The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

This is one of my favorite films ever and it is my favorite film about Christ. Everything from the sets, to the direction, to the actor's performances is spot on. This is the gold standard of what religious films should be.

For anyone who doesn't know, this film is an alternate take on the life of Jesus (based on the book of the same name). Naturally it was embroiled in controversy and protested by people who hadn't seen it. There's an irony about supposedly "strong faithed" people being so insecure/shaken/offended about Jesus's representation in a movie.

Anyhoo Jesus is played very well by Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel plays Judas wonderfully with great tenderness, Barbara Hershey is great as Mary Magdalene, quite simply all actors are on point and give an excellent human portrayal of their respective characters. I believe Judas and Jesus's relationship here is the best version ever portrayed, same with Jesus and Mary's relationship.

As for the ending (which is what people were so pissed about) I find it very interesting, It's like a dream. It's literally his last temptation, which he overcomes. If anything it makes Jesus more BA/admirable, he beat the devil and his own mortal urges. He finally embraced being the son of God, he truly is worthy of being the Messiah.

Martin Scorsese did a fantastic job and this film is rightfully hailed as one of the best films of all time, and especially one of the best religious films.

Bravo.

Fmovies: If you want a new perspective on an old story this film is for you. I can see why so many devout christians were upset about this film because it really presents a Jesus that is threatnig to traditional beliefs. If you have read Kazantzakis' novel the intro outlines he true nature of this story. It deal primaraly with the idea of being both human and god and what kind of implications that might have had on Jesus as an individual. Scorsese shows us Jesus' personal stuggle to try and deny his importance as he wants to reced into the life of a normal person. At no time did Scorsese or Kazantzakis claim this story to be anything but fiction, however it does make you wonder about the psyche of "the christ."

This adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis's novel, directed by Martin Scorsese, caused quite a stir on its initial release, accused of blasphemy and of causing offence to the Christian religion.

However, in its depiction of Jesus Christ as a human being rather than a man divine, it gets to the core of his story. This is a man who makes the choice of self-sacrifice for the good of his fellow men, despite the temptations of an alternative life - shown in this film by a life with Mary Magdelene rather than dying at the Crucifixion.

Played by Willem Dafoe with great sensitivity, this Christ performs miracles and discusses the intricacies of life and death with his disciples. Harvey Keitel is Judas, a rough man who fails to understand the significance of being the chosen Son of God; while Barbara Hershey is an effective Magdelene. David Bowie makes a short appearance as Pontius Pilate and is surprisingly good.

'The Last Temptation of Christ' is not one of Scorsese's best films but it certainly sparks questions and leaves food for thought. Some of the imagery is superb and the script is coherent and of a high standard.

The Last Temptation of Christ fmovies. Martin Scorsese directs one of his finest achievements in a career of directing finest achievements. He takes on a subject close to his heart and close to his faith. Nikos Kazantzakis wrote an extraordinary piece of work on the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The last temptation takes place while Jesus is on the cross, but before that we watch Jesus (William Dafoe) try to overcome temptation as an everyday man. That's what Kazantzakis focuses on. While Christ is on the cross the pain and sacrifice wouldn't be the same if he didn't feel it and showing Jesus in the form of an everyday man may offend some devout Christians, but if they're offended then they're missing the point. God sent his son down to this earth to die for mans sins. That's what scriptures tell us, but Kazantzakis takes us down an intriguing road as the son of God battles the temptations of the everyday man, yet without sin. We watch Jesus struggle with acceptance that he is the messiah, but eventually he accepts his role. We watch Jesus tempted by evil, but he resists. When some hit's him, he turns the other cheek. He has love and he has love for everyone and everything. He doesn't have hate, he doesn't have sin, Jesus is a perfect creature in a man's body sent to do God's work. Martin Scorsese depicts him no differently than he's imagined or believed to have been.

The final act is the greatest part of the film (maybe the most controversial). It shows Jesus taken down, off the cross, by his guardian angel- something that didn't happen according scriptures. As you watch this and if you know the story and haven't read the novel, you become baffled. You don't know what to think or how to interpret it. We see Jesus doing things he never did, like having sex, having children, and living out the rest of his life as an everyday man; living a good, humble life, old and tired. Only until the final moment and the final shot of the film, does the entire third act make complete sense, which makes the final statement by Jesus all that more powerful; "It is accomplished!" It isn't done in a negative manner. Kazantzakis and Scorsese aren't showing Jesus full of sin for no good reason. Showing the hallucination and showing Satan tempting Christ in his weakest moment is what makes Jesus' sacrifice even more powerful. Not only did he die for the sin of man, but he died for the sin of man while being tempted to live a normal and happy life as a man by Satan in the form of a beautiful guardian angel. There would be no torture; no death; no pain; no sacrifice, but here, Jesus fights his temptations and accepts his role and the path God sent him on. He dies on the cross in agony with temptation from Satan at his weakest moment. He's triumphant in a way that is hard to see triumph, but not only does he accept the sins of man, and not only does he sacrifice his life, but he defeats Satan and conquers temptation... as a man. Jesus is a powerful figure without sin and neither Scorsese nor Kazantzakis show him as anything less than the Lord and Savior. The film should leave you questioning your ability to resist temptation as Jesus did. As a devout Christian, one would think, you'd be more appreciative of the depiction in this film than any other film ever made on this subject. "The Last Temptation of Christ" is a powerful film done without sensation, without hate, but with taste, respect, love and appreciation for his sacrifices and his ability to resist temptation and go on with the plan wh

This is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen! I was amazed with all of the performances. This is certainly one of Martin Scorsese's great accomplishments in his extensive and highly acclaimed carrier. This movie was very important to Scorsese and he would put it off several times because he felt he wasn't ready to do it. I think that the wait was worth it, because this was an outstanding movie.

This is one of those movies that you either really liked, or really didn't like. Most of the people who didn't like this found it to be a mockery of the Gospels and Christ himself. I liked it because it did follow the Bible very closely, it was a fantastic telling of Jesus Christ's last days and his greatest accomplishments, and because the acting was very good.

I thought Willem Defoe was spell binding as Jesus Christ. Some people will say that he wasn't enough like Jesus, but you do have to realize that this is probably the hardest character to play and I think that Defoe did the best job that anyone could have done at playing Christ. Harvey Keitel did an equally excellent job at playing Judas, Jesus's best friend, who eventually betrays Him so the world can be saved. This may be Keitel's best performance (if not, it is one of the three). Barbara Hershey was also a great supporting roll as Mary Magdalene.

This movie is certainly not for everyone. Many people with very strong religious convictions will see this movie as offensive, simply because Christ is portrayed a frightened man who sees his fate as a burdon through 'half' of the film, and I implicate the word 'half' for a reason. For everyone else, I say go rent this, because this is a powerful and magnificent version of the final months of Christ. When you watch this, you just might have to wonder (I know I did), what will be the last temptation of Christ? 10/10

Despite what its critics say (most of whom haven't even seen the movie), "The Last Temptation of Christ" is one of the most deeply religious movies I have ever seen. What makes it so powerful is that it does not portray Jesus as an all-righteous, preachy figure; it portrays Him as a man. He was the son of God, but more importantly He was human. He could hurt, love, feel pain and joy, and He could make mistakes just like any of us. He had to overcome temptation. Martin Scorsese, for whom this was a long labor of love, directs a beautiful movie with all around excellent performances, particularly Harvey Keitel as Judas and Willem Defoe as Jesus. The "Last Temptation" segment which draws most of the movie's criticism, is the most important part of all because it shows how close God truly is to us, if only those critics would watch the movie before judging it, they might realize that.