Happy Easter everyone! To celebrate the holiday, I've decided to watch three movies about Jesus and review each of them. The movies I've chosen are the 1979 film Jesus, which is more widely known online as the “Jesus Film” Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, and Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of The Last Temptation of Christ.

Jesus, aka The Jesus Film (1979)

I first learned about this movie a few years ago online and I decided to check it out for myself. This movie was spearheaded by Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ oops my bad. They changed their name to Cru. He wanted to make a movie based on Jesus' life since the 50s, but he didn't get the resources he needed until the 70s. The Jesus film is an adaptation of Luke's gospel, and although it initially bombed at the box office when it was originally released, since then it's used by groups like Cru for evangelization. It has been translated into tons of different languages to be shown in different countries and the film's website claims that it is probably one of the most viewed movies ever. So I guess in a way this could be considered a Christian cult classic movie, and is why I chose to review it as well. Plus it can be watched online for free so I don't have to shell out money to get a DVD of it.

The movie opens with an expository introduction that summarizes the creation of Earth with cheap looking CGI, the fall of man, God's covenant with Abraham, and Jewish prophets like Isaiah foretelling a savior (according to Wikipedia, this opening wasn’t part of the original 1979 film, but was added in 2001). As I was watching this, I tried to keep in mind that this movie is often shown to people in other countries around the world where Christianity isn't well known. I have to wonder, would any of this click with them? Since I grew up in the USA where Christianity is widely practiced, Bible stories like these are pretty familiar. But I can't imagine how utterly alien all of this would sound to people in countries where Christianity is unknown. Man sins by just eating a piece of fruit? What? God tests a person's loyalty by seeing if he's willing to kill his own son? Huh? It makes me think about a former evangelist I once read about named Daniel Everett who tried to preach to a tribe in Brazil called the Pirahã. No matter what he tried, Christianity wouldn't catch on with them. The Jesus Film website says that their movie has inspired many conversions, but it makes me curious if occasionally they ever have difficulties with people similar to the problems Everett had.

Before the movie proper starts, the narrator makes a bizarre statement. “An actor plays the part of Jesus. And though no actor is worthy of such a role, this has been done so that we may understand and benefit from the life of Jesus.” Was it really necessary to remind the audience that Jesus is being played by an actor? Or was Bill Bright afraid that viewers would mistakenly think the real Jesus played himself to prevent any unworthy actors from taking his part? Imagine if Stephen Spielberg put a disclaimer like this before his Lincoln movie to remind people that they're not watching the real Abraham Lincoln, and while Daniel Day Lewis isn't worthy to be Lincoln, he's doing it “so that we may understand and benefit from the life of Lincoln.” It would just be awkward and condescending.

After this introduction, we fade into a field and a narrator reads the opening lines of Luke's gospel. We're then introduced to Mary, and we follow her going home. When she's inside, the angel Gabriel appears and tells her she's pregnant, even though she is a virgin. And for some reason, Gabriel has chosen to take the form of a backlit man with smoke generators behind him. Mary reacts with dull surprise at this total stranger (I'll link to the TV Tropes article if you don't know what that is). And then she goes and meets her cousin Elizabeth, whom the narrator explains is miraculously pregnant too. However the narrator doesn't say why Elizabeth's pregnancy is miraculous. In the gospel it explains Elizabeth and her husband are supposed to be past their child bearing years. But keeping in mind that this movie is being shown to people unfamiliar with Christianity, I wonder if some viewers might come to the mistaken conclusion that Elizabeth's child was a virgin conception too!

After that is the announcement of the census, and Mary and her betrothed husband Joseph move to Bethlehem to register, and then stop in a stable for Mary to give birth. Joseph is practically a cameo role in this film, and his reaction to Mary's pregnancy from Matthew's gospel is omitted. I guess Bill Bright couldn't afford to buy the movie rights to all four gospels from God! After seeing the visitation of the shepherds and the meeting with Simeon, the film flash forwards to when Jesus is 12 and we see the famous scene of young Jesus separating from his parents while in Jerusalem to converse with the rabbis in the Jewish temple. When his parents find him, Joseph also shows dull surprise at finding his lost child. Considering that Joseph and Mary are barely in the movie for five minutes, I guess their actors didn't see any point in putting a lot of effort into their roles. Remember, there's no such thing as a small part! Only small paychecks.

After the opening title, we see John the Baptist (it’s not mentioned that he’s supposed to be Elizabeth’s son, so unless the viewer has already read the gospel, the scene of Mary meeting Elizabeth becomes pointless) preaching and baptizing people in the Jordan River. His hair and beard are long and unkempt, making him look like a cheap Alan Moore impersonator. This scene also has a subtle change from Luke's gospel. A man asks John what they should do, prompting John to grumpily respond “Yooou brooood of vipers!” for seemingly no reason, and then continues preaching. The brood of vipers comment is in the gospel as well, but there he makes it before he's asked the question. I'll link to the passage below so you can see for yourself. By placing his brood of vipers comment after he's asked the question, it makes John seem like he gets cranky whenever people ask him for advice. When someone asks John if he's the messiah, he explains the messiah is someone else, prompting the reveal of adult Jesus. Jesus is played by Brian Deacon, so I will call this version of Jesus “Brian Jesus” to distinguish him from the other versions of Jesus we'll see later on. Coincidentally, Monty Python's biblical parody Life of Brian came out the same year as this movie! ROFL! Brian Jesus is baptized and then stares blankly into the sky while the Holy Spirit in dove form flies onto his shoulder. And then narrator informs us that God the Father declares Brian Jesus to be his only begotten Son. But we don't hear God himself announce it. The narrator tells us that he did. Maybe Bill Bright thought no actor was worthy enough to do God's voice.

