Rating: 
Summary: Nice try
Review: "The Last Temptation of Christ" is a very strange film. Parts of it are heavy with literal symbolism, and other parts are rather traditional biblical Hollywood fare. While these two approaches jar against one another, this is definitely not the Jesus of the scriptures, nor the Jesus of scholars. Scorsese's LTC (and the novel on which it's based) asks us to believe that until His trial in the desert, Jesus doubted the things which God put in His heart to tell the world, and shows the evolution of his character, ostensibly over a period of three years, from his retreat into a monastery to the Crucifixion, from an anxiety-ridden young man (whose fear of his own destiny compels him to become a crossmaker for the Romans so that God will reject him) to one filled with certainty. There seems something wrong in this, for starters, but I think the problem is with the script's manner of conveying this change. But the most interesting character is by far Judas (Harvey Keitel), whose Brooklyn accent we have to negotiate before realizing that Keitel's performance is, in a way, the centerpiece of the film. His Judas is a Zealot assassin, a hardened killer filled with hatred towards the Romans and who is asked by his Master to love his enemy and turn the other cheek. Judas scoffs. But he believes. When Jesus tells him he has seen his own crucifixion in prophecy and asks that Judas help him fulfil that destiny, Judas asks why. Jesus replies: Because God gave me the easy part. It's as if to say, even in that act of "betrayal" (scholars mostly don't think it actually happened) was devotion and following the will of God. Judas trusts him and God to the point of doing the most difficult job of the entire story: turning Jesus over to the Jewish authority. Technically, I don't know if it's Scorsese's or editor Thelma Schoonamaker's fault, but half the time it seems like we're entering a the middle of a scene, or the scene is truncated before our emotions are allowed to connect with it. There are some notes which struck me as strange: The Sermon on the Mount is filmed partially with a handheld camera. There's are bits of leaden schlock, too: the Angel, the snakes, the Lion, the flame representing Satan. But Peter Gabriel's eclectic score is one of the best ever, and there are some very powerful moments--Jesus resurrecting Lazarus, his trial in the desert, or the penultimate delirium scenes in which Paul and then Judas berate His spirit for entertaining the Devil's final temptation...However, overall it is too uneven and an ambitious failure.
Rating:
Summary: Blasphemy on the Big Screen
Review: When The Last Temptation of Christ was released in 1988, it was assaulted on all fronts. Many Christian denominations accused it to be a blasphemous and inaccurate portrayal of the life of Jesus Christ. The film "was picketed and protested, subjected to boycotts, and was even on the receiving end of bomb threats" (Iannone 50). Through all this, the movie prevailed and is known as one of director Martin Scorsese's greatest works. Scorsese's intentions were simple, he argued, "The teaching at Catholic schools placed such an emphasis on the divine side that if Jesus walked into a room, you'd know he was God because he glowed in the dark." (Ionnone, 50) Although his intentions were to convey Christ's human side, his only success was giving a blasphemous portrayal of Jesus' life.
The film begins with a statement announcing the film is not based on fact. Regeardless, it aims to destroy everything Jesus represents. The Christian faith teaches that Jesus is both human and divine. The Last Temptation of Christ aims to make people (Christians in particular) aware that Jesus is a rambling psychopath. In the film, Jesus (Willem Dafoe) is an over emotional and troubled man. God's voice torments Him, He questions His own existence as "Savior," and is about confused sexuality. The emotions that run through Him are common to the everyday man, but should not be applied to Christ. The film disgraces Jesus by mocking His profession, His sexuality, and His ability as Lord.
The film begins with a sequence presenting Jesus constructing a cross. He delivers the cross to the Roman army in order for a Jewish zealot to be crucified. In effect, Jesus enables the Romans to kill His people. From the start, Jesus is a man who second handedly murders people. While the intention is to humanize Christ, there is no need to represent Him in this manner. It is true that Jesus was, by trade a carpenter (Holy Bible Luke 3.23) but it does not state that Jesus constructed crosses. The construction of any wood product could be used to present His humanity. The filmmakers have deliberately chosen an object that signifies Jesus' pain and suffering.
