Movie from
1988, directed by
Martin Scorsese and based on the
novel by
Nikos Kazantzakis. It starred, among others,
Willem Dafoe as
Jesus,
Harvey Keitel as
Judas,
Barbara Hershey as
Mary Magdalene,
Harry Dean Stanton as
Paul, and
David Bowie as
Pontius Pilate.
At the time of its release, the
film received a lot of
negative publicity and
controversy from
fundamentalists, who said it tampered with
scripture and depicted Jesus having
sex, refusing the
Cross, and generally behaving in a manner ill-fitting the
Christian Saviour. It was
banned in some places.
Blockbuster Video refuses to rent the film.
Yes, Jesus starts his career building
crosses for the
Romans. Yes, Jesus has
sex with Mary Magdalene. Yes, Judas is portrayed
sympathetically. But most people who have actually taken the time to
watch the movie consider it a very
spiritual film that affirms
Christ's
divinity while noting that he was born a
man and suffered through
humanity's
fears,
lusts, and
frailties. Hell, kids, I'm an
atheist, and it almost
converted me! ("
almost" being the
key term here)
Yeah, there are still people who will tell you it's an
evil,
Satanic movie. They're usually
zealots who
refuse to watch the
flick. Don't let them
decide for you.