The Last Temptation of Christ [WS] [Special Edition] [Criterion Collection]

Director: Martin Scorsese

Overview

"Criterion Collection's release of Martin Scorsese's controversial film is superb. The studio has compiled a package that will appeal to both the cinephile and the mildly curious. Of the special features, the meatiest is the commentary given by Scorsese, lead actor Willem Dafoe, and screenwriters Paul Schrader and Jay Cocks. The multiple sources provide a depth to the background information that would be difficult to attain if only one commentator had been used. There is a collection of research materials, production stills, and costume designs collected by the director himself, as well as location footage shot by him. There is an interview with the film's composer Peter Gabriel, with supporting stills of the musicians and the unusual instruments used for the soaring soundtrack. The anamorphic widescreen image is fantastic here, and the colors are earthy yet varied in their palette. The enhanced transfer is straight from the original print and contains very few scratches. Peter Gabriel's powerful opening sequence can be fully appreciated with the Dolby Digital 5:1 track, and the dialogue, though sometimes hard to adjust to after the immense strength of the music, is distinct and very clean. Criterion should be commended for providing a booklet that contains a rebuttal essay addressing the maelstrom of controversy that surrounded this film. This DVD is beyond controversy and can be enjoyed as a complete entertainment package."

Product Details

Release Date:	04/25/2000
UPC:	0715515010528
Original Release:	1988
Rating:	R
Source:	CRITERION
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:43:00
Sales rank:	19,959

Special Features

New widescreen digital transfer, approved by the filmmakers and enhanced for widescreen televisions; New Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack by original supervising sound editor Skip Lievsay; Audio commentary by Martin Scorsese, Willem Dafoe, Paul Schrader, and Jay Cocks; Extensive collection of research materials, production stills, and costume designs; Location production footage, shot by Scorsese; Video interview with composer Peter Gabriel, plus a stills gallery of the instruments used in the film; English subtitles; Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Willem Dafoe	Jesus de Nazareth
Barbara Hershey	Mary Magdalene
Harvey Keitel	Judas Iscariot
David Bowie	Pontius Pilate
Harry Dean Stanton	Paul
Verna Bloom	Mar?a
Andre Gregory	John the Baptist
Juliette Caton	Girl Angel
Roberts Blossom	Aged Master
Irvin Kershner	Zebedee
Gary Basaraba	Andrew
Victor Argo	Peter
Michael Been	John
Paul Herman	Phillip
John Lurie	James
Leo Burmester	Nathaniel
Alan Rosenberg	Thomas
Nehemiah Persoff	Rabbi
Barry Miller	Jeroboam
Paul Greco	Zealot
Steven Shill	Centurion,Centurion
Randy Danson	Mary, Sister of Lazarus
Robert Spafford	Man at Wedding
Doris von Thury	Woman with Mary, Mother of Jesus
Del Russell	Money Changer
Donald Hodson	Saducee
Peter Berling	Beggar
Russell Case	Person at Sermon
Mary Seller	Actor
Mohamed Mabsout	Other Apostle
Ahmed Nacir	Other Apostle
Mokhtar Salouf	Other Apostle
Peggy Gormley	Martha, Sister of Lazarus
Donna Magnani	Actor
Penny Brown	Actor
Jonathon Zhivago	Actor
David Sharp	Actor
Tomas Arana	Lazarus/Crowd Member
Del Russel	Money Changer
Gabi Ford	Voices
Dale Wyatt	Voices
Domenico Fiore	Voices
Ted Rusoff	Voices
Leo Damian	Voices
Robert Laconi	Voices
Illeana Douglas	Voices
Harry Dean	Actor
Mahamed Ait Fdil Ahmed	Other Apostle
Donna Marie	Person at Sermon
Leo Marks	Devil
Mary Sellers	Person at Sermon
Peter Gabriel	Composer

Technical Credits

Paul Schrader

Paul Schrader	Screenwriter
Barbara De Fina	Producer
Iginio Fiorentini	Special Effects
Gino Galliano	Special Effects
Franco Salamon	Stunts
Harry Ufland	Executive Producer,Executive Producer,Producer,Producer
Omero Capanna	Stunts
Cis Corman	Casting

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Logos [:29]
2. The Feeling Begins [6:33]
3. "Condemned to Die" [5:22]
4. Magdalene [5:02]
5. "I Need You to Forgive Me" [5:31]
6. The Master [5:18]
7. Purified [5:09]
8. The Sermon on the Mount [8:39]
9. The Foundation [6:04]
10. John the Baptist [5:34]
11. "Speak to Me in Human Words" [7:52]
12. Return from the Desert [7:34]
13. Casting Out Devils and Working Cures [5:43]
14. Rejected at Nazareth [4:24]
15. Lazarus [4:11]
16. The Saint of Blasphemy [5:32]
17. The Shadow of the Cross [4:45]
18. "King of the Jews" [:02]
19. Waiting for the Sign [3:51]
20. Passover/ The Last Supper [5:56]
21. "Do I Have to Die?" [4:35]
22. Pontius Pilate [5:32]
23. Golgotha [4:29]
24. "Why Have You Forsaken Me?" [6:43]
25. The World of God [4:38]
26. "There's Only One Woman in the World" [8:17]
27. Paul [4:00]
28. Moving On [6:27]
29. "It is Accomplished" [8:29]
30. Credits [2:32]

Menu

Side #1 --
Play the Movie
Chapters
Commentary
Index
Scorsese Introduction
"God as a Headache"
An Ancient Controversy
Plagued by God
Barbara Hershey
Fully Human, Fully Divine
The Language of Christian Times
Telling Stories
Casting Jesus
A Wild Revivalist Meeting
A Sense of Humor
The Natural and the Supernatural
The Jesus Curse
"We Left Hollywood Behind"
Jesus' Power
An Existentialist Book
"Judas Plays Everyman"
Peter Gabriel
A Roger Corman Technique
A Blood Cult
An Uplayable Scene
David Bowie
Time Limits
Camera Positions
The Last Temptation
Controversy
The Great Democratic Equalizer
Death Muppet
Humiliation
"Why Do You Want to Do It?"
Scorsese's Visual Research
The Biblical Archaeology Review
National Geographic
Paintings
Books and Films
Costume Designs
Production and Publicity Stills
On Location in Morocco
Peter Gabriel
Introduction
Video Interview
Photo Gallery
Color Bars

Editorial Reviews

Canceled in 1983, finally made in 1987, and embroiled in controversy, Martin Scorsese's adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis's The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) is the ultimate labor of love and a singularly thought-provoking take on the life of Jesus. Though fundamentalists loudly protested a brief scene featuring Willem Dafoe's Christ procreating with Barbara Hershey's Mary Magdalene, the real "offense" was portraying Jesus as fully human as well as fully divine, and thus subject to doubts, fears, and temptation via a deceptively angelic girl offering a vision of normal life. Scorsese and screenwriter Paul Schrader's aim to think through the meaning of Christ's dual nature and the Passion, however, becomes a sincere affirmation of faith through its very humanism and, yes, humor. Shot on a minimal budget in Morocco, Scorsese's rough, stripped-down style avoids Hollywood biblical gloss and turns Jesus and his Apostles into accessible, rough-accented human beings, paradoxically making Jesus' acceptance of his fate all the more effective (though Harvey Keitel's Brooklynite Judas provoked some derision). Released amid vociferous criticism (from fundamentalist Christians who refused to actually see it), The Last Temptation of Christ earned good notices and Scorsese an Oscar nomination for Best Director. Certain video chains, however, won't stock it.