Jesus also battles with His own inner demons. He hears God's voice and His message but He is reluctant to follow it. He does not want all responsibility to fall on His shoulders. Therefore, he denies the Father and attempts to go on with life. But, as He later tells us, "His rejection leads to masochistic actions" (Iannone 50). The viewer sees Jesus' back torn with wounds from His own hand. These actions are a direct contrast to Jesus' real feelings. Jesus submits Himself to God freely. He never denies His presence. He states over and over again "The Father and I are one" (Holy Bible John 10. 30). The Last Temptation of Christ depicts Jesus having seizure-like fits where He writhes and contorts in the dirt. The mental anguish is seemingly too much for Him to bear. Traditional Christian teaching demonstrates that Jesus' life has no indication of reluctance to admit He is God's son. He willingly accepted the role. It appears that the makers of The Last Temptation of Christ choose the opposite of what Jesus does. Therefore, they are degrading everything He stands for.
Another depiction reveals a third dimension to His personality. Jesus' sexuality is left behind in the Scriptures. The Last Temptation of Christ attempts to approach the subject by means of the prostitute Mary Magdalene (Barbara Hershey). Magdalene plays a small part in the Bible. She is in a total of three passages. Yet, Scorsese puts her as a major force in Jesus' life. When she is first seen, Jesus sits in her room watching as she services her clients. Jesus appears to be interested in the happenings, but chooses not to partake when offered. This is a sick display considering Jesus has said, "Everyone who has looked at a woman with lust has already committed adultery in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away" (Matthew 5.28-29). There is never any mention of His want or need for the female body.
The worst part of the film is when Jesus is hanging on the cross and steps off to lead a normal life. This destroys everything that Christianity stands for. Jesus died for everyone so that his or her sins may be forgiven. The film takes off in a different direction. Jesus leaves the cross and marries Mary Magdalene. They sleep together and act is depicted on screen. The account is so vivid that David Ng reports, " [Martin Scorsese] overemphasize[s] Jesus' fallibility as a way of distancing the movie from the emasculated image of Jesus' as a saint wearing a white sheet"(A1). There is no reason why He should ever be portrayed otherwise. Jesus was pure and did wear the white sheet. These filmmakers take it into their own hands to convey Jesus however they please.
The creator's of The Last Temptation of Christ hold no regard of the Christian faith. They mold Jesus into a distorted man with an equally distorted message. They take the image of Christ and made him appear as horrible as possible. If the intention was to "portray ... the human Christ who had to struggle with fleshly desires and limitations" (Iannone 53) then it should be in a friendlier light. It should not be degrading and vicious. The world is a scary place as it is; one does not need to put out the Light of the World by dragging Him through the dirt.
Rating: 
Summary: Satan's Work for PURE BLASPHEMY and SIN!
