Rating: 
Summary: Slowly paced and awkward
Review: It seems that many devout Christians love this portrayal of Jesus as more human than divine, but it simply didn't work for me. Part of the problem lies in the acting, which simply isn't that believable (i.e., Harvy Keitel). An even bigger obstacle is the dialogue given to the characters. Not only does it sound unnatural, but some of it seems to go against the traditional teachings of the Bible. Consider, for example, the scene where Jesus gets a little angry, picks up an axe (yes, an axe!), and declares war. Apparently he decided that whole "love thy neighbor" thing just wasn't working anymore. The biggest drawback to the film, though, is its length. Clocking in at over 2 hours 40 minutes, it has dillusions of grandeur. Rather than the greatest story ever told, you'll see lots and lots of sand, as well as miracles presented like parlor tricks.
Rating: 
Summary: The Last Temptation of Christ: It is Accomplished!
Review: For years Hollywood made epic works based on the Bible and I liked most them because they were full of color and action and strange sights to a young boy. I never "thought" much about these works, what it meant to me spiritually until I saw the video version of Martin Scorcese's beautiful "The Last Temptation of Christ." Few theaters in town would show the film. Many of its critics, when asked if they saw it, said no, but it was an evil film. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is Nikos Kanzanzakis's Truth and Martin Scorcese's Truth. It is a film of deep thought and deeper feeling. Christ steps off the untouchable space films have bound him in and shows very human wants and leanings and faults. We can now support him and identify with his sufferings. The cast is a strong one. William Dafoe is superb as Jesus, emoting the right balance of doubt and strength when needed.Harvey Keitel is interesting as Judas and many have said he sounds strange talking with a New York accent. Well Dafoe is from the east also and Scorsese lets all the actors speak in their natural voices and not in a trumped up, phony Biblical language that has marred so many previous historical epics. Scorsese scales the story down, with no cast of thousands but uses his crowd scenes wisely to show power.Backed by a wondrous score by Peter Gabriel, one of my favorites, this powerful story rages with deep feeling and spirituality. This movie was obviously a passion for Scorsese and he uses all of his considerable talent to win us over, to make us empathise with Christ, to follow him like his disciples through deserts of doubt, anger and love, and finally the crucifixtion, which is staged powerfully. Here Christ is tempted one last time and many critics say the movie goes overboard when Christ marries, has sex and a family and then understands that he must resist this last temptation to lead a "normal" life so others may, from his death, go on to a better understanding of themselves. It is a masterpiece, a great personal vision of Martin Scorcese. And in my own personal quest ,through movies, to view a movie with great thought an vision of understanding behind it was over.It is a great movie to be viewed again and again and talked about with family, friends, and all those who want to live a better life.
Rating: 
Summary: Thought-provoking Film. Problem With 1st Generation DVDs.
Review: Being athiest, when I first saw this film I really didn't understand what the big controversy was about and why religious leaders were so against it. Now upon repeated viewings I still don't understand. Perhaps the boundaries crossed that offend those Christians I just don't see.This film is a good film that follows Jesus through the temptations he has throughout his life up to and even on the cross. Based on the characters in the bible (on a fictitious account however) it is a triumphant story of human spirit and sacrifice. Even though they base the story on Jesus, it could be anyone that is forced to take sacrifices, or strays from the path selected for the character. The cast is fabulous and they play their roles with relish. I really became enthralled in the film and the way Dafoe plays Jesus is amazing. When I think I Jesus now, I picture Dafoe. The Criterion DVD is packed with special features as always. I suppose there really wasn't a behind the scenes documentary fimed on this movie, so they got the next best thing. The personal videotaped account of the filming by the director! Of course it is low quality and grainy, but it is a welcome background piece on the film. There is a technical issue with this DVD as noted buy Criterion. While not a terrible issue it could have problems on some players. Basically when you load this DVD in your player, if you do not have a widescreen television, you must access your DVD player's menu and switch the ratio manually. It does not automatically shrink down to fit your screen to preserve the original aspect ratio. More specific documentation is available at their website. Criterion has promised that later pressings of this film will not have this issue so you may wish to purchase this at a later date if you can wait. Overall an amazing DVD and I love it! It is a film I will always pull out when I need enlightenment. I also love watching this film with family and friends to have great discussions afterwards! The DVD problem isn't really terrible, a manual setting on your DVD player and it works fine. And eventually if we all end up getting widescreen TV's it will be eliminated.
Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting
Review: I found this to be a very moving an interesting movie. It is the only portrayal of Jesus that I have seen that shows him as a human being with his own doubts, problems and goals. I find this to be much more probable and interesting than the traditional "Christ stories", but I found that the dream sequence in the movie to be rather confusing. It seemed to me for a while that the director was trying to imply that Jesus was able to live two separate lives in deifferent time streams or something. Jesus' relationship to Mary Magdalene and Judas was also an interesting touch. Much was left out, but I found that this was one of the most accurate pictures of Jesus as was recorded in the Bible in modern times, with plenty of room for speculation left. A very interesting film.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended by my Episcopal Priest
Review: My priest recommended this film as an adjunct to adult confirmation classes. I found it to be a profoundly moving portrayal of Christ as a very human being. Have added it to my personal video library.
Rating:
Summary: Praise - and warning - the ambiguity of life.
Review: Firstly, this review is not all good. Secondly, anyone wishing to buy this video should read this review. In 1982 Scorsese first began to film The Last Temptation with a different cast, however funding fell through and it wasn't until 1988 that it was finally released. This time round Willem Dafoe was playing Christ, possibly the most perfect image of Christ I could have imagined. Pathetic at the start he whines beautifully but gradually gathers strength and you see the blood beneath his eyes boil. Harvey Keitel too, an ideal Judas, see the scene where Jesus is persuading Judas to betray him for a true depiction of the films lasting power. As a film of the book it is fantastic, every issue is explored as Kazantzakis himself did, albeit it with the slant of Paul Schrader and no audience will come away from it unchanged. But. As a Scorsese film , you might be dissappointed, it contains none of his trademark camera shots, none of his extensive catalogue of 70's hits (even though Peter Gabriel's soundtrack is superb) and no De Niro! (Even though he did offer to play the part of Jesus free in the days when it had no money.) In short, if you are looking for the most potenet film of the last two decades then here it is, glorious; but if you are a Scorsese fanatic then try to overlook it as his own as you may well be dissappointed. You have been warned, either way this will change your life forever.
Rating:
Summary: Temptation A Senstation!
Review: "There is no such thing as bad publicity!" That's what was probobly going through the minds of many people who were in The Last Temptaion Of Christ. "Piece of trash!" That's what all those religious ra-ra's were saying when they (ugh! ) tried to ban the film. This film is a visual masterpiece. Interesting visual effects show you right away that you're not watching a typical "biblical-type" film. The castmember play the parts rather well, although they seem to be unsure of themselves somtimes. For all the ra-ra's out there.... WATCH the movie! This isn't going to send you to hell or anything! It's just a cool movie! Go see it, will ya?
Rating:
Summary: Quantitative Evaluation
Review: Audio Merits:9/10; Video Merits:8/10; Scenario Merits:7/10; Cinematographic Merits:8/10;Musical Merits:10/10; Overall Artistic Performance:8/10;DVD Extras:8/10;Recording Total Quality:8/10. Professor's Comments: An unorthodox representation of the origins of Christianity. A superb movie with special emphasis on a musical thema.
Rating:
Summary: Great commentary track on the dvd
Review: I saw this film back when it came out, and it would not have been high on my list of films to see again, but I bought this dvd because I love good director commentary and wanted to hear what Scorsese (and the others) would have to say. I highly recommend this dvd, even if the film isn't one of your very favorites and even if you aren't all caught up in the religious controversy surrounding the film. It's a wonderful exploration of many aspects of filmmaking, such as things you must do on a tight budget and how they might make the film better, the screenwriter's conception of the opening image (Jesus sprawling on the ground) as "God as a headache," and much more.
Rating:
Summary: Worth watching
Review: I saw this movie years ago, after searching high and low for a video store that carreid it. It was excellent, and far from anti-Christ as suggested. It tells the story of Christ from the veiw that while on earth, he was in fact a man, with human feelings of fear and love and all the human emotions.
|
