Ep649: GODSPELL - Movie Review

Published: March 29, 2021, 7:48 p.m.

Ian and Pat continue their not-quite-annual Easter tradition of talking about a religious-themed movie during Holy Week.

1973's Godspell is the perfect cinematic allegory for two recovering Catholics who dig the message of Jesus without the pageantry and prognosticating of a church superstructure. Victor Garber stars as a hippie-era Messiah who recruits a diverse group of apostles in modern-day New York. Together they frolic through an empty Big Apple, singing and acting out spiritual teachings that awaken new ways of seeing the world--in each other and in the one who assembled them.

The guys break down the history of Godspell (which had a "dueling asteroid movie" relationship with Jesus Christ Superstar); examine director David Greene's scrappy and sparse aesthetic, and make a case for this being one of the most effective representations of the Passion Play ever filmed.

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