The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
83%RT Audience Score: 84%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
2 wins & 8 nominations total
Contrary to accusations of irreverence, The Last Temptation of Christ’s biggest sins are actually languid pacing and some tinny dialogue — but Martin Scorsese’s passion for the subject shines through in an oft-transcendent rumination on faith
The Last Temptation of Christ is a movie that will make you question everything you thought you knew about Jesus. It’s like a modern-day retelling of the story, but with a gritty, realistic edge. The performances are top-notch, and the direction is masterful. Sure, some people might be offended by it, but those people probably need to lighten up a bit. Overall, it’s a thought-provoking and powerful film that’s definitely worth watching.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Criterion Collection, Universal Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Moulay Ismael Stables, Villa Imperiale, Meknès, Morocco
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1988
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
-
Runtime:2h 44m
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 12, 1988 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 25, 2000
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: $8,865,702
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $22,700,110
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,670
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 2,475,475
US/Canada gross: $8,373,585
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $21,440,073
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,388
US/Canada opening weekend: $401,211
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $1,027,277
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,278
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $7,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $17,923,089
Production budget ranking: 1,423
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $9,651,583
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$4,874,563
ROI to date (est.): -18%
ROI ranking: 1,488
Al Pacino – Michael Corleone
James Caan – Santino “Sonny” Corleone
Richard S. Castellano – Pete Clemenza
Robert Duvall – Tom Hagen
Sterling Hayden – Police Captain McCluskey
Director(s)
Martin Scorsese
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Barbara De Fina
Film Festivals
Venice
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
2 wins & 8 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (101) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (82) | Rotten (19)
It’s a challenging film in the best sense, a gritty, deeply felt effort to renew the significance of Christ in terms of contemporary experience, and one that reminds us of how radical Christ was.
May 6, 2022
Jay Carr
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
All of the uninformed protest will only serve to fuel attendance for what turns out to be a very fine, thoughtful and beautifully performed rumination on Jesus and the difficulty of living according to His principles.
May 6, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
An admirably serious, accomplished movie, though it betrays little of the complicated texture and furious creativity of Scorsese at his best.
May 6, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Dave Kehr
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
At its best and most moving, Scorsese’s film leaps across two millennia and creates an extraordinary sense of what Christ’s time was like.
May 6, 2022
Charles Champlin
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
At the bottom of the controversy is an intense, utterly sincere, frequently fascinating piece of art by a director for whom, clearly, the message of Jesus’ life has immediacy and meaning.
May 6, 2022
Sheila Benson
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
I was profoundly moved by The Last Temptation of Christ, struck by its passion. The film works as parable, and it works as drama. It’s brawny and daring and beautiful, full of an eerie grace.
May 6, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Bill Cosford
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
A marvelous film…more genuinely Christian than the ridiculous parodies in the style of King of Kings, and Cecil B DeMille. [Full review in Spanish]
June 15, 2022
Rene Jordan
El Nuevo Herald (Miami)
It’s a powerful if flawed film, made not to blaspheme but to explore. It’s a Christian film in the best sense of that word.
May 6, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Stephen Hunter
Baltimore Sun
Few tasks could be more delicate or demanding than to reconceive the story of Jesus Christ… The sheer audacity of taking on this project in 1988 makes The Last Temptation of Christ exemplary.
May 6, 2022
John Powers
L.A. Weekly
A water-into-wine miracle on screen. Visually breathtaking and intellectually scorching, the movie represents an extraordinary feat of film-making. But what it attempts is so ambitious that, in the end, it is a gloriously imperfect masterpiece.
May 6, 2022
Brian D. Johnson
Maclean’s Magazine
If this be heresy, Scorsese hasn’t made the most of it.
May 6, 2022 | Rating: 2/4
Michael Sragow
San Francisco Examiner
It is hard to imagine a more serious or heartfelt exploration of the inner conflicts faced by Jesus. Charges of blasphemy leveled against the film by some Christian leaders are hard to square with the filmmakers’ obvious reverence.
May 5, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Candice Russell
South Florida Sun-Sentinel…
Plot
The Last Temptation of Christ follows the life of Jesus, a carpenter who discovers he is the son of God and is drawn into revolutionary action against the Roman occupiers by Judas, leading him to doubt his role as the savior of mankind and tempting him with visions of an ordinary life married to Mary Magdalene.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
Martin-Scorsese.jpg
