Rating: 
Summary: Ignore the controversy--this movie is just painfully boring
Review: If it weren't for the controversy surrounding the original theatrical release of "Last Temptation", I don't think many would've seen it. Those who boycotted gave this movie the kind of press you just can't buy...and much more attention than it deserved. The bottom line is, the movie shouldn't have been boycotted for being blasphemous by those who didn't see it. It should've been panned by those who DID see it for being PAINFULLY BORING. See the "Jesus" film instead. It doesn't attempt to make an art movie about a God made in man's image and is far more interesting.
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Summary: Those damn Prods!
Review: 'The Last Temptation Of Christ' has to be Martin Scorsese's most unintentionally funny film even just for the accents alone. The funniest being Harvey Kietel as a pseudo-sounding gangster Judas e.g. "Don't touch me!" As usual all the bad guys have British accents from Pilate to Satan.Scorsese does his best to try and give us a picture of Jesus the man. I'm sure many educated Catholic theologians would welcome such a film as this as it deals with issues that go all the way back to the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D., when they discussed how much of Jesus was divine and how much of him was human. The point of the picture as far as I can see is to try and portray Jesus as a man of the everyday world, he does after all drink wine and hang out with prostitutes (unlike John the Baptist). If he felt none of the passion or fears of the human flesh then this causes major problems with his cruxifiction. If he was beyond the petty foibles of the flesh then his cruxifiction becomes no sacrifice at all because he doesn't feel fear and pain. I have to say though that Scorses's movie does come across more as a Catholic interprtation rather than a Protestant one. You could almost say that Satan tempting him off the cross was an analogy for Martin Luther's rebellion against the established church. Jesus then lives his life as a good Protestant minister, denying the virgin birth, getting married and having kids etc. Fortunately Christ sees the evils of the Protestant Satan and remains on the cross, a good and noble Catholic. (Owch! had to get that one in.)
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Summary: Story of Christ by way of Martin Scorsese
Review: "The Last Tempation of Christ" has got to be one of the most controversial movies of all time. And I can certainly see why. (I warn you now, there are many spoilers ahead.) Personally I thought that Willem Defoe was an interesting choice, but the right one. This movie's Jesus is very confused about the message that God, his father, wanted brought to the world. Defoe played the anger, fear, and uncertainty of the cinimatic Jesus beautifly. Barbara Hershey's Mary Magdelin was not a depature from the whore of the Bible, but an expantion on the idea. Here is the only problem I have with the movie; her sex scenes were too graphic, but I can see the point of why it was done that way, I just didn't like it. Harvey Keitel's Judas is more than we usually would think of him. He is not the betrayer, but is acting on Jesus's orders. The rest of the cast is what worthy of their roles; Harry Dean Stanton's Paul is appropiotly fanaticle (but Jesus and Paul never met in the Bible!). And interestingly, David Bowie gives the most low key preformance, if that can be believed, as the judge who condems Jesus, Pontios Pilot. Bowie's statesman is the voice of reason, albiet from Imperial Roman point of view. The biggest complaint of the people was the alleged sex scene between Mary and Jesus. Folks, yes, it's there. But the context is that it is a dream, or an illusion; a tempatation from Satan for Jesus to lead a human, normal life as a man. It is a very powerful movie, and one that should be watched and thought about. Love it or hate it, but watch it and make your own judgement about it.
