JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (G)(1973) Drive-In 10:10 pm (Sat. Apr. 3)

14948 Crenshaw Boulevard,Gardena CA 90249

03 April, 2021

Description

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (G)(1973). Running time of 1 hour and 47 minutes. Rated G for General Audience. Jesus Christ Superstar is a 1973 American musical drama film directed by Norman Jewison and jointly written for the screen by Jewison and Melvyn Bragg; they based their screenplay on the 1970 rock opera of the same name, the libretto (book and lyrics) of which were written by Tim Rice and whose music was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The film, featuring a cast of Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, Yvonne Elliman, Barry Dennen, Bob Bingham, and Kurt Yaghjian, centers on the conflict between Judas and Jesus during the week of the crucifixion of Jesus. Neeley, Anderson and Elliman were nominated for Golden Globe Awards in 1974 for their portrayals of Jesus, Judas, and Mary Magdalene, respectively. It attracted criticism from some religious groups, and received mixed reviews from critics. The film was shot in Israel (primarily at the ruins of Avdat, Beit Guvrin National Park, and Beit She'an) and other Middle Eastern locations in 1972. Like the stage show, the film gave rise to controversy even with changes made to the script. Some of the lyrics were changed for the film. The reprise of "Everything's Alright", sung before the song "I Don't Know How to Love Him" by Mary to Jesus, was abridged, leaving only the closing lyric "Close your eyes, close your eyes and relax, think of nothing tonight" intact, while the previous lyrics were omitted, including Jesus's "And I think I shall sleep well tonight.". In a scene where a group of beggars and lepers overwhelms Jesus, "Heal yourselves!" was changed to "Leave me alone!", and in "Judas' Death", Caiaphas' line "What you have done will be the saving of Israel" was changed to "What you have done will be the saving of everyone." The lyrics of "Trial Before Pilate" contain some notable alterations and additions. Jesus's line "There may be a kingdom for me somewhere else, if I only knew" is changed to "if you only knew." The film version also gives Pilate more lines (first used in the original Broadway production) in which he addresses the mob with contempt when they invoke the name of Caesar: "Well, this is new!/Respect for Caesar?/'Till now this has been noticeably lacking!/Who is this Jesus? Why is he different?/You Jews produce messiahs by the sackful!" and "Behold the man/Behold your shattered king/You hypocrites!/You hate us more than him!" These lines for Pilate have since been in every production of the show. The soundtrack contains two songs that are not on the original concept album. "Then We Are Decided", in which the troubles and fears of Annas and Caiaphas regarding Jesus are better developed, is original to the film. The soundtrack also retains the song "Could We Start Again Please?" which had been added to the Broadway show and to stage productions. Most of the other changes have not been espoused by later productions and recordings, although most productions tend to retain the expanded version of "Trial Before Pilate". Jesus Christ Superstar grossed $24.5 million at the box office and earned North American rentals of $10.8 million in 1973, against an estimated production budget of $3.5 million. It was the highest-grossing musical in the United States and Canada for the year. Jewison was able to show the film to Pope Paul VI, "who openly loved what he saw. He said, 'Mr. Jewison, not only do I appreciate your beautiful rock opera film, I believe it will bring more people around the world to Christianity, than anything ever has before.'" For the Pope, Mary Magdalene's song "I Don't Know How to Love Him" "had an inspired beauty". Nevertheless, the film as well as the musical were criticized by some religious groups. As a New York Times article reported, "When the stage production opened in October 1971, it was criticized not only by some Jews as anti-Semitic, but also by some Catholics and Protestants as blasphemous in its portrayal of Jesus as a young man who might even be interested in sex." A few days before the film version's release, the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council described it as an "insidious work" that was "worse than the stage play" in dramatizing "the old falsehood of the Jews' collective responsibility for the death of Jesus," and said it would revive "religious sources of anti-Semitism." Jewison argued in response that the film "never was meant to be, or claimed to be an authentic or deep theological work." Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four and wrote, "a bright and sometimes breathtaking retelling of the rock opera of the same name. It is, indeed, a triumph over that work; using most of the same words and music, it succeeds in being light instead of turgid, outward-looking instead of narcissistic. Jewison, a director of large talent, has taken a piece of commercial shlock and turned it into a Biblical movie with dignity." Conversely, Howard Thompson of The New York Times wrote, "Broadway and Israel meet head on and disastrously in the movie version of the rock opera 'Jesus Christ Superstar,' produced in the Biblical locale. The mod-pop glitter, the musical frenzy and the neon tubing of this super-hot stage bonanza encasing the Greatest Story are now painfully magnified, laid bare and ultimately patched beneath the blue, majestic Israeli sky, as if by a natural judgment." Arthur D. Murphy of Variety wrote that the film "in a paradoxical way is both very good and very disappointing at the same time. The abstract film concept ... veers from elegantly simple through forced metaphor to outright synthetic in dramatic impact." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and called the music "more than fine," but found the character of Jesus "so confused, so shapeless, the film cannot succeed in any meaningful way." Siskel also agreed with the accusations of the film being anti-Semitic. Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "The faults are relative, the costs of an admirable seeking after excellence, and the many strong scenes, visually and dramatically, in 'Superstar' have remarkable impact: the chaos of the temple, the clawing lepers, the rubrics of the crucifixion itself." Gary Arnold of The Washington Post panned the film as "a work of kitsch" that "does nothing for Christianity except to commercialize it." Tim Rice said Jesus was seen through Judas' eyes as a mere human being. Some Christians found this remark, as well as the fact that the musical did not show the resurrection, to be blasphemous. While the actual resurrection was not shown, the closing scene of the movie subtly alludes to the resurrection (though, according to Jewison's commentary on the DVD release, the scene was not planned this way). Some found Judas too sympathetic; in the film, it states that he wants to give the thirty pieces of silver to the poor, which, although Biblical, leaves out his ulterior motives. Biblical purists pointed out a small number of deviations from biblical text as additional concerns; for example, Pilate himself having the dream instead of his wife, and Catholics argue the line "for all you care, this bread could be my body" is too Protestant in theology, although Jesus does say in the next lines, "This is my blood you drink. This is my body you eat." The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Score. It lost to The Sting. The film was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. It lost to American Graffiti. Golden Globe nominations went to Ted Neely and Carl Anderson for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical, and Yvonne Elliman for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical. They lost to George Segal and Glenda Jackson in A Touch of Class. Douglas Slocombe won the best cinematography award given by the British Society of Cinematographers, while Norman Jewison won the David di Donatello Award for best foreign film, as producer. In the 1980 book The Golden Turkey Awards by Michael Medved and Harry Medved, Neeley was given "an award" for "The Worst Performance by an Actor as Jesus Christ". Neeley went on to recreate the role of Jesus in numerous national stage tours of the rock musical. PLEASE PURCHASE ONE (1) TICKET PER VEHICLE. ONE (1) vehicle admission ticket COVERS EVERYONE IN YOUR VEHICLE! FAQ's WHAT TIME DOES THE MOVIE START? Movie starts at 10:10 PM. WHAT TIME CAN I ARRIVE? Gates will open at 9:40 PM. HOW DO THE NEW LA COUNTY COVID RESTRICTIONS AFFECT OUTDOOR CINEMA? Gardena Cinema hopes to provide a safe and fun environment for all of our patrons. Sit back, relax, and enjoy a safe night out, with us. Please wear a mask when not inside your vehicle. WHERE DO I PARK? Cars will be placed on a first-come, first-served basis, one car at a time, and in sections based on size of car and desired style of viewing. We have mapped out the back-lot to allow for sedans in front rows and tall cars/SUV's/Trucks in the middle to back rows. An attendant will be available to direct you on where to park. We have accommodated so that every guest has a great viewing experience. WHERE IS GARDENA CINEMA? Gardena Cinema is located at 14948 Crenshaw Blvd, Gardena, CA 90249. HOW DO I REDEEM MY TICKET? Upon purchase, ticket will be emailed to you as a PDF attachment from Eventbrite. When you arrive to the event, please show the entrance attendant the bar code on your ticket through your car window, either by holding up your printed version, or by displaying it on your phone or smart device. Attendant will scan it to check you in, and you'll be good to go! DO I NEED FM RADIO IN MY CAR? YES! This is a outdoor Drive-In event, with no outdoor speakers. In fact, our drive-in cinema city permit expressly disallows outdoor speakers, so if you bring your own speakers, please have them at a low level so as not to disturb our neighbors. There are homes next to our parking lot and we would like to keep our drive-in cinema permit going by being good neighbors. The film’s soundtrack will be accessible exclusively through your car’s FM Radio, for maximum social-distance safety. We will provide you with the FM station upon arrival. Make sure your car has an FM radio so you can hear the film! If you do not have a radio, we lend portable radios for the duration of the movie for $5 and your ID Card. PRO-TIP: Some personal speakers also have FM radio built in, and are allowable as long as volume remains reasonable. Such a cool experience! CAN I BRING FOOD / SNACKS? YES! Your car is your screening room -- so bring all your favorite screening room snacks and munchies! Gardena Cinema's lobby will also be open, with FRESHLY popped popcorn, drinks, nachos, hot dogs, candies, and more! Please be sure to pay the lobby a visit and remember to wear your protective face mask. We don't imagine any of you would, but we have to ask that you don't discard your trash out the window. (It's happened...) We want to keep these fun events going, so please help us keep the grounds tidy! There will be trash and recycle stations if needed. WILL YOU HAVE RESTROOMS? YES! Gardena Cinema's lobby and restrooms will be open. As our approval of this event is based on our assurance of safety, we ask that folks wear protective masks when leaving your cars for any reason, including to use the restroom. Attendants will be on hand to keep those restrooms sanitized. Social Distancing is a must, at all times. MAY I BRING MY PET WITH ME? Bringing your best friend only enhances the experience for you and we aim to keep you as comfy as possible. We ask that you keep your pet inside your vehicle during the movie. As long as you ensure your pet is properly trained and does not disturb neighboring guests while in the Drive-In. Please remember to keep the pets away from other guests. PETS ARE NOT ALLOWED INSIDE THE ACTUAL CINEMA BUILDING, (where restrooms and snack bar are located). CAN WE BRING LAWN CHAIRS AND SIT OUTSIDE IN FRONT OF MY VEHICLE? Unfortunately, safety COVID guidelines prevent us from further allowing any guests to sit outside the boundary of their vehicle. Besides, you get such a better view sitting up top a little higher, rather than sitting low to the floor. Please plan accordingly, as we will be politely enforcing this rule, for everyone's safety. CAN I SIT IN MY TRUCK BED?- OR -CAN I THROW THE HATCH OF MY HATCHBACK UP AND SIT IN THE BACK TO WATCH THE SHOW? - Guests are allowed to sit in their truck beds, so long as they keep their protective masks on. - Raised hatches proved quite obstructive to rows of cars behind them in viewing the screen. You will be asked to park either to the sides of our car staging area, or along the back rows. And -- like truck-beds and convertibles -- if your hatch is open, we ask that you keep your masks on. WILL YOU BE HOSTING MORE OF THESE? YES! We intend to continue curating and programming some of the BEST cinema in Los Angeles County! We provide an intimate Drive-In style setting. Please support by following us on Instagram and Facebook -- we'll keep you posted on our screenings and events! @GardenaCinema Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @GARDENACINEMA.