitious music, although dramatically it is one of the climaxes of the opera) but most of the music is sophisticated and engaging. Usually thought of as a "rock opera"--and certainly the majority of the music is rock--Jesus Christ Superstar incorporates a wide stylistic palette, drawing on sources as diverse as Romantic symphonic music ca. 1890, Music Hall tunes of the 40's, and even a touch of the atonal and avant-garde. (The crucifixion scene contains "sound mass" music reminiscent of Ligeti's works such as his Requiem, probably most well known to audiences as the "monolith music" from the movie 2001.) This plethora of stylistic influences is matched by a subtle compositional technique--I am very impressed by the ease with which Webber writes in somewhat unusual meters like 5/4 and 7/4. Clearly here is a man who studied his Brubeck, and the result (for example Pilate and Christ) is as natural and flowing as the rest of the music. [Webber has made both this stylistic eclecticism and metric flexibility his hallmark, most successfully in Evita.] This production picks up Webber's eclecticism and brings it to the fore. Rather than attempt historical accuracy (as if such a thing were possible in a rock opera based in biblical Jerusalem sung in English) a postmodernist approach is taken, with familiar symbols both real and fantasy thrown together in an asynchronous stew. The costumes of the authorities, both Roman and Jewish, are fantasy, but there are clear references to fascist and particular Nazi paraphernalia, especially in Pontius Pilate's attire. Simon Zealotes is a Rambo-esque character and comes complete with machine guns and bandoleers. The apostles and disciples look rather like Jessie Jackson hoped his Rainbow Coalition would turn out. King Herod is a nightclub entertainer, and there are angels in PVC, reporters in fedoras, background singers in evening gowns, etc. (When will we get the action figures, I wonder?) And against this anachronistic explosion, Jesus remains garbed in a seemingly historically accurate linen robe. That the whole is not just the Village People's stylist's psychotic episode is evident in the fact that it WORKS. Removing any historical context, while it may upset some more conservative Christians, brings Jesus' story to life--makes it universal and conversely gives it personal meaning in a way that a more literal representation would not. Likewise, conservative Christians may criticize the adaptations to the Gospels that Tim Rice has made (which other critics here have already enumerated), but they are very effective. That Jesus' doubts and fears almost overwhelm him in the garden of Gethsemane makes him human, and thus one of us. Dramatizing what is recorded in the Gospels to enhance this seems completely appropriate, and making Pontius Pilate torture himself as well as Jesus has similar results. Without doubt, without fear, Jesus would become like Superman, impervious to mortal harm; and thus his sacrifice would become meaningless. That Pilate and Judas struggle with their own decisions, and are unable to comprehend Jesus' message is vital to recognizing them as ourselves, and certainly much of the drama of the story would be lost without this gloss. Pilate's decision is every bit as climactic as Jesus' acceptance of his fate at Gethsemane, if not more so; and it is, in fact, the decision we make all too often. Most of us won't be nailed to crosses, but we will be forced to make decisions that we know are morally wrong but which are popular nonetheless. In addition to the music and dramatization, the performances are well worthy of note. In particular Glenn Carter as Jesus, Jerome Pradon as Judas, and Michael Shaeffer as Annas are a trio of amazing tenors. They are not operatic, like Pavarotti, Domingo, and Carreras; but they have stunning voices and I hope to hear more. Frederick B. Owens's Caiaphas is a profound and gorgeous bass, and Fred Johanson as Pontius Pilate came very close to stealing the show. My only criticism of the performances was the over-frequent use of speaking or shouting a word or phrase for emphasis in something that was otherwise entirely sung. Occasionally this can be effective (as in the original LP recording), but when Herod and Pilate do it repeatedly it loses its effect and destroys the melodic sense of the song. Likewise, I was very disappointed that Christ shouts his last word, "Into Your hands I commend my SPIRIT!"--it absolutely destroyed the dramatic sense of the moment and seemed wildly inappropriate, although I do understand the impulse. Nonetheless, these criticisms are minor indeed, and this DVD of Jesus Christ Superstar is well worth the price. Most highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Moving and energetic!
Review: When I saw the 1973 version in the movie theater, I must have been 13 or 14 and a practicing Catholic, and even with that comparative lack of life experience I was quite underwhelmed. But now that I'm 41 and even thought I'm now a practicing Unitarian Universalist, I must say that the PBS version is magnificent! Glenn Carter's performance was infused with marvelous humanity - I am definitely now a fan of his! Everyone else was great too. To anyone who might have been turned off by the goth/urban look, I would note that humans have been infusing their artistic portrayals of the Gospel story with their own culture and technology for all of the past 2,000 years. Take a look through the religious art sections of the National Gallery or any other major art museum and see. Also, I'm amazed at the way this musical (this or any other version) sends up our popular culture as a subtext. Don't we as a society worship our celebrity superstars as the next best thing to gods and goddesses? Think about it!
