The Last Temptation of Christ
Scorsese's controversial adaptation of Kazantzakis's novel about the temptations of Jesus.
The Last Temptation of Christ is a 1988 religious drama directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Paul Schrader, with uncredited rewrites by Scorsese and Jay Cocks. It adapts Nikos Kazantzakis's 1955 novel and shows Jesus struggling with fear, doubt, depression, reluctance and lust.
Willem Dafoe plays Jesus, with Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, Andre Gregory, Harry Dean Stanton and David Bowie; the whole film was shot in Morocco.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Screenplay
- Paul Schrader
- Based on
- The Last Temptation of Christ, Nikos Kazantzakis
- Producer
- Barbara De Fina
- Starring
- Willem Dafoe
- Harvey Keitel
- Barbara Hershey
- Harry Dean Stanton
- David Bowie
- Cinematography
- Michael Ballhaus
- Editing
- Thelma Schoonmaker
- Music
- Peter Gabriel
Facts from the source article.
Background
A sequence in which Christ imagines a life with sexual relations outraged some Christian groups, who called the film blasphemous and pushed for boycotts and censorship; the film opens with a disclaimer that it is not based on the Gospels. Universal released it worldwide, and Cineplex Odeon in Canada, on 12 August 1988. It grossed $33.8 million on a $7 million budget and earned Scorsese an Academy Award nomination for Best Director.
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