Godspell

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Garth v The film version of Godspell is a musical masterpiece and a must-see for fans of musicals -- a snapshot of the '60s flower child generation (even though it was released in the 70s) delivered with energy, innocence and sincerity. Instead of delivering the many teachings of Jesus with the gravitas and drama of Jesus Christ Superstar, for example, Godspell uses classic clowning and the illusion of improv to make each scene surprising, silly and and yet enlightening. The simple teachings and parables of Jesus were always meant to be both outwardly superficial yet inwardly deep and meaningful. And setting the story in New York City grounds it in humanity while at the same time creating a safe playground for the characters where they can share Jesus's stories. the wonderful Victor Garner plays Jesus along with a talented (and diverse!) cast. There's a scene that will have a horrifying irony for audiences today. The cast is singing All For the Best atop successively higher buildings, then at the end of the song, while singing lyrics such as "Yes, it's all for the best / All your wrongs will be redressed...", the camera pans back and we see that they are standing on the roof of one of the Twin Towers. A sobering and unforgettable scene. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/01/24 Full Review Autumn M Godspell is the story of the Book of Matthew from the Bible. In this adaption, Jesus is a hippie wandering around New York City, leading his disciples and discussing parables. This was a hot mess. The songs were passable, but the pacing and the delivery was very bad. Each parable was told straight, while the disciples were dancing around the city. I think it would have been better if the parables had been told as dreams or encounters that Jesus had had. I understand that in reality this is how they were told to the disciples, but through the lens of film, it was very boring. Also, they combined Judas and John the Baptist into one character, which was a mistake. In addition, why not give life to the Pharisees? The writer could have used a lawyer, a preacher, anyone as a foil for Jesus' teaching. This was definitely a missed opportunity. Finally, the final scene in which Jesus died, made absolutely no sense. His death could have been told in so many different ways. In a different writer's hands, this could have been a masterful retelling of a familiar story. Not recommended Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/30/23 Full Review Audience Member The best inspiring movie ever made! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Great songs, an attractive cast, inventive use of NYC and to top it off surprisingly moving. This is often compared unfavourably with 'Jesus Christ Superstar', but that makes no sense to me at all. ''Godspell' - taking itself far less seriously than 'JCS' - achieves a profundity the other never approaches. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member I loved it. But I have a thing for the 70s. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review duncan p Fine for what it is, but it's very much a product of the era from whence it came - take that as you will. Comparison to "Jesus Christ Superstar" is kinda unavoidable, since they cover the same material, but especially because there was also a hippie version of that filmed in the same year. It's a happier, simpler, and, I daresay, more naive take on the idea than JCS was, though with interesting anachronistic symbolism of its own (the clown makeup on Jesus is an idea that probably warrants further research to fully appreciate the nuances of). However, unfortunately, despite the interesting symbolism, I wasn't blown away by any of the songs - a bit of a problem for a musical, especially when direct competitor JCS had a lot of extremely memorable songs. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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