Civil discontent is rife, and the wealthy citizens fear a government crackdown that will sweep away not just the malcontents but the 'haves' who did not do enough to stop them. They identify one man, Jesus Christ, as the crux of the rising swell of unrest, and resolve to destroy him. They can't do that while he is surrounded by his adoring crowds, of course, but perhaps they could capture him in a private moment if they could find just one disillusioned follower of his to help them ...
So yeah, I did indeed watch two different versions of Jesus Christ Superstar in rapid succession. From a performance and staging perspective, this is easily the superior of the two offerings. Not that the 1973 version had bad performances, but it did have a deliberately camp "community theatre" kind of feel to it. This version is just as camp, but in more of an extravagant, Fast and the Furious kind of way. It co-opts the "Occupy" movement as the framework behind the conflict between the recognised authorities and Jesus's followers and has a much more rock-oriented feel to the soundtrack. Judging it purely as a musical, and ignoring the problematic aspects of the show (as outlined last week), it's the superior show. I also think it profits from not presenting Jesus's story as a performance within the wider production. Jesus and Judas are actual characters within the story here, not actors playing roles in a play they're putting on within the movie. That gives their competing perspectives more weight, I think.
I should also note, in case it wasn't abundantly clear from the name of the film, that this is a recording of a live performance, not a move adaptation of the show. This doesn't worry me, but if occasional shots of the live band or of the crowd would be an irritation for you, your mileage may vary.
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