Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)

9 corrected entries

(6 votes)

Corrected entry: When Jesus is flogged by the guards in "Trial Before Pilate", Pilate counts, "35, 36, 27, 28, 29." and then stops.

Correction: You must have a dud print of the film. Pilate counts 35, 36, 37, 38, then loudly, 39. Jesus was whipped 39 times, so the scene is correct as played. No mistake here.

Corrected entry: After Peter has denied Christ Mary says that it's what he told them Peter would do. Mary was not around when Christ said this and she hasn't seen any of the apostles since Gethsemane. How did she know?

Correction: Actually, Mary says, "It's what he told us you would do". Meaning that at some point in time, Jesus told Mary that Peter would betray him.

Corrected entry: When Christ is left in the pit and Judas watches him, realising his mistake, you can see that Christ is wearing white tennis shoes. While the cast does wear lots of modern clothes Christ does not as he is different from them, and wearing tennis shoes in this scene does not fit with that.

Correction: Those are not sneakers. They are white sandals. You can tell when you see his whole foot.

Corrected entry: Just as Judas is lowered to the stage on the hook of a crake, you can see a crew member climbing a ladder to a huge spotlight.

Correction: That is the point of the film - people come to make a film about the story of the crucifixion (hence the bus at the beginning, and the cranes, tanks and scaffolding in other scenes). The crew members are meant to be visible.

Corrected entry: After Jesus dies, as the camera moves away from the cross, one can see him breathing and moving on the cross.

Correction: In the film a group of people drive out to the desert and perform the musical. The actors actually play themselves acting in the musical. When Jesus is seen breathing and moving on the cross it is not a mistake as while Christ is dead, Ted Neely is still meant to be alive.

Corrected entry: The bus they drive in the beginning and end belongs to Ted Neeley (Christ).

Correction: Ted Neeley has stated on Facebook that he didn't own the bus and it was hired in Israel by the director.

Corrected entry: The movie was filmed entirely on location in Israel, using no wind machines or other such things. Everything was authentic, including the ruins of a fort where Kaiafas and Hannas meet, and the throne Kaiafas is sitting on, which were once part of Herod's palace. The only thing in the film which is not from Israel is the montage of Christ on the cross during the "Gethsemane" crescendo.

Correction: This was filmed on location mostly in Avdat, Israel. Avdat was a seasonal camping ground for Nabataean caravans travelling along the early Petra - Gaza road (the Darb es-Sultan) in the 3rd - late 2nd c. BC. The town of Avdat was founded at the site in the late 1st century BC. It is not where the crucifixion actually took place nor was it part of Harod's palace.

Corrected entry: On the Scandinavian version of the 2004 DVD, the Swedish subtitles refer to John the Baptist by the name John during the song "This Jesus Must Die". John the Baptist's name is Johannes in Swedish.

Correction: It is a mistake of Swedish translators, not movie mistake.

Corrected entry: Just as Jesus raises his arms as the "Jesus Christ Superstar" number starts, he is lit from behind by a huge light, treating us to a view of his tighty white y-front underpants.

Correction: Since it's meant to be Ted Neely playing Jesus and not Jesus himself (in the movie the actors arrive in the desert and act out the musicals) it's not really a mistake. While Christ could not have worn y-front underpants Ted Neely most certainly could.

Continuity mistake: During entire scene with dancing king Herod and his men, shadows on the floor are at different angles from one shot to another. (01:16:15 - 01:19:30)

More mistakes in Jesus Christ Superstar

Jesus: Why waste your breath moaning at the crowd? Nothing can be done to stop the shouting! If every tongue were stilled, the noise would still continue! The rocks and stones themselves would start to sing.

More quotes from Jesus Christ Superstar

Trivia: At Carl Anderson's (Judas) funeral Ted Neely (Jesus) performed the song "Gethsemane", which had been Anderson's favorite piece from the musical.

More trivia for Jesus Christ Superstar

Question: Isn't Judas' reference to Muhammad an historical inaccuracy? Muhammad lived from 570 AD to 632 AD.

Answer: In the song "Jesus Christ, Superstar, " Judas highlights several anachronisms. He makes comparison to Buddha, about whom he likely would have known little to nothing. He references Muhammad, not yet born. He even brings up the concept of mass communication, also unheard of in the ancient world. However, this number is meant to take place in a spiritual realm, out of place and time, where past and present have no actual meaning. Judas is shown to be eternally struggling with Jesus, his message, his methods, and whether or not he is truly divine. But also, let's face it...like its contemporary, "Godspell, " the entire film is pretty much an anachronism. For starters, it's a rock operetta which puts just about everything in modern terms in its language ("what's the buzz") and its cinematography (Judas being chased down by tanks, for example). If you are looking for temporal realism, there are many options for that. This film is far more allegorical than it is historical.

Michael Albert

The ghost of Judas is speaking from a modern perspective. Consider the lyric "If you'd have come today you would have reached a whole nation, Israel in 4BC had no mass communication." He is in the here and now, not in the times Jesus was alive.

More questions & answers from Jesus Christ Superstar

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