Rating: 
Summary: WHAT???!!!
Review: I didn't watch the whole movie but what i did see i just didn't understand. It was recently being shown on Bravo and i tuned in for a segment. It just happened to be the crucifixion scene. Right before Jesus is to be nailed onto the cross, he looks over and see's his mother and he thinks "Im sorry I was a bad son" ?????????!!!!!!!!! HOW IN THE WORLD CAN JESUS, THE SON OF GOD BE A BAD SON!!!!???? I also recently saw all of the passion of the christ which was a masterpeice! The crucifixion scene in that movie was much more moving than this one. Go see the passion of the christ, a movie that understands and respects Jesus.
Rating: 
Summary: More on The Last Temptation of Christ
Review: For those reviewers who are wondering why Harvey Keitel had to sound so New York in this film, treat yourselves to the Criterion Collection DVD, which includes a lot of really interesting background information on the making of the movie. The commentary section makes it clear why Martin Scorsese wanted Harvey and others of the actors to speak in this way.
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Summary: It has been "Accomplished"? Indeed it has
Review: Religious zealots and "bible thumpers" can no longer accept ANY film whatsoever of the nature of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Until most recently with Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ", it was practically a sin to do a movie on the life of the Christian leader. No movie was released that has the best intentions toward the audience it was aimed towards. Yes, there's movies like "Jesus Christ Superstar" and such that don't nescessarly give the whole story, rather than to entertain the audience. And then there's "The Last Temptation of Christ", Martin Scorcese's brilliant attempt to not nescessarly give the word of God and the story of Jesus, but rather an alternative view on the whole perspective. Rather than based on the actual Bible scriptures, it's based on the controversial fiction novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis. I found it more close to that novel than the bible itself. Controversial in it's own way.Essentially, the story (or atleast most of it) is somewhat relavent to the eerie short story, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce. In the beginning (and no, there was no light), the movie starts out with Jesus (Willem Dafoe's somewhat original performance) and his remainding days on Earth before crucifixion. He is somewhat tormented by the his duties as a Jewish carpenter, making the crosses for the Romans to use for prisoners. In what is a pretty vivid and good perception, Jesus is shown being and acting more "human" than the son of God. For one moment, he is shown crying and screaming, begging God for another way out of his death (This was one of the many things that made the film offensive to some christian groups). Eventually, everything goes as clockwork; he is betrayed by Judas (played by Harvey Kietel, who foolishly keeps his New York accent when it takes place in ancient Israel), questioned by Pontius Pilate (strangely, but nicely, played by David Bowie) and finally tortured and humiliated by the Romans and the Jews. While on the cross, he askes "God! Why have you forshaken me?". To which almost immediately, a vision of an "angel", appearing in the form of a little girl, comes to him. She tells him that God doesn't want him to suffer and that he can come down from the cross. Jesus is then convinced that he isn't the savior of mankind. Throughout the last half-hour of the film, Jesus is given the most horrible temptation of all: the choice to become a normal human being. Developing a marrage with Mary Magdalene (a somewhat risque sex scene that caused an uproar of controversy), children and a happy life. However, things start becoming out-of-place. He visits a meeting conducted by the apostle, Saul/Paul (Harry Dean Stanton) who tells Jesus that he betrayed his father and caused all this grief among Israel. Then his deseciples, including Judas, visit him as an old man and tell that he is a coward for getting down off the cross. Can Jesus overcome temptation and return to death? I dunno. Watch and see! Jesus as a normal man is something to see and view. This is why it go so much attention. What the brilliant Scorsese displays is how temptation is everywhere and we must avoid it, much like the bible says. Most intelligenly is how the film stays away from the already overly typcast Jesus that everybody figures is; brave, strong, our savior, when really he was as human as probably you and me. Towards the end, Jesus begs to be crucified and he learns that the "temptation" was all in his head and that he never left the cross. He then smiles and yells "It has been accomplished!", before expiring. The most errie scene is the final shot in the film, which Scorsese along with the editor claimed was "unintentional" and there's no doubt that it was (as soon as Jesus expires, the film gets inked and light is shown through, ruining the film strip. scary, huh?) Peter Gabriel's music score is nicely brought a mixture of African/Arabic chanting (similar to Hans Zimmer's approach in both "The Thin Red Line" and "Black Hawk Down"). The final song is a little out of place however and sounds more like the beat to a U2 song. Whatever. I recommend this to any person who is sick and tired of the stereotypical Jesus everyone protrays, and that includes Mel Gibson's "Passion".