Review: WARNING: Christians out there, BEWARE of this DEMONIC film! You really wanna see what BLASPHEMY truly is: This piece of filth! Do not watch it! You'll be sorry if you did! This movie does NOT deserve any stars PERIOD! Point blank! Instead of bashing a really true and inspirational film like "The Passion of the Christ", start thinking about doing so to a debris like this useless data, if you want to call it data at all. By watching this GARBAGE, one is completely doing the same as BLASPHEMING my Lord and Savior JESUS CHRIST!!! That is why I did not watch it. Some years back, when I saw this TRASH of an ABOMINATION advertised on AMC, I knew it was a DISGRACE and BLASPHEMOUS to the Word of God. I mean, are you that illiterate and ignorant??? Can't you tell that just by reading the name of the title "The Last Temptation of Christ" that it is SICK?? This is totally off-based from the Holy Bible. Not to mention, it is adding and taking away from the Words of the Bible, as it clearly states in Revelation 22:18-19. I pity the fools that watch this film, I surely DID NOT!! If you want to know what really happened to JESUS CHRIST, and what He really was about, then do one or both of the FOLLOWING: (1)Read the Holy Bible AND/OR (2)Watch the true DEPICTION of JESUS in the 2004 film, "The Passion of the Christ"!! In case some of you out there don't know what the PASSION means, it literally means "SUFFERING". That is what Jesus Christ did, He suffered for all the SINS of humanity. I mean, SUFFERED! He even refused myrr (which was sour wine used to numb pain) all because He was willing to take in every pain WE humans deserve! Get a reference from Psalm 69:21, Matthew 27:34 and verse 48, and John 19:28-30. That is what my Savior JESUS CHRIST is all about! A little FURTHER reminder to those sick HYPOCRITES that agree with this ungodly Martin Scorcesse film of "The Last Temptation of Christ": You are blasphemers to say and believe that Jesus had ever given into temptation of satan by ignoring His duty on the cross and marrying Mary Magdalene and having children. SICK SICK SICK! I am so disgusted with you cults! How dare you disgrace the HOLY name of our Lord and Savior JESUS CHRIST! You will definitely be accursed for that! "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." [Galatians 1:8] "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men." -Jesus Christ [Matthew 12:32] It is the ULTIMATE SIN that by its very nature puts a man beyond the opportunity of SALVATION. Wake up and get a clue, people!
Rating: 
Summary: The Last temptation to look at this movie...
Review: Do not expect a movie of Jesus with a storyline based on the christian occidental and oriental fundamentalistic treatments, or on the the so-called "according to the gospels" Zefirelli's film, or even more, something like the recent "approved by the Holly Curch" version of Father Gibson. Instead, should you expect more than that, a "free of tighs", a truly artistic and conceptual work. The Nikos Kazantzakis' book is well adapted by director Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Paul Schrader, and tremendously rounded with a musical part which became a master piece from Peter Gabriel, who earned an Oscar for it. Locations, story and music, blended to the bones, become lirical and undisoluble. Most of the actors are 5 stars, but they didn't hesitate to participate on the film, even knowing that their actoral career could be at risk.
Then, is the story controversial? It is supposed to be, as it is based on a personal concept of a human Jesus trying to reach dinivity, not by definition, but by means of a truly spiritual transformation from the foundings, that can only be reached by the resign to all flesh temptations, even resign to salvation of his body when at the cross. Could have Jesus dare to resign to the divinity that reached by means of the crucifiction in the name of the human kind as the Son of God, and would have choose to embrace mortality because of his human weakness if any? This film is about such hypothesis.
The film was literally "crucified" on the "arenas" where it was exhibited at the end of the 80'. Its exhibitions caused violent acts in USA and France, the champions of liberty. In other countries, sadly as it was expected, exhibition was totally prohibited or potential viewers were thread with religious punishments. Even at the Cannes Festival, the film and Scorsese himself suffered discrimination and untolerance.
Controversy and free thinking shouldn't mean that. But didn't all that has happened before? Michelle de Servet, who had a honest philantropic concept of religion, an anti-ministry conception of both of the Churchs in the middle age, the catholic and the protestant, claiming them to get back to the man kind spiritual needs, and dare to interpret the gospels accordingly, just got himself to be prosecuted and finally killed.
Overule the temptation and watch over the film and find yourself how you qualified it: a blasphemous "never-thing-again-on-it" movie, or a honest and artistic personal respectable film.
