List Price: $19.98You Pay Only: $14.99 You Save: $4.99 (25%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780783252940
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 0783252943
Label: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Universal Studios
Region Code: 1
Release Date: March 20, 2001
Running Time: 112 minutes
Sales Rank: 8299
Studio: Universal Studios
Theatrical Release Date: March 20, 2001
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Editorial Review:
Description:
A brand-new production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice classic musical, 'Jesus Christ Superstar' tells the story of the last seven days in the life of Jesus. It describes his entry into Jerusalem, the enmity that his preaching and his popularity causes among the Jewish religious leaders, his betrayal by Judas, mocking contempt of Herod, and the trial in front of Pontius Pilate, who despite his sympathy towards Jesus as a person, bows to the demands of Caiaphas, the Chief Priest, and has him crucified.
Amazon.com:
Before Andrew Lloyd Webber took over Broadway with his operatic productions and Tim Rice tossed in his lot with Disney's animated musicals, they were the young turks of musical theater and their rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar was their calling card. Director Gale Edwards's 1999 stage revival, which became the basis for this video production (also available on CD), takes the show out of ancient Jerusalem to an indeterminate mix of modern New York (complete with graffiti-scrawled walls and T-shirt garbed disciples) and timeless Rome. The grandly abstract sets, rainbow lighting, and striking costumes are more theater than cinema, but like the previous made-for-video Lloyd Webber-Rice production Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the enormous soundstages give the director free reign to combine the mediums.
The setting folds fascism, intolerance, and revolution into a portrait out of time, robbing the play of its powerful historical grounding but injecting it with energy and insight. As Christ, Glenn Carter (who played the role in the 2000 Broadway revival) flashes his anger and rolls his eyes at Judas (Jerome Pradon) but cannot deny the truths of Judas's fears: 'Every word you say today gets twisted 'round some other way.' As Christ sees his cult of personality overtake his message and struggles with the fears of his sacrifice, he reaches within for faith and forgiveness, giving the show the spiritual dimension it so often lacks.
It's an entertaining, thoughtful, and well-sung production. Edwards avoids the tepidity of Norman Jewison's solemn 1973 film, driving forward with energetic editing and swooping cameras, and guided at all times by the dramatic, exhilarating score. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Awesome
At least this is the complete version. The CD had me worried with its omission of a few key songs. As I stated in my review of the CD, this is probably the most emotive of any of the versions I own, the original Rock Opera, the original Soundtrack, and this. I think the rock operas Jesus is the best, but now I'm just grasping at straws. There are versions of each that I think out do the others. This is very well done, very contemporary. They accomplished everything they set out to. This is very well worth the watch.
Rating: - Jesus Christ SuperStar
This is the best version of this musical I've seen. I watch this for the musical and vocal content only, and though it does have some truth behind it, do not compare it to the gospel itself. So, if you're looking for a good show, then grab it. If you're looking for pure truth, grab a Bible instead.
Rating:  - Absolutely terrible
I can think of one good thing about this production; it's the the feeling you get when it's over and you don't have to see it again.
Onto the bad things. Jerome Pradon spends the whole thing trying to sing out of his range, and squealing like a fool in the process. It's *awful*. Granted, as English isn't his first language I could go easy on him for sounding slightly mental, but there is no excuse for selecting such an inadequate singer for the role of Judas.
Glenn Carter's smug, "Love me" expression is not appropriate. It's not appropriate for someone even remotely related to an all-knowing God, and it's certainly not appropriate for someone with such a weak voice.
Rik Mayall is utterly embarrassing as Herod. The U-Boat captain that they cast as Pilate is equally as baffling. The funniest moment in his scenes would be where he's supposed to sing : "You innocent puppet", and ends up singing "You innocent Papayat".
If anyone knows what a papayat is, please e-mail me.
The rest of the cast is really too mediocre to bother with. Annas was amusing, I'll say that much.
This production was directed (obviously) by someone with a severe lack of understanding with regards to what made the 1973 film so awesome. They took away all of the human moments, and the subtelty, and turned it into a cartoon. With crap singing.
They deleted songs that might imply that Caiaphas and Annas were just doing 'what they thought was right for their country' and instead ... Read More
Rating: - Jesus Christ Superstar
I am so glad i purchased this for my husband. We have the vhs version, but as we have discovered, The DVD versions seem to be so much clearer, and as far as sound, WOW!. Awesome. The extras are great and full of information we had no idea about. And Glenn Carter can hit notes that leave alot of singers in the dust. As does the rest of the cast. I am so glad this came out on DVD.
Rating: - Jesus meets GQ
Visually and musically stunning, this stage-acted production of JCS seems less a re-imagination than a refitting of the original in contemporary high fashion and music video.
Comparing this production to the 1973 movie is, in some ways, like comparing apples to oranges: The acting in a stage production will always differ substantially from the same roles acted in a movie, the former being inherently melodramatic to reach a theater audience, and the latter being subdued for the cameras (and refined through multiple retakes of a scene).
Adorned in pricey attire, beautifully lit, buff and moisturized, the cast of this JCS is reminiscent of Details Magazine or Abercrombie ads: Uniformly attractive and, due to their spotless appearance, artificial. Many fans of the original JCS (including me) may find this Madison Avenue version of modernity unrealistic and contrary to the poverty and rugged living conditions of Jesus' times as well as the present-day Middle East. But the intent of this production was to make JCS ultra-contemporary for a post-MTV generation. Thanks to minimalist set design and excellent photography, the ultra-contemporary concept is well-executed.
The script, songs and timing of the new JCS closely follow the original with little noticeable variation. And like the original production, this one lacks rootedness in the Jewish faith of Jesus and his followers -- but then, so do most productions about Jesus.
One big break with the 1973 movie ... Read More
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