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Summary: " I want to get to know Jesus better"
Review: Is what director Scorcese blurted out to a studio executive when asked why he wanted to do this film. There was one of those silences and then he laughed and went on with his pitch. He said what was in his his heart. Not a good sales tactic generally but there it was. After the film was completed, Scorsese, a devout Roman Catholic was concerned that people might be offended by the way Judas is presented---he acts on Jesus's orders to betray him. Poor dear, it didn't occur to him that what sent his critics bonkers was a Jesus who wanted to marry and (gasp!) have sex with his wife, Mary Maddelene. Nikos Kazantsakis masterpiece was faithfully brought to the screen. For the record Nikos, one of the greatest authors of the twentiteth century was a devout Greek Orthodox, and his Christian themes resound in his works. When writing 'The Last Temptation ' he clearly stated in the foreword that this story was NOT based literally on the gospels, but that he had been inspired by the THEME of the dual nature of Christ, as God and Man.--Which, after all IS the Catholic, Orthodox and Mainstream Protestant theological view of Jesus. And which has never been adequately portrayed on film before--perfection cannot change, and we've had a hosts of Christs form Jeffrey Hunter 'I was a teenage Jesus' to Max Von Sydow making fools of themselves by speaking VERY slowly and stately in poor scripts , and showing that, gee, they're having a bad night at Gethsemene. In any case, Kazantsakis went with the idea of what would be the ultimate temptation for a Man who is also The Son of God, and steered his novel brilliantly towards it. Jesus passes the tests in the desert, turning down all the kingdoms of the earth, but on the cross, Satan hits him with the subtle bombshell: To be an ordinary, happily married, family man. In mortal pain, Jesus does not realize what or whom he is dealing with until the very end, when he triumphs. On film the scene when Satan takes out the nails from the cross is among the most chilling ever filmed. Other great moments are Judas's " These men you've surrounded yourself with---where did you find them? " , referring to the bickering apostles, Peter's terror as they march to their deaths " Master, will there be angels there to greet us , Master? " (It's just too hard), Mary Magdalene accusing Jesus of being a coward who hides behind his mother and now hides behind God---No, folks it is not the letter, but to borrow from St.Paul, it's close to the spirit of The Gospels. Jesus is indeed capable of redeeming mankind because he suffers humiliation, doubt and temptation as all men do. And yes, the film asserts that he is indeed, God. Well, to the pure all things are pure but to the impure? Suffice it to say that one can rent soft core porn at Blockbuster's but not Scorcese's film. Go figure. Defoe is great , as is the entire cast. Shot on a shoestring budget, this is a labor of love. A magnificent film. A sacrament of the cinema.
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Summary: Its trippy!
Review: The Last Temptation of Christ is a splendid movie on all counts. Devout Christian hardliners should stay away though because the story does use quite a lot of poetic license - but it does justify it in many ways. Basically this film caused a ruckus among some Christian hardliners because Jesus has sexual intercourse in the film. "Wait?" I hear you say. "Surely that kind of blasphemy should boast disapproval from every Christian worldwide?" "Neigh" I say. "You do not know why it is there until you see the film in its entirety." The film is based on Nikos Kazantzakis' 1955 novel which caused such an outrage that the Catholic Church banned it and the Greek Orthodox Church excommunicated him. When Martin Scorsese released the film in 1988 the church stayed somewhat quiet but groups affiliated with Christian rights went spastic when they heard that the movie was in production. Universal who financed the picture arranged a private advance screening for some of these groups because of a fear that it could tarnish their image. The groups went nuts, starting demonstrating on the streets outside cinemas and Christian radio and television shows raved on about the blasphemous film nonstop 24/7 - so of course the whole world ended up watching it and people who knew nothing about it or never went to cinema ended up queuing miles around the block to see it. In short, God and Jesus are not mocked by any means. In fact they are glorified. Scorsese himself is a fan of big J and it shows in this wonderful and thoroughly engaging film that is probably Scorseses best work. Jesus is a lonely and psychologically disturbed carpenter who is alive during the oppressive regime of Rome. He has hallucinations which drive him to preach the new word of God. His performs miracles and starts a revolt against the system. He doubts his own abilities and confides in many dark secrets with his closets friends. The TEMPTATION in this film is Jesus refusing to acknowledge himself, always failing to become what he was meant to be. There is an excellent twist in this film which does grab you by collar and shakes you around. Very good indeed and nicely executed by Scorsese. There are some critics about this film but they are usually aesthetic in value, namely the New York accents and some of the dialog is very "Down Town" or "Lower East Side". Apart from that this movie is a wonderful experience and utterly compelling. A big thumbs up for this movie about the big J.
