April 22nd: THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (Martin Scorsese, 1988)

NOTE: This film will be projected in the high-definition Blu-ray format.

Jesus becomes a religious leader and martyr, and the devil shows him a fantasy in which he grows old as a normal man with a family.

Martin Scorsese nearly entered the priesthood before becoming a filmmaker, and many of his works detail the moral struggles of their main characters and have healthy doses of Catholic guilt. Long interested in a film about the story of Jesus, Scorsese optioned the 1950s novel by Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis, and came close to production in the early 80s before the Paramount executives pulled the plug.

Five years later, the adaptation was revived at Universal Pictures, with Scorsese drastically cutting his proposed budget by 50% to just $7 million, with a shoot taking place in Morocco instead of the originally planned Israel. This is the first time the director was working outside the United States.

The cast is headed by Willem Dafoe, fresh off an Oscar nomination for his role in Oliver Stone's Platoon, and filled out with an "east coast" roster of actors, none attempting to mask their own natural dialects, including Harvey Keitel as Judas. Also appearing are Harry Dean Stanton, Barbara Hershey, and musicians David Bowie and John Lurie.

Behind the camera are veteran German cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, Scorsese's longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker, with a groundbreaking world music score by Peter Gabriel. The script was co-written by Paul Schrader, who had previously done Taxi Driver and Raging Bull for Scorsese.

Because of the low budget and short shooting schedule, the production was stressful and often fly-by-night, with Scorsese unable to indulge in his elaborate camerawork and cutting strategies as much as usual.

Controversy began at the Venice Film Festival, where an Italian director pulled his film from competition in protest. A theatre in Paris was firebombed by religious extremists, the film was completely banned in Turkey, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina, and in the U.S., groups picketed Universal as well as theatres showing the film and some chains refused to carry it at all. Blockbuster Video would not stock the eventual VHS release in any of their locations.

On the critical end, it was received positively overall.  It received one Oscar nomination, for Scorsese's direction.  Hershey and Gabriel's score received Golden Globe nominations, and Gabriel won a Grammy for the soundtrack, subsequently integrating its musicians and exploration into his own proper work.

Running time is approx. 2 1/2 hours.