Rating:
Summary: a work of art vs the very recent exercise in sadism
Review: the recent gibson film; the passion of the christ' is a horrowing reminder that catholic fundamentalism can be as frightening as protestant fundamentalism. irionically, that film reminded me of the monstrous imagery i saw in the facistic chick tracts when i was a child.
christ in that film is reduced to the image of an animal. he is not human at all. and i think it no coincidence that the fundamentalist view of a god of wrath is often animal like.
it's no wonder that fundamnetalist protestants are booking whole theatres to see the fundamntalist catholic's view of the passion.
however, scorsese's film is neither. it is the honest, thought prevoking work of an artist searching for answers.
scorsese in this film, reminds me much of the painter, paul gauguin.
both are artists seeking truth and in so doing, responded with poignant, unforgettable works.
here, we are presented with the human christ seeking to understand his divinity.
even this crucifixion with a naked christ (and it is doubtful crucifixion victims were allowed the benefit of a diaper) and nailed through the wrists is possibly more accurate in it's depiction of human suffering. it certainly portrays human pathos far more than the gibson film.
when this film was released many protested it's portrayal of christ making love to magdalene. despite the fact that the scene is brief, takes place within the sacraments of marriage, and is merely a fantasy of christ's as he lies suffering on his tree.
why wouldnt the human christ have fanatasized about being married, having children, leading a normal life as opposed to dying a horrible death for all of humanity as he is dying?
too, we have here an honest searching from an artist rather than pre-set, pre-concieved notions on the protrayal of christ that fundamentalist thinking dictates.
an honest, rewarding masterpiece.
rise to the occasion and let it challenge you.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good and Brave Film
Review: Writing a review on a "spiritual" film will always be difficult, as the probability of offending someone is high. But, alas! Anyone who is a pious Christian would also probably find themselves highly offended by this movie, anyway. The Last Temptation of Christ gives us a "fictional" angle on the life of Jesus Christ before his crucifixion. In this film, Jesus seemed somewhat arrogant and disillusioned, but definitely confused. This is not the Jesus many of us learned about in Sunday school, folks! As a non-Christian, this film was easy for me to digest. In fact, I thought it very well done and exceedingly brave in the face of those who would surely picket against it. Also worthy of mention from this movie is the soundtrack composed by Peter Gabriel. I have it on CD and have loved it even before seeing the film.
Rating:
Summary: You Dont HAVE to be a Christian to Hate this Film . . . . .
Review: but you will have to hate Christianity to Love it! I just watched this movie on Bravo and it stunk to bad to even hate it. I've been interested in seeing it for years but I can never find it at any video stores(major tip off of how "good" this movie is). So, I watched. First, bad, bad acting. Wow! This was an insult to "B" movies everywhere. And then there was the utter stupidity of Jesus talking to animals in the desert. I'm not going to go into that to much because it was so ridiculous that I almost thought I was going to hurt myself from laughing so hard(I mean I laughed HARD. I had to blow my nose and wipe my eyes hard) and I want the viewer to get whatever small enjoyment they can get from this flapper. It is sad that the Catholic Church and other Protestant churches gave this movie the "dignity" of boycotting and protesting. If they would have ignored this movie, trust me so would have most everyone else. I think some of the five star reviews may have come from a mindset that delights in ANY version of Jesus that departs from the written records of history(yes, yes, I know that the movie was somewhat based on gnostic writings, but these writings were usually many decades, even centuries after the four canonical Gospels). I almost gave the movie two stars for the unintentionally funny parts, but I think this movie got way to many 5 stars to warrant that kind of condensation. As you have noticed I did not bother to right a serious review. This was neither a serious nor smart movie, therefor I gave it a review that I thought was fitting to it: playful scorn.
Rating:
Summary: Scorsese's extraordinary film...
