The Deacon's Bench Here’s a blast from the past — nearly 40 years ago, incredibly.
It’s a little Palm Sunday cinema, from Norman Jewison’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” in 1973. (For an altogether different interp, check out this clip of the same number from a revival done in London and on Broadway a few years ago. The original was better, imho.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAY3K85xx3U&playnext=1&list=PLC62C720CBA86B755
Favorite line in the song:
Sing me your songs, But not for me alone. Sing out for yourselves, For you are bless-ed. There is not one of you Who can not win the kingdom. The slow, the suffering…
I’ve always wanted to adapt it for liturgical use on Palm Sunday. So much easier to sing and remember than most of the processionals we make people do.
The actor playing Jesus in that more recent clip looks a little too California surfer dude to me. I agree – the original movie is better. But, the best is Ian Gillan as Jesus in the “brown album” (as I used to call it).
By the way… in that more recent video clip you linked to, right at the very end at about 2:56 it looks like Darth Vader walks onto the set!
If we are to be “technical”, the very original production (before the movie) was probably never video recorded.
BTW — using this for liturgical use gets out of hand (from experience).
I used to have the brown cover CD Jesus Christ Superstar I still have the vinyl after all these years. I first heard superstar while on holy week retreat in the seminary back when it first came out in the 70’s.
Over the years, this has become part of my holy week.