Jesus Christ Superstar
Universal Pictures | Release Date: August 15, 1973 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 7 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The A.V. ClubTodd Hanson
However dated stylistically (everybody’s dressed, to put it baldly, like hippies) it remains immensely powerful. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A bright and sometimes breathtaking retelling of the rock opera of the same name. It is, indeed, a triumph over that work; using most of the same words and music, it succeeds in being light instead of turgid, outward-looking instead of narcissistic. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderDon Druker
The music quickly becomes monotonous, and the operatic dialogue is silly right from the start—but Carl Anderson as Judas and Joshua Mostel as an unbelievably campy King Herod almost make this 1973 film worth sitting through. Read full review
60
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
Norman Jewison's film version of the 1969 legit stage project in a paradoxical way is both very good and very disappointing at the same time. The abstract film concept veers from elegantly simple through forced metaphor to outright synthetic in dramatic impact. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Yvonne Elliman is electrifying as Mary Magdalene, and Carl Anderson couldn't have been better as Judas; but Ted Neeley as Jesus is more whiny than heroic. Read full review
50
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
Despite the impressive desert locations and an array of tanks (to represent the ills of modern militarism), it's still staged like a student revue. Most notable moments are the garden of Gethsemane scene, where Jewison cuts in leering Pharisees and crucifixion details from Flemish masters to supremely kitschy effect, and the scene of Christ being flogged, shot in sadistic slow motion. Read full review
40
EmpireDavid Parkinson
If it weren’'t for Lost Horizon, this would have gone down in history as the Worst Musical of 1973. Read full review
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