Connianatu How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

mukherjeesubham93 *Classic lookback* THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRISTWe usually associate Martin Scorsese with his movies on organized crime. It's hard not to do that when he has made Goodfellas & Casino. But before that, in the late 80s, he was probably at his creative peak. In the decade which saw him making Raging Bull( Arguably his best movie), King of Comedy & After hours, the 1988 movie, The Last Temptation of Christ is my personal favorite of his entire filmography. It is Scorsese at his creative best and his boldest. Based on the very controversial novel of Nikos Kazantzakis of the same name which was itself banned in many countries, This movie was destined to be controversial. Which of course, it was. It frequently finds it's place in several 'most controversial films of all time' lists. The film was termed as blasphemous upon it's release and banned in many countries too. But if you care to watch it with an open mind, this movie is quite an enriching experience. It's not an easy movie for a devout Christian believer. The movie's basic underlying theme is the conflict between Christ's worldly temptations as a mortal, and his divine duty of sacrificing himself for the sins of mankind. The movie doesn't follow the Bible. It humanizes Christ ( Played quite brilliantly by Willem Dafoe) he gets angry, he gets frightened, he asks his 'father' why is he the chosen one. As the movie progresses, Christ gradually starts to find answers to these questions. This process of self discovery of his purposes, not only seems very relatable but also helps us sympathize with the character. The Son of God, till that point of time had always been represented with an otherworldly aura. This was the first attempt to make him vulnerable and thus, more human....and quite naturally, it didn't go down well with all. Coming to the most controversial portions, the last one hour of the movie is it's most controversial portion and the take it or leave it point of the movie. As a open minded viewer, no doubt it was something very unique to witness. It's almost as if it takes us by the collar and coerces us with a very different point of view. Controversy apart, it is a really well made movie. The cinematography, moody, dark, surreal at times works wonders. Peter Gabriel's musical score is one of the main highlights of the movie. And oh of course, i forgot to mention the representation of Satan! Very subtle yet chilling. Despite saying so many points about the movie being controversial, i would never call it blasphemous. The movie ultimately never makes one question about one's faith in Christianity. It arrives at the same destination all other Christ movies have, but to reach that destination it takes an unexpectedly risky path. A very underrated film, in my opinion, The Last Temptation of Christ surely deserves a higher place in Scorsese's much coveted filmography. If possible, do watch this with an open mind. You'll never forget it in your lifetime.

popcorninhell I recently saw A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995), arguably one of the most extensive and accessible documentaries about American film. Scorsese brings you into the beautiful world he first discovered very young, populated with rich characters, reverence towards film technology and awe towards auteurs he had come to respect. His contribution to the world of modern cinema is history making in its own right. A seasoned director and producer, Scorsese has also taken upon himself to champion film preservation on behalf of not just Hollywood movies, but movies worldwide; something for which I truly admire.Other aspects of the iconoclast I respect beyond measure are his non-gangster related films. Don't get me wrong I love Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), The Departed (2006) et al. but his other prestige projects; Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980) and, of course The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) hold a special place in my heart I must express. I consider those three films in particular, the staples of Scorsese's quest for absolution for which The Last Temptation is the culmination of his artistic expression during his early period.Scorsese has always said that if he hadn't caught the film bug and started pursuing pictures as a vocation, he would have become a priest. Indeed it was probably the filmmaker's religious instruction in youth that helped make Last Temptation and further inform its versatility, beauty universality. The film is in fact based on an immensely controversial book of the same name written by Nikos Kazantzakis. Both the film and book dares to expose the life of Jesus Christ as both human and divine, filled with both holy obligation and temporal temptation. The film diminishes Jesus in the eyes of some, making him out to be frail, afraid and even pedestrian.  I won't bore you with the actual plot of Last Temptation as it, for the most part comports with biblically recorded events. The difference is in the mind of its central character. Unlike Nicholas Ray's King of Kings (1961) or some of the earlier Hollywood hagiographies, Jesus is dispossessed of symbol status. He is not quite clear on his purpose and in the tradition of Abraham questions the decisions made by God. It is through his faults that the Devil finds a way into his tortured soul. In the 2/3rds mark, the devil, which up until then takes the temporal shape of a serpent, tempts Jesus with life free from godly responsibility. In a haze brought on by crucifixion, Jesus imagines living the life of a normal Judean plebeian, falling in love with Mary Magdalene, having children and dying of old age.Ultimately unfettered by the Devil's temptations, Jesus ultimately makes the choice to become the sacrificial Lamb of God, thus securing his divine status. Yet it was that very temptation among other liberties that made Christians go absolutely bonkers about The Last Temptation of Christ. Groups boycotted the film for its supposed blasphemies and religious extremists even firebombed the St. Michael Theatre in Paris during its theatrical release injuring ten. In the fervor of the film's release many of its detractors hurt their cause by purporting the Jews of Hollywood were out to destroy their religion.Destroy? I much doubt it. If anything Martin Scorsese's film is life and faith affirming. The film accepts and celebrates the Christian divinity of Jesus Christ while exposing an uncommon characterization that is much more believable. Not only believable but expresses the very thing that made Christ an important figure, his humanity! Furthermore the film creates a historical context which helps explain simultaneously how someone like Jesus could have existed and why his teachings were so prevalent and dangerous to the likes of Pontius Pilate and the Roman Empire.The Last Temptation of Christ is ultimately about a man who fights and ultimately accepts his narrative through faith in sacrifice. Nine years after hospitalization and treatment for cocaine addiction, Scorsese was no doubt galvanized by its message of a man fighting inner demons.While Last Temptation was made eight years after Raging Bull and twelve years after Taxi Driver, with four feature length films in- between I place Last Temptation among the triptych because they depict personal struggles on the part of the protagonists which mirror Martin Scorsese's own struggles with addiction. But while Raging Bull ends ruefully and Taxi Driver nihilistically, Last Temptation comes full circle, ending with a spiritual affirmation that even staunch zealots cannot deny.

