Did you find The Last Temptation of Christ to be offensive or shocking?

[spacemonkey]

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1559409037.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

************Major Spoilers Ahead!!!*********************

I just got through watching this Martin Scorcese flick, loved the heck of it by the way. But as I watched it I couldnt help and think how many people must have found this flick to be totally repulsive and shocking. I understand why it stirred up such a controversy when it first came out in 1987.

The acting was superb, I enjoyed many scenes with Willem defoe specially those where he is praying to god, begging him not to let him die. That was a great scene.

I enjoyed the message that the movie gave, and some of the questions that it asked were very thought provoking. I literally found myself often times going "holy crap I cant believe they filmed this!"

Many scenes left me gasping in amazement, like the scene when he is being crucified and the angel takes Jesus down from the cross. The sheer idea is just amazingly daring to even attempt to film, considering what his sacrafice on the cross is supposed to represent.

Since it wasnt directly re-telling the whole gospel, it was more of a "what if" type of story, I didnt think it to be offensive. But I did feel that the movie had some huge balls to show the things it did, specially since these themes and characters are so sacred to so many people.

Things from this movie that will make a religious person squirm:

- Jesus gets some

- Jesus marries and becomes a family man

- Maria Magdalena is a prostitute

- Jesus is best buddies with Judas the traitor

- Jesus actually tells Judas to betray him

- Jesus makes crosses that the Romans use to crucify jews in

- Judas hits Jesus and not only that spits on his face!

- We see Jesus's ass, and not only that hes crucified completely naked

- Jesus is portrayed as insecure, unsure of himself, doubtful, sinful and full of lust for women.

- Jesus rips his heart out and shows it to his apostles

- David Bowiee plays Pontius Pilate

- Jesus has a New York accent

- Jesus actually gets taken down from the cross by an angel...the angel actually takes the nails out of his hands.

So what did you think of this film? Did you find it to be pretentious? Did you think it was actually good? Did it offend you in any way? Did you find it insightful or profound? Let me know, please post your thoughts here.

[flowrchild]

I find it to be boring and pretentious.

Not my thang.

[Shockwave]

- Jesus has a New York accent

If this is true, ive got to see it.

[spacemonkey]

Originally posted by Shockwave
If this is true, ive got to see it.

Not all the time, but every know and then its like hearing Christopher Walken talking. :D

[Shockwave]

Not all the time, but every know and then its like hearing Christopher Walken talking.

Hahahaha, even better!

Im now trying to get the mental image of Chris Walkin as Jesus out of my head.:)

[randythetool]

Nope, but I did find it to be one of Scorsese's best pictures.

[The Heart Collector]

Nope. It was great.

[JCR]

I suspect half the people who were moaning about this film never watched it. Wasn't Mary Mag. a whore in the actual bible? Or it was implied at least?

[Hucksta G]

Originally posted by JCR
Wasn't Mary Mag. a whore in the actual bible?

Yes she was.

[bowieee]

This movie totally shocked me. Not in the offensive sort of way but by the fact that it had huuuge hairy balls of steel to do what it did in the final act. The directing was brilliant and the whole concept in itself just facinates me.

It's also sort of funny watching a Judas that sounds like he migrated to the area after living in the bronx.

[HeavyK]

Haven't seen it yet but i plan to see it some day. I dare not rent it while i'm still in my parent's house though.

[Jim H]

Originally posted by Hucksta G
Yes she was.

Show me a quote somewhere that supports this statement. Things the Catholic Church states don't count as part of the bible.



Oh yes, and no, I didn't. It was interesting, with a great lead performance, but not shocking or anything. I doubt I'll ever watch it again.

[spacemonkey]

I never heard that the Bible's Marie Magdalene was a prostitute, I dont think that it appears in the bible. And I have read a lot of the bible, so I think I would remember something like that.

Which is probably why the scenes with her in that whore house with Jesus waiting in line along with all those other men who wanted to screw her was particularly amusing to me.

[Dims]

I was wondering if anyone had read the book and can compare it to the movie? I have the book but have not read it and i havnt seen the movie but is diffcult to find.So id like an opinion if possible...muchas gracias :)

[MickeyKnox]

I was not offended but I was shocked by some of the themes of that the movie did brought up yet this movie is based on a controversial book by the same name, and when that came out it stirred up a bee's nest of controversy by so many religious groups as when this movie came out but when you think of it religion is such a touchy issue in society even when Life of Brian was released it caused controversy also. But i found this movie to be amazing and quite powerful.

[HeavyK]

The Life of Brian is another one i want to see. I heard it isn't even offensive since Jesus is protrayed normally in it, it's just the Brian guy being mistaken for him or something like that.

[KcMsterpce]

I didn't think it was offensive or shocking.
I mostly found it to be an interesting perspective on another possibility towards the story of Christ.

