During the 70s and 80s, the Italians would rip off any movie, just as long as they could do it cheaply , a little bit sleazy, and with no concern that the finished product making any sense whatsoever. And we're not just talking about the multitude of takes on Mad Max, Star Wars, or Conan the Barbarian. You can also find low budget Italian counterfeits of Saturday Night Fever, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and believe or not, Jesus Christ Superstar.
Of course, the Italian version can't just have Jesus doing his thing in the Holy Land. That wouldn't be Italian enough. Instead, they transport the story to modern day Rome, let Jesus fight the mafia, and set it all to a disco soundtrack. Ladies and Gentle, allow me to present to you a few highlights from... White Pop Jesus!
Of course, the Italian version can't just have Jesus doing his thing in the Holy Land. That wouldn't be Italian enough. Instead, they transport the story to modern day Rome, let Jesus fight the mafia, and set it all to a disco soundtrack. Ladies and Gentle, allow me to present to you a few highlights from... White Pop Jesus!
First up we have the introductory number in which Jesus either returns from the spirit world or escapes a mental institution. It's never really made clear...
Then we have this little showstopper, in which three of White Pop Jesus' female followers extol their savior's virtues. I think...
But nothing, and I mean nothing, tops the temptation of Christ by drugs as told through interpretive dance...
In an interview with Vatican Radio, Ted Neely, who played the titular role in Norman Jewison's Jesus Christ Superstar, recalled, "Because of so much protest in America when we were doing the show live, prior to making the film, Mr Jewison was concerned about whether or not the film would be accepted around the world. So he requested an audience with Pope Paul VI to see the film. The two of them sat down together and watched the film, and the Pope said: ‘this is a good film, I think this film will open the eyes to people around the world’. He said that he felt that the music was so inviting and so spiritual that it would spread the essence of Christ worldwide... so we got his blessing to release the film. So thank God for that, and thank Pope Paul VI for that!"
Whether or not that's exactly how things happened is up for debate, but it does appear His Holiness was really a fan of the musical, despite some of its obvious theological shortcomings. A 1974 article in People Magazine profiling the Pontiff noted, "After the sisters have cleared away the dinner dishes each evening, Paul either heads back to his office for a few hours of late work with his staff, or he settles down to read in his bright living room to the accompaniment of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven on the turntable. The papal record shelf also holds the original cast LP of Jesus Christ, Superstar, which has had enough plays to satisfy an unoffended Pope that its fundamentalist hymns and hollers are shattering proof of youth’s groping for God."
Alas, there appear to be no existing records detailing what kind of reception, if any, Pope John Paul II gave White Pop Jesus when it hit Italian movie screens in 1980. I don't want to presume, but if I had to... I'm guessing it wouldn't have been quite as welcoming. But you never know.
In an interview with Vatican Radio, Ted Neely, who played the titular role in Norman Jewison's Jesus Christ Superstar, recalled, "Because of so much protest in America when we were doing the show live, prior to making the film, Mr Jewison was concerned about whether or not the film would be accepted around the world. So he requested an audience with Pope Paul VI to see the film. The two of them sat down together and watched the film, and the Pope said: ‘this is a good film, I think this film will open the eyes to people around the world’. He said that he felt that the music was so inviting and so spiritual that it would spread the essence of Christ worldwide... so we got his blessing to release the film. So thank God for that, and thank Pope Paul VI for that!"
Whether or not that's exactly how things happened is up for debate, but it does appear His Holiness was really a fan of the musical, despite some of its obvious theological shortcomings. A 1974 article in People Magazine profiling the Pontiff noted, "After the sisters have cleared away the dinner dishes each evening, Paul either heads back to his office for a few hours of late work with his staff, or he settles down to read in his bright living room to the accompaniment of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven on the turntable. The papal record shelf also holds the original cast LP of Jesus Christ, Superstar, which has had enough plays to satisfy an unoffended Pope that its fundamentalist hymns and hollers are shattering proof of youth’s groping for God."
Alas, there appear to be no existing records detailing what kind of reception, if any, Pope John Paul II gave White Pop Jesus when it hit Italian movie screens in 1980. I don't want to presume, but if I had to... I'm guessing it wouldn't have been quite as welcoming. But you never know.
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