chaswe-28402 Embarking on this lengthy trip with no prior preparation was baffling. Force fed since childhood with all the stories in the bible, I still could make little sense of what was going on. I had not read the book by Kazantzakis. Fortunately, this site provides a number of explanations, partially dispelling my obtuseness. The solution is actually fairly simple, as I now see it. The Last Temptation is the impulse to lead a normal life: keep working at carpentry, marry, have children and grow old. Pay god minimal attention. The film is an extremely roundabout way of presenting this argument, and I couldn't really swallow it. I thought Dafoe was quite good as Christ: he conveyed a kind of demon-like godfulness. Some might find this off-putting, but it tied in with the angelic little Satan towards the end. Although the movie is very long, and continued for another 30 minutes after it seemed to end, it was worth watching, but not worth watching twice. I note that apparently I did watch it 7 or 8 years ago, but had totally forgotten what it was about. Those several years ago I see I noted that John the Baptist had a good line in the plot, when he said that "The God of Israel is the God of the Desert. If you want to speak to him, go to the desert". Sadly, this is true of the god of Israel: vengeful, punitive and jealous, modelled on the sun blazing down in those barren, arid regions. I prefer the pagan gods of the temperate zone. Beauty, reason, creativity. I was going to give this 8 stars, but I've changed my mind. It annoyed me: 4 stars.

a.lampert I felt I wanted to comment on this film to warn viewers that this really is the most boring pretentious rubbish I've seen for a long time. At nearly three hours long there is nothing here to recommend it other the main reason I watched it, and that was to see Barbara Hershey when she was at the top of her game. And she's not in it for long. Like most of us at school in England in the 1950's as I was, we were all taught these familiar stories about Jesus, healing the sick, turning the water into wine, raising the dead, dying on the cross and being resurrected etc etc. so I'm very aware of the background, unfortunately I couldn't really make much sense of the narrative here as it's tried to be way too clever for it's own good as cinema. I understand it follows the book which I haven't, and clearly will never read. However, if you are going to make a film about Christ, and it's still a good story, regardless of whether or not you believe all that stuff, which I do not, it doesn't necessarily mean you cannot enjoy a well made film as I did with Mel Gibson's terrific 'Passion of The Christ'. Unfortunately here, we have a skin white Jesus, played by Willem Dafoe as if he's about to fall asleep most of the time, wandering around muttering mumbo jumbo and being browbeaten by a much tougher Judas, played with gusto by Harvey Keitel as if he's just stepped out of one of his Scorsese gangster movies and can't quite make the adjustment. There are long, long scenes when absolutely nothing much happens and for the first half I kept thinking, well, David Bowie as Pontius Pilot is listed as one of the stars so that might be interesting. Well, he appears for about three minutes and wanders off and that's it. I think he must have gone for a cup of tea and decided not to come back. If I can nominate an actor for being top bore in an epic film, then Willem Dafoe wins my vote. Needless to say, Barbara Hershey was wonderful, but that's the only reason for staying on this trip.