Rating:
Summary: A powerful, moving and beautiful work
Review: This modern revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice masterpiece from three decades ago is nothing less than spectacular. It is a film version of the 2000 Broadway hit, and it gives the audience an intimacy that a live show cannot. We are right in the middle of all the action, standing amongst the characters as they move about--quite a thrill as this is an energetic and passionate show. The stage set is simple and unobtrusive, the lighting dramatic, the acting inspired, and the singing simultaneously beautiful and edgy. The Last Supper scene, especially when Jesus and Judas have it out about the impending Betrayal, is amazing--it is a flowing, powerful, sung dialogue, an argument, a painful realization for both characters of what is to come. When Jesus sang "Gethsemane" I was completely blown away; he sings with such a profound honesty and humanity, expressing his anger, his fear, his doubts. Glenn Carter's range on this song goes from a pained whisper to a screeching anguish, with such melodic grace and power, you can barely breathe. Having listened to the original concept 1970 album since I was a small child, I'd never before had any faces to go with any of the songs. I was rather indifferent to the movie version with Ted Neely. But this production, with Gale Edwards' vision fully supported by Lloyd Webber and Rice, has--for me--now become the definitive version of "Jesus Christ Superstar."
Rating:
Summary: A Novel Interpretation
Review: I found the director's vision and the cast's interpretation quite exciting, much more so than in the rather staid film version from 1973. Judas's betrayal of Christ in the New Testament for pieces of silver has never made much sense to me, especially in light of Judas's subsequent suicide, which suggests money was not the real object. But in THIS version, Judas's betrayal of Christ makes perfect sense. Judas is presented as a closet queen who is unable to face his homosexual attraction to Jesus, which certainly gives Judas's reprise of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" new painful meaning and explains a certain jealous animosity toward Mary Magdalene, whom he rightfully regards as a rival. Needless to say, the "kiss of Judas" is given a new interpretation here as well. When Judas realizes that his betrayal of Jesus has not rid him of his feelings, but rather, heightened them, adding an overwhelming guilt, his next step is suicide. (This basic idea was originally used by Herman Melville is his Christ-like story of "Billy Budd," but this is the first time I've seen it used in such a literal way.) And you know what? It really works!!! Bravo!
Rating: 
Summary: Surprising
Review: This DVD is full of surprises. First, I was suprised to see my favorite musical (opera) on DVD, and it is the stage version!!! Great! So I buy it. Surprise number two: it isn't really the stage version. JCS gone wrong. What's up with the apostles carrying guns? I also feel the interpretation was all wrong (very different from both the musical and the original movie). Jesus seemed angry, Judas was very "in your face," and the relationship between Jesus and Mary was a little wierd. Surprise number three: The voices are great! This is one of the better soundtracks. It took a few songs for me to get used to them, but once I was used to it, they were GREAT! If it wasn't for the quality of voices, I would have rated this 0 stars (if that was an option). Surprise number four: O V E R A C T I N G ! All of them. I have a feeling that it wasn't the actors fault. It felt as though they were directed to act this way. As a matter of fact, there were times when the acting was genually good, but then they'd lose it (the first part of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" was great, but then the acting kicked in). Surprise number five: I still have to wait for a great stage version of my favorite musical. Too bad, I was hoping this was it. I also was excited about other musicals coming out (Phantom, etc), but now I'm a little gunshy.
Rating:
Summary: Melodrama, Stuperstar`
Review: Imagine that the Starlight Express ran over the cast of "Rent" and you have this wreck. Director Gale Edwards has confused the Greatest Story Ever Told with Barnum and Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth. This "modernized" interpretion comes complete with images of gang symbols and swastikas. (Apparently she doesn't think the story of Jesus is strong enough without adding Nazis.) Poor judgement calls all around: Judas and Jesus nearly come to blows on the Last Supper table. Just at the dramatic high point of "Gethsemane," the music stops. The crowd in "Hosanna" carries posters that read "Jesus Rules." Herod is a Las Vegas lounge singer. What a foolish, infantile mess. No doubt the director prides herself on what she must feel is a "boundary pushing interpretation," but haven't we had enough of this type of 1970s college theater troupe stupidity already? In trying to bring in every cultural reference to good and evil for the past 2000 years, this otherwise moving drama has been stripped of any subtlety or passion. The cast moves around the stage a lot, often exchanging affected and overly melodramatic glances, but the whole thing itself goes absolutely nowhere. Except down the drain. As I was watching this, my dog vomited on the carpet. I couldn't agree more.
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