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Summary: What the heck is this?
Review: Martin Scorese go stick to what you do best making movies about the gangs and mobs. What do you know about Jesus? Don't waste your time with this movie. The Passion of the Christ is hundred times better then this.
Rating:
Summary: Not Bad. Intriguing.
Review: Let's be honest. We don't know a whole lot about Jesus. We have a few words that he spoke (allegedly) written down decades after his death. So historical speculation is natural, people have been doing it for centuries, so let's just drop the whole blasphemy angle. Hell, if it's truly a sin to create a movie like this, Martin Scorcese would have been subject to a whole lotta holy wrath by now. Then again, those eyebrows surely are a holy terror, so who knows. This is a good movie. It humanizes Jesus (and wasn't that the whole point of Jesus anyway?). I have to say that I think casting Harvey Keitel as Judas might have been the single error in this film. But honestly, have we ever taken him seriously in a role? Naw, he's pretty much a mockery of himself and that's why we love him so much. DVD is great, a little pricey though. Cinematography is expressive as hell. Maybe a little overindulgent at times but the DVD will allow you to bathe in that overindulgence. Soundtrack is awesome.
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Summary: TOO REVISIONIST!
Review: I watched Martin Scorcese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" after hearing a lot of comparison to Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" and to see what all the controversy is about. As a Christian, I went in with an open mind. My thoughts on the film: it is not sacreligious, but the story is way too revisionist for my taste. My criticism of the film arises from three complaints: 1. I felt that Willem Dafoe's depiction of Christ made Him TOO human, and terribly indecisive. Given, Jesus the Christ was human as well as God incarnate, but He was never indecisive. 2. Making Jesus a cross-maker only was a little too much. 3. The whole story with Judas Iscariot was totally stupid. I thought that Harvey Keitel wasn't trying hard enough as Judas. Plus, his hair was horrible. I also felt that Jesus "begging" Judas to betray him was ludicrous. If you're looking for an accurate portrayal of Jesus the Christ, Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" is the movie I recommend. As for this film, rent it first. If you can find it in rental stores, that is. Grade: C
Rating: 
Summary: amazing film
Review: Fundamentalist Christians hate it b/c it emphasizes the humanness of J.C., but wasn't that the whole point? And the scene where he "fornicates" with Mary Magdalene is a hallucination, nothing more. The last time I checked, the Bible does NOT say it's blasphemous to intelligently contemplate the life of the J.C.-meister. That's all this film does, it's not supposed to be a literal representation. It's based on a novel, not the bible.
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Summary: Very Thought Provoking
Review: I'm not very religious but I did respect this film for showing a different side to a well established story. Dafoe, as always, brings his skills an actor to the forefront. His pain & temptation were executed effectively but I believe it is Barbara Hershey who really stole the show here. I remember being a kid and the controversy that surrounded this film. Namely from people/Christians who never bothered to actually watch it (ironic huh?). I get the impression that Christians are a very insecure group of people as witnessed by their boycott of this film, harassment/hatred of gays and other cultures that differ from them, and the reviewers on this thread, who (incidentally) are too coward to sign their user names. That, in itself, speaks volumes about their religion.
