The Last Temptation of Christ

TITLE:

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

DIRECTOR:

Martin Scorsese/USA/1942

BUDGET:

$7 million (estimated)

GROSS:

$8,373,585

SYNOPSIS:

Jesus of Nazareth faces the temptations of man, guilt for making crosses for the Romans, & the constant call of God. He sets out on a quest to discover what God wants of him & finally face his greatest temptation: the normal life of a good man.

NARRATIVE & VISUAL KEYWORDS:

Drama, Jesus Christ, crucifixion, Romans, temptation, holy, apostles

CHARACTERIZATION & DIALOGUE:

Willem Dafoe portrays Jesus of Nazareth, a man who is tempted by the demons, haunted by his guilt for making the crosses for the Romans & afflicted by the Constant call of God. Is he merely going mad or is it real? Jesus believes in it even if his friend Judas (Harvey Keitel) doesn’t. Jesus decides to set forth on a quest to find out what God wants from him. After returning, still unsure if he is doing the right thing or not, he finds that he must face his greatest temptation: the normal life of a good man.

CAMERA/LIGHTING/EDITING TECHNIQUE:

Martin Scorsese uses a great mix of medium & wide shots with an occasional POV & bird’s eye view shots to tell his story. The editing is great, even choosing to cut the music & background noise out at one point to give emphasis to a particular scene which worked really well.

POLITICAL/SOCIAL COMMENTARY:

Though this was based from a fictional book of the same name, Scorsese does seems to really point out that you can believe that Jesus did perform miracles & lead the apostles, you should also consider that even Jesus may not have truly understood what was going on and possibly didn’t want. He clearly longed for a normal life which many people would not consider for a moment that these things were a part of the life of the man they view as their savior.

HISTORICAL RELEVANCE/RECOGNITION:

Nominated for an Oscar for best director, nominated for Golden Globes for best original score & for best supporting actress (Barbara Hershey), nominated for a Grammy for best original instrumental background score, 2^nd place for a LAFCA for best director, nominated for MTV Movie Award for Most Divine Miracle in a movie, won a NBR award for top 10 films, nominated for a Razzie for worst supporting actor (Harvey Keitel), & won Filmcritica “Bastone Bianco” Award (Martin Scorsese)

NOTABLE COLLABORATION:

This is Martin Scorsese’s 3^rd time working with writer Paul Schrader.

RANDOM FACT:

The Jews have American accents while the Romans have British accents.

1. The film is controversial because it portrays Jesus of Nazareth as a man rather than divine being. It contains many discrepancies to what is in the Gospels.  It is banned in Turkey, Mexico, Chile, & Argentina. As of July 2010 the movie continues to be banned in the Philippines & Singapore.

2. This movie pushed past the accepted view point that Jesus was a divine being. Instead he is portrayed as a normal man.

3. This film would still be very controversial if it were released today. People aren’t very accepting of other view points on the person whom they’ve accepted as divine.

4. Scorsese’s choice to show the material is a great choice. Why as many people have accepted Jesus of Nazareth as a divine being, it is a choice to do so. There isn’t any evidence to back this up & is not a choice shared by everyone.

5. I have already recommended this movie to others.

"The Last Temptation of Christ." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095497/>.

"The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) - Box Office Mojo." Box Office Mojo. Web. <http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lasttemptationofchrist.htm>.

"The Last Temptation of Christ (film)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Temptation_of_Christ_(film)>.