At last, Martin Scorsese’s most personal masterpiece can be seen outside of the controversy it engendered, and be seen for what it is: a fifteen-year labor of love. Nikos Kazantzakis’s landmark novel comes to breathtaking life in this moving and spiritual film. The all-star cast includes Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, Harry Dean Stanton, David Bowie, and Willem Dafoe as Jesus. —The Criterion Collection
Martin Scorsese was born in New York City and soon developed a passion for cinema and a particular admiration for neo-realist cinema which inspired him and influenced his view or portrayal of his Sicilian heritage. After graduating from NYU Film School in 1966 and making a number of shorts, he shot his first feature-length film Who’s That Knocking at My Door (1968) with fellow student, actor Harvey Keitel, and editor Thelma Schoonmaker both of whom were to become long-term collaborators. Mean Streets followed in 1973 and provided the benchmarks for the ‘Scorsese style’. After Scorsese directed Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, the trio was reunited for the dark journey of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. After New York, New York Scorsese released Raging Bull. The acclaimed biography of middleweight fighter Jake LaMotta was followed by exploration of fans as pariah in The King of Comedy, dark-comic dreams in After Hours and pool sharks in The Color of Money. Scorsese outraged some religious… read more
An interesting experiment to me...Harvey Keitel took the express train straight from Brooklyn to Jerusalem, Defoe was in a different film than everyone else BUT...there are some real moments of beauty...such as when Lazarus is raised from the dead...when Jesus is being tempted in the desert whilst sitting in his circle of salt or when jesus' final temptation allows him to get off the cross and live a normal life.
It's ironic that people who blame this movie for being sacrilegious had never seen the movie or even thought about the identity of jesus as deeply as this film did. you can see how the budget cuts by the media sensation had effected the film in ways of it's set pieces and scale all of it just simply adds on to the movie effectiveness.
Revisiting the icon’s impact on pop and, to a lesser degree, of course, cinema.
La ultima tentación de cristo significó un giro radical en la carrera de Martin Scorcese, despues de cintas mas afines por sus temas al gusto del publico norteamericano (y, por supuesto, de sus seguidores… read review
As a Christian, I find the film very encouraging to my faith. While I find some strong inconsistencies to scripture in the begining of the film, as a complete work it is compling. Have said that… read review
“You think it’s a blessing to know what God wants?”
The only film about Jesus that ever made any sense to me. Peter Gabriel’s magnificent score. Satan as a white British teen girl. The silence… read review
Martin Scorsese’s controversial passion project would probably have a far greater impact on a person of faith – whose beliefs could be challenged, questioned, or enforced by it – but it doesn’t really… read review