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Summary: One of the best Jesus movies
Review: A disclaimer appears prior to the start of this movie that clearly states that this film is fiction and is not considered by Scorcese to tbe the 5th Gospel. Therefore, this film is not blasphemy. I am a strong Christian and this is one my favorite Jesus movies. I approached this film with an open mind, reserving my criticism until the movie was over. Scorcese said that in this portrayal Jesus doesn't sin,but he does: he says after the stoning of the prostitute scene that he "wanted to kill" those people trying to stone Mary Magdelene. In scripture Christ Himself states that wanting to kill somebody is a sin. That aside, this film is not blasphemy. It simply presents the what-ifs. You are to watch this film and ponder whether or not Jesus was tempted on the cross (Don't you think he would have felt the urge to get down?). This film is an excellent life-application tool for Christians as well. Jesus meets John the Baptist, who has a rather crazy following. His followers all run around naked, and try to exorcise their demons and pay for their sins by cutting themselves, among other things. John the Baptist tells Jesus that he prepared thw way for Jesus: with an axe. He hands Jesus the axe and tells him to wreak vengeance on those who don't obey God. In many ways, this is a trap Christians can get into. We sometimes aren't very compassionate to sinners and act very pious. The Catholic Church in particular has a dark history of punishing sinners and pagans. Later, Jesus changes his message from one of wrath and law to one of love and gospel. This is the way Christians should behave. At one point jesus is sitting next to the edge of a cliff, and in a fit of anger, throws a rock over the cliff, and yells "God hates me! God want to toss me over!" We can all relate to that feeling. Sometimes we are overcome by sins that we feel that God is angry with us and wants to punish us. The scene of most controversy is the last temptation, which is ridiculous. There is nothing sinful about Jesus getting married and then having sex with Mary. That is sex INSIDE wedlock, and the sex scene is very passive. (The scene previous to it is with Mary wearing a crown of flowers and hugging Jesus. This is their wedding. This scene is pretty passive, so people think that the next scene (sex) is premarital) It is only a temptation, it never happens. The last 30 minutes of the film are all a temptation, an exploration of Jesus' earthly life had he rejected his chosen crucifixion and lived a mortal life. On his death bed Jesus realizes his mistake and pleads to God to have him crucified. Jesus stays on the cross and saves mankind. A very moving film. Please note that neither I nor Martin Scorsese believe that this is a true account. It simply explores the possibilities of just how human the human side of Jesus' dual nature MIGHT have been. Highly recommended. I will warn Christians considering viewing this movie that you should take the disclaimer to heart and that there is lots of nudity in this film that might offend you.
Rating:
Summary: A waste of time and money and oh yeah, it's blasphemous too!
Review: I saw this movie when it first came out in 1988. I'm a born again Christian, but despite the condemnations of this film from other believers, I wanted to see it before I voiced my opinion. First, this is a VERY bad movie. It's depressing, boring, and not very uplifting. The acting is wooden and the cinematography looks amateurish. As for its content, I found it very offensive and blasphemous. The liberties Scorcese took in his depiction of Jesus is laughable and ridiculous. The Christ he shows is weak, confused, and ultimately irrelevant. And the depiction of Judas as being the strongest of the apostles is too idiotic to comprehend. In fact, it seemed to me that Scorcese's Judas had a desire to be the Anointed One, and because he wasn't, he kept shouting throughout the movie to vent his frustrations. I wanted to walk out of this movie, but I stayed in the vain hope that the film would redeem itself with some truth from the Gospels. Unfortunately, none came. Artistically, The Last Temptation is a piece of thrash disguised as art. On a spiritual level, it is sacriligious, blasphemous, and very anti-Christian. It failed to depict Jesus as God or human. It just made Him irrelevant. Many "notable" critics hailed this movie as as a "moving film" or a "masterpiece." However, mainstream Hollywood likes to ridicule anything that pertains to Jesus or Christianity. Recall the countless times actors use the Lord's name to curse or to insert the 4-letter F-word between His name. Is it any wonder then that most of Hollywood "loved" this film?
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