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Summary: It's Edgy, It's Daring- And It's Stupid
Review: People seem to have one of two opinions about this film: 1. People are offended by its blasphemous nature, and they hate it. 2. People find the film "dangerous" and "edgy," and therefore a great film. I can't Identify with either point of view, really. My own take on the film is that its a disastrous, train-wreck of a movie. The movie allegedly seeks to depict the "human side" of Christ. Though Scorsese's Jesus isn't all that God-like, he isn't all that human either. Between fits of grief, tearing his own heart out, and performing miracles, Christ comes across more like a freak show/ mental patient. As a character, Christ isn't likeable or sympathetic, but frustrating. For me, this was the absolute worst part of the film. No, it's not the sex with Mary Magdeline. It's Jesus as a character, who just can't seem to make up his mind about ANYTHING. If anyone else were depicted in such a way, people would hate the character and the film itself. Imagine a movie about John Lennon, where he second guesses his role as a peacenik, and ponders what it would be like being military dictator. Or if Lennon was constatntly waffling between peace and war as a social ideal. That wouldn't be offesive; it would be headache inducing and stupid. And that accurately describes the Last Temptation. And then there is the awful (though strangely well regarded) musical score. In the special features section of the disk, there is an entire chapter dedicated to the film's soundtrack. An awful lot of people love this soundtrack, but it represents everything phony and mechanical of 1980s synthesized rock. If you feel the need to see what all the fuss is about, then go for it.
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Summary: I WANT THIS MOVIE IN DVD !!!!
Review: THE LAST TEMPTION OF CHRIST who has plaid in the role of Jesus-Christ : WILLEM DAFOE his a prodigy so good witch i've seen with TV many time ago and i try to obtain this film in my country with BONUS COLLECTOR and without SUCCESS ! INCREDIBLE BUT TRUE ! It's not possible to obtain the real true version for a FRENCH AS MUCH AS ME I'M STRANGE !!! ??? NO ?
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Summary: Christ Glorified
Review: The movie depicts a "what if" scenario. A scenario only played in the minds of those who dared cross the boundaries of truth and reality. The strength of our faith in the "The Son of Man" is somewhat placed on a test in this movie wherein we see a "Human Christ" defying his own Father's mission for him on earth: Human Salvation. The movie somewhat "crossed the line" of Jesus Christ's devotees and deemed this as blasphemous. Personally, as a devote Catholic, I didn't see this movie as blasphemous due to the fact that it only showed to the viewer the weak side of man. Christ is in fact, according to Catholic teachings, is a "God-Man." Catholics and Christ devotees should give this movie a "Two thumbs-up" sign, because this movie glorified Christ even more.
Rating:
Summary: Simply amazing
Review: This movie DOES NOT deal with the Bible directly. It borrows ideas from it and makes them the writer's own. It is a human interpretation of Christ. This film is not an honest portrayal of Christ, because it is NOT DIRECTLY BASED ON THE SCRIPTURES. It is art for the sake of being art. It is entertainment and an eye-opening experience. To put faith in this film is to be fooled by the premise, it is NOT DIRECTLY BASED ON THE SCRIPTURES. It is simply a human interpretation of Christ's sacrifice. It looks at the last few years of Christ through the eyes of a human being. What would we do in his shoes kind of thing...It is the battle between what's good and what's evil...to be drawn in as deep as possible...to stand on the edge of Hell and look down and turn and say, NO! This is an excellent film for an atheist...it can win converts. To label this film as "blasphemous" is to once again be fooled by the premise. The Criterion Collection DVD is an absolute gift. God bless Criterion and God bless each and every one of you!
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Summary: Simply Ridiculous
Review: This film is ridiculous, I find most Non christians enjoy this film, and they ALWAYS make fun of christians because they picketed this film..now I ask you Why would a Christian who is serious about their faith NOT stand up for what they believe in when calling this rubbish Blasphemous? wouldnt that cheapen their faith? make them wishy washy? cmon.....this film has NOTHING to do with the bible , it is a twisted view of a Sinful Christ....this kind of film just confuses people more and more. Christ was the Son of God, so why would he have sex with mary and indulge in sinful things when his purity is what made him the ultimate sacrifice for mankind? why would he let Judas slap him around and belittle him? cmon....to say that this film is brilliant is nonsensical! If you dig blasphemous films this is for you, however if you revere Jesus as your saviour you will be thrown by the take on this film.
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