We then see Brian Jesus' 40 days of fasting, and then the devil in the form of a snake starts tempting him. Once again, budget limitations are apparent. When Satan is supposed to show Brian Jesus all the kingdoms in the world, we only get one little thought bubble with a temple within it. If a new introduction could be added to the film, I wonder why they didn't replace the 1979 special effects with better ones, George Lucas style. After the temptation in the desert, Brian Jesus begins his ministry by doing a haftorah reading in the Temple. He implies that he is the fulfillment of the prophecy he read, and then all the Jews in the temple get angry at him. Once again I try to remember that people that have never heard of Christianity are watching this movie. Without any context, this scene might give the impression that Jews in synagogues get angry easily and throw liturgy readers out if they interpret passages in ways they don’t like. Afterward we see Brian Jesus' first miracle of allowing his disciples to catch a massive number of fish at sea. After the fish catching miracle, one of the disciples (I think it’s Peter) gives a creepy, longingly gaze at Brian Jesus for a few moments, and then asks him to leave him since he's sinful. Brian Jesus happily and calmly replies that he's not leaving and they will be fishers of men soon… no, no,  no, I'm not going to crack the really obvious joke I can make here. Moving on!

It should probably be apparent from my descriptions of the movie so far that the film is pretty much a cliff notes version of Luke's gospel. Certain details are not explained thoroughly, and few healings that are in Luke's gospel are skipped over in the movie. However we do see Brian Jesus heal a dying little girl, followed by the recruitment of Matthew Levi. All Brian Jesus does is ask Matthew to follow him, and then Matthew stares at him and then makes a subtle goofy grin. Well, I can't really blame the film makers for not doing much with this scene since the corresponding passage in Luke's gospel is pretty brief. And then we get a role call of the 12 disciples, and when Simon Peter is named, Brian Jesus gives him a hug… no, I'm still not going to do it! And then as the other disciples are named, Brian Jesus hugs James, John, Matthew, and Judas Iscariot… ok, you're making it too easy, movie! While I watch Brian Jesus preach, suddenly it occurs to me that he looks like Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan if he became a hippie. They even sound alike. Maybe I should have nicknamed him Obi-Wan Christobi instead.

When we get to the woman who cleans Brian Jesus' feet with her tears, there's a weird camera angle mistake. The woman comes in from the left of the screen, and Brian Jesus is sitting on the right. When the woman cries a tear onto Brian Jesus' foot,  we cut to Jesus' foot and suddenly it's facing the opposite way, as if the camera has been moved around Jesus 180 degrees. This may seem like a minor nitpick, but in my storyboarding classes it's really drilled into you not to violate the “180 rule.” It now sticks out to me whenever I see the rule broken in a movie. There are several more miracles like the calming of the storm, and then we come to one of the weirdest parts in all the Gospels. Brian Jesus meets the man possessed by demons calling themselves Legion. Somehow the man knows Brain Jesus' name without Brian Jesus actually introducing himself, and then Brian Jesus then sends the demons into a herd of pigs. We see the pigs run off while their herders chase them, although the pigs committing suicide off a ledge is not shown. After all, the filmmakers can't afford to offend PETA.

We then see the transfiguration and Brain Jesus' meeting with Moses and Elijah. There is no explanation of who these people are (asides from previous mentions of rumors about Brain Jesus being Elijah) so once again, if this movie is a person's first exposure to Christianity, the importance of the people Brain Jesus is meeting with will probably be lost on them. The same problem occurs again when Brian Jesus is asked by a rich person how they can be saved, and Brian Jesus responds that “you know the commands” and names a few. Hopefully no one assumes there's only 5 or 6 commands in all. We see more miracles and preaching, and finally an hour through the film, Brian Jesus makes his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. He then goes into the Temple and starts flipping over tables. And again, if you're not familiar with the gospel and the significance of what’s happening, this moment will probably come off as a serious out of character moment for Brian Jesus.

At the last supper, we see the Passover bread looks like a hard, dried out tortilla with holes in it. I'm not Jewish, so I have no clue if the Passover ceremony in the movie looks like a real one. But I'm pretty certain that Passover seders don't involve eating expired Mexican food. We then get to the Passion. Brian Jesus prays in the garden, and an angel appears to comfort him, again appearing in the form of a brightly backlit man and smoke machines behind him. Once Brian Jesus has been strengthened by the power of cheap special effects, he is captured. The beatings, scourging, and crucifixion are no where as intense or drawn out as they are compared to Mel Gibson’s The Passion, so they end quickly. We get to Brain Jesus' burial and Resurrection swiftly as well. Brain Jesus appears one more time to his disciples, and then the movie ends with a long, continuous shot of the camera rising above the disciples. I'm guessing Brian Jesus being lifted off the ground with wires would have looked too unconvincing, so the viewer is left to imagine the ascension. After this is a short epilogue that recaps everything that happened, as if the audience can't remember the movie they just watched.

Is the movie worth it? Well, if you want to see an interpretation of Jesus’ life that’s really epic, this movie doesn't really have that going for it. It feels a lot like the videos I'd see in catechism classes growing up, with many corny moments and sub-par acting. Despite that though, overall the film and Brian Deacon's portrayal of Jesus still have a simple kind of charm to them. I'd say at least check it out maybe once.

Next up, I review a movie Bill Bright doesn't want you to see, The Last Temptation of Christ!