I especially like the scene when Jesus wants to be killed, so he throws a tantrum in the temple where everyone is gambling - so he'd be murdered instead of crucified, not particularly because he was angry at the gambling.
People who get in an uproar about religion have the right to do so, but most of the time it's as if they're afraid that believers will be converted from their perspective of The Truth, or the people who DON'T have The Faith will fall farther from The Truth if they watch a movie or read a book that gives a different view than the Bible - which has been translated several different ways and in many different languages.

So what's the big deal, anyway? Why NOT try to expand your mind, instead of trying to fight against a story from the Bible that isn't exactly the way the churchgoers expect it to be?

Well, anyways, I like this movie a lot. :rolleyes:

[Haddonfield]

I am not a religious person but I refuse to watch this movie ever again.

Something just says its not right...but Im insane so dont mind me.

:)

[Shockwave]

Thats pretty much how i felt as well, even though i havent been to chruch in forever. (all i did was sleep in it anyway!)

Not judging it as a movie, just not my thing.

[spacemonkey]

Originally posted by Dims
I was wondering if anyone had read the book and can compare it to the movie? I have the book but have not read it and i havnt seen the movie but is diffcult to find.So id like an opinion if possible...muchas gracias :)

I havent read the book but now that Ive seen the movie I will hunt it down, it should prove to be an interesting read.

[DRbeauty]

Wanna hear something funny? My mom wouldn't take me to Universal Studios when i was a kid because Universal made the movie. That was so ridiculous.

[LedFloyd]

I was not offended by this movie, and I thought that the new take on the Jesus thing was fantastic. The movie was slow at parts, so I say 7/10. Im noyt religious though.

[Psychocandy]

I have a question. Do y'all think that the people who found this movie offensive would find Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter more or less offensive?

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00007CVRX.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Anyway...i've not seen The Last Temptation Of Christ yet. But I will. I will. I very much doubt that it will offend me.

[electriclite]

Originally posted by spacemonkey
I never heard that the Bible's Marie Magdalene was a prostitute, I dont think that it appears in the bible. And I have read a lot of the bible, so I think I would remember something like that.

Which is probably why the scenes with her in that whore house with Jesus waiting in line along with all those other men who wanted to screw her was particularly amusing to me.



I went to Catholic school for six years and I was always told that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute or "a woman of ill repute".

There's a lot of questions about Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany being one in the same person. They were both followers of Jesus, but came from different places. But she might have left her family and gone to Magdala, and later returned to Bethany.


The interpretation of her being a prostitute may stem from the story of when Jesus had cast out "seven demons" from her (P 16:9; L 8:2f). The Bible doesn't say specifically that the possesssed are sinful, just that they are possessed.

But in large part, many Christians/Catholics believe Magdalene was an unchaste woman who Jesus saved.

[spacemonkey]

Originally posted by electriclite
The interpretation of her being a prostitute may stem from the story of when Jesus had cast out "seven demons" from her (P 16:9; L 8:2f). The Bible doesn't say specifically that the possesssed are sinful, just that they are possessed.

But in large part, many Christians/Catholics believe Magdalene was an unchaste woman who Jesus saved.

Yeah, but maybe she was unchaste just because of the fact that she had been possesed by those seven demons for a long time and not necesarilly because she was a prostitute.

I also enjoyed those scenes in the movie where satan appears as a Lion in the dessert. This was obviously making reference to the text in the bible that says that Satan will try to devour as many people as he can like a hungry lion devours its pray. Those scenes in the desert where the best to me.

Psychocandy, that movie has been on my chopping block for the longest time, I will try to aquire it as soon as humanly possible it sounds like fun times. Sacriligeous, yes, but fun.

[mrdeeds]

I found TLTOC to be more boring than controversial. It would've passed without much notice had it not been for the controversy about the subject matter, which only served to give it more life than it deserved. :o

[Lynn Minmei]

Originally posted by Psychocandy
I have a question. Do y'all think that the people who found this movie offensive would find Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter more or less offensive?

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00007CVRX.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Anyway...i've not seen The Last Temptation Of Christ yet. But I will. I will. I very much doubt that it will offend me.

But even this still depicts Christ as a good force, so I don't think it's too offensive.

[AceD]

I'm a Bible-believing, evangelical (non-Catholic) Christian. While none of that makes me an expert on the subject, I have read and studied the Bible. So coming from my perspective, these are what I believe to be true...

"- Jesus is best buddies with Judas the traitor

- Jesus makes crosses that the Romans use to crucify jews in

- Judas hits Jesus and not only that spits on his face!

- ...hes crucified completely naked"

Those are all depicted in the film, and I have believe them to be mostly accurate.

"- Jesus is portrayed as insecure, unsure of himself, doubtful, sinful and full of lust for women. "

I don't believe that he sinned, but I firmly believe that he was tempted in every way and that he was not sure that he could go through with the crucifixtion.

As far as Mary Magdalane being a whore...I don't know that it's true because it is not specifically in the Bible, but as depicted in Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST many believe that she was the woman who was caught having sex with someone she was not married to and whom the people wanted to stone, but Jesus stepped in and said "Let him who has no sin cast the first stone". The story in the Bible doesn't mention the woman's name, but i am willing to say it was probably her.

Just my thoughts...