This weekend I watched, for the umpteenth time, Jesus Christ Superstar, one of my favourite anachronistic movies. After 34 years, this film still holds up brilliantly on many levels. An example of this is what I call The Gap Commercial dance scene with Larry T. Marshall (Simon Zealotes), with its slo mo and freeze frames redolent of Gap dance ads in recent years: what goes around comes around; good dance lasts. The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, the sound editing is thoughtful, the simplicity of the sets and costumes not only works but also reinforces the geographical setting, and Norman Jewison has a lovely sense of when it is wiser to use more or less of a good thing. The film is rife with symbolism and references to art, which work very powerfully on the viewer. There are lots of tidbits about the film such as on http://www.imdb.com, but the one I loved was the unintentional filming of a shepherd and his flock crossing the final shot--so subtle an image, but it couldn't have been better executed had it been planned. The only part that I think falls down is the goofy look of Herod's entourage; that is too 70's and doesn't carry over well, although he and the set do. Still, the book by Tim Rice makes more sense to me the more I watch it; I think he and Andrew Lloyd Webber really got the social and political undertones right. There is so much stuff in this movie that I want to do a PhD thesis on it--any benefactors out there?!? Apparently, Carl Anderson (Judas Iscariot) said "I have lived to see [it] recognized as a masterpiece". I think Carl, who died of leukemia in 2004, can rest easy. 
I am hoping to have a biannual alternating Easter program of Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell movie nights at my church starting next Lent. In the spirit of the films, it will be a sing-and-dance-along showing, open to the community, with popcorn, dance area and a special outreach effort to the neighbourhood Youngsters. More about that in the new year.
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