Thursday, December 22, 2011

The Last Temptation of Christ



This was a pretty cool and different take on the Jesus saga.  They throw in the usual hits like him turning water into wine and flipping out at the money changers in the temple.  Willem Dafoe gives a pretty amazing performance as a tortured human and divine being.  His monologues in particular are delivered perfectly with such emotion.  Everyone else feels kind of out of place though, especially Harvey Keitel.  I love you man, but I just didn’t buy that you’re a man of those times or that you have curly red hair.

If you’re into biblical stories you should definitely check this out.  It’s probably one of the best in the genre.  I doubt anything is going to unseat The Ten Commandments (1956) for me though.  Now that’s some unbelievably epic shit and can’t recommend it enough. 

I guess I should give full disclosure and let you guys know that I’m not religious at all.  If you are then The Last Temptation of Christ might not portray the Jesus you want to see.  Personally, I found the film to be really thought provoking and bold.  Good job Scorsese.  The only real bummer is that the Peter Gabriel soundtrack is a letdown.

The scene above is after Jesus has meditated in the desert for a month and when he emerges his views have changed.  I love how he’s like a mafia crime boss that’s finally had enough of Satan muscling in on his territory.  The speech he gives is bad fucking ass.  Jesus has got a brand new bag.      

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