Godspell: A Musical Based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew (1973)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

David Greene

Writers:

David Greene (screenplay) and
John-Michael Tebelak (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

24 August 1973 (Denmark)

Genre:

Musical

Tagline:

Godspell comes to the screen !

Plot:

An adaption of the musical, in a modern-day song-and-dance recreation of the Gospel of St. Matthew.

Plot Keywords:

New York City | Religion | Brooklyn Bridge | Hippie | Reference To Mae West

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Victor Garber	...	Jesus
Katie Hanley	...	Katie
David Haskell	...	John / Judas
Merrell Jackson	...	Merrell
Joanne Jonas	...	Joanne
Robin Lamont	...	Robin
Gilmer McCormick	...	Gilmer
Jeffrey Mylett	...	Jeffrey
Jerry Sroka	...	Jerry
Lynne Thigpen	...	Lynne

Also Known As:

Godspell (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hebrew | Spanish

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:Btl | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Andrew Carnegie Mansion - 2 East 91st Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Composer Stephen Schwartz has a cameo in the prologue sequence: Katie serves him a cup of coffee as he is seated at the counter of the diner.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: At the end of the dance number "All For The Best", Joanne moves her arm the wrong way and quickly corrects herself.

Quotes:

Pharisee Monster: Now, we know you are an honest man. Give us your ruling on this: are we, or are we not permitted to pay taxes to the Roman emperor?
John: Why, you hypocrites, I...!
[Jesus and Merrell restrain him]
Jesus: [to Pharisee Monster] Show me the money in which the tax is paid.
[the Pharisee Monster spits coins at Jesus, who picks one up]
Jesus: Whose head is on here, whose description?
Pharisee Monster: Caesar's!
Jesus: Well, then, pay Caesar was is due Caesar, but pay God what is due God!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Passion: Films, Faith & Fury (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Light Of The World

Infectious, colorful, entertaining and emotional.

Many people have difficulty accepting a film that dates itself by the first glance, (The hair, clothes, music, etc...), but once you accept it's generation, sit back and ENJOY! GODSPELL is a musical that works on delivering a powerful message while at the same time being entertaining and enjoyable without being "PREACHY." This movie is simple enough to attract children and still hold it's adults in this classy Sunday School lesson. This was the first movie I saw on a personal tv I got for Christmas as a child, and it made such an impact. As a teenager, I had the honor of being in the high school addaption of GODSPELL, and now, as an adult, I can sit back and enjoy it all over again with my 3 year old daughter, who LOVES this movie. The music is infectious, the costumes are colorful, and the parables are entertaining and faith-building. It's a shame that GODSPELL fell in the shadow of that OTHER hippy Jesus movie (not worth mentioning). This one is a STAND-OUT film, worthy of it's viewing, over, and over , and over again.