Review: I find all the hoopla surrounding Mel Gibson's new film "The Passion of the Christ" to be oddly deja vu. It seems like anytime some unlucky sod decides to make a film about Christ, people are going to complain and picket. In 1988 (was it that long ago?) director Martin Scorsese made an extraordinary film that was greeted with equal fervor - "The Last Temptation of Christ." The film "The Last Temptation of Christ" is an incredible achievement, with earnest performances, thoughtful dialogue (based on the Nikos Kazantzakis novel of the same name) and the always-imaginative direction of Scorsese. I applauded how human and identifiable Jesus Christ was portrayed. When watching "The Last Temptation of Christ," one has the feeling if this story truly did happen, then it would have happened much as it did in this film. It is violent, coarse and inspirational. The great controversy was its portrayal of Christ having an affair with prostitute Mary Magdalene (Barbara Hershey). But it's not really an affair more than it is Christ, at the moment of death, imagining life's choices. Just what if he had chosen a life of domestic simplicity and warm security with Mary, rather than take responsibility for his calling? I think people are so used to Christ being portrayed as this superhuman being, eyes ocean blue and unblinking, gliding across the desert swan-like (like TV's "Jesus of Nazareth"). In one of the great film epics of all time "Ben-Hur," director William Wyler doesn't even show Jesus. Oh, we see his back at one point, his hand in yet another scene. But Jesus is left to our imagination, which is probably the best way to go about this subject matter anyway. So for Jesus to be played by a relatively awkward looking man in Willem Dafoe, human, with genuine insecurities and fears, is an inspirational and unique stance. For the first time, Jesus was one of us rather than a primping GQ model with the sun behind his back.
Rating:
Summary: Save your money and time ( Gave it 'One Star' by Force')
Review: Save your money and time, this movie is not worth it. This is One of the worst movies I've seen so far. It has nothing to do with the title of the movie but with the acting, Willem Dafoe & Harvey Keitel tried their best to act their worst. I don't know what Martin Scorsese was thinking when he directed this joke.
Maybe he could not afford the money for better actors and even the extras in this movie are as bad as the actors.I think Mr Scorsese was asleep at the chair while these clowns were making fools of themselves and him. Someone should had shouted, CUT!
Anyways save your money is 2004 21st century maybe something better will come around ( maybe already has, a new director Mel Gibson ) What a PASSION for a movie.
Rating:
Summary: A unique and fascinating view of the Gospels
Review: Maybe the fact that I wasn't offended by this film has something to do with me being an atheist Jew; I can certainly understand why it offended and was considered blasphemous by many others. Despite growing up as a Jew in Israel and having no connection to Christianity, I have long been fascinated by the story of Jesus and the many different cinematic and literary interpretations of it, be it humorous (Monty Python's 'Life Of Brian'), musical (Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Jesus Christ Superstar') or authentic. Martin Scorsese's 'Last Temptation Of Christ', based on Nikos Kazantaki's novel of the same name, takes a very original and unusual view on the life of Christ, and sheds a light on him that is both criticizing and sympathetic, presenting him to be a much more human-like character than we are used to expect. With much help from inspired and brilliant acting by Willem Defoe - certainly not anyone's first choice for the character, who approaches this very difficult character as originally as Scorsese does - the master director does extremely well in creating this unusual version of Christ, and makes him understandable and recognizable in a whole new way. Originality and controversy aside, 'The Last Temptation Of Christ' is a wonderful masterpiece of cinema, and one of Scorsese's most impressive works, standing with greats like 'Taxi Driver' and 'Raging Bull' in suspense and atmosphere. His directing and the photography are superb, and he transfers the story of Jesus to the big screen like few others could. Also praiseworthy are many members of the cast - Barbara Hershey is spectacular as Mary Magdalene, as are Harry Dean Stanton as Paul and, in a surprisingly good casting choice, David Bowie (that's right!) as Pilate. Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot supplies a good match for Defoe's Christ, but he really is the weaker link in the bunch, as he is not nearly as original as the rest of the cast. Finally, I must mention the great genius Mr. Peter Gabriel, who supplied for this film one of the most brilliant and groundbreaking musical scores to appear in a motion picture, which adds enormously to its atmosphere. It can be obtained on audio CD under the title 'Passion: Music For The Last Temptation Of Christ', and remains a landmark of progressive and avant-garde music. If you're open-minded and are not afraid of breaking of taboos, 'The Last Temptation Of Christ' is by all means an essentiality. Do try to take it for what it is and not to be offended, because the film is not intended as a documentation of the life of Christ or criticism against him; it is merely an interpretation of that timeless story, which tries - and succeeds - to shed new light on it. Watch it, and you'll never think of the Gospels in the same way again.
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