Audio problem: During the song "Judas' Death", Caiaphas sings the line "What you have done will be the saving of everyone", but his mouth is saying " the saving of Israel", the song's original lyric. (01:24:00)
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
Trailers
Directed by: Norman Jewison
Starring: Carl Anderson, Barry Dennen, Ted Neeley, Yvonne Elliman
More trailers
More mistakes in Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus: The end is just a little harder when brought about by friends. For all you care, this wine could be my blood. For all you care, this bread could be my body. The end. This is my blood you drink, this is my body you eat. If you could, remember me when you eat and drink.
Trivia: At Carl Anderson's (Judas) funeral Ted Neely (Jesus) performed the song "Gethsemane", which had been Anderson's favorite piece from the musical.
Question: Isn't Judas' reference to Muhammad an historical inaccuracy? Muhammad lived from 570 AD to 632 AD.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
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.