GODSPELL

US, 1973, 100 minutes, Colour.
Victor Garber, Lynne Thigpen.
Directed by David Greene

New York City. A group of ordinary people are going about their daily work but are feeling frustrated: office workers, diner waiters, taxi drivers... They all hear a sound of music which seems to reach only them. They follow the call, especially when a strange character appears to tempt them away from their day-to-day lives.

They all gather and change into odd clothes which have a carnival style. As they walk and dance to one of the city fountains, they sing, 'Prepare ye, the way of the Lord.' Another young man arrives and goes through a baptism ritual in the fountain.

The troupe then sing, dance and joke their way through the Gospel stories, the baptised young man taking the role of Jesus, the others going from role to role and performing as a chorus. They tell parables, listen to the Beatitudes, reenact miracles. Finally, they come to the arrest of Jesus and reenact his passion. Finally, Jesus appears as the risen Lord.

The range of songs includes Turn Back, O Man, Bless the Lord, Long Live God.

Godspell took the English-speaking world by storm in the late 60s and early 70s. It was performed everywhere, not only in theatres, but, later, in schools. It was part of the reaction to the 'God is Dead' movement in the US during the mid-60s. The questioning of the place of God in the world led, amongst other spiritual quests, to charismatic renewal and to a Jesus Movement. At the same time audiences were also flocking to theatres to see Jesus Christ, Superstar. The movie versions of Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell both appeared in 1973.
While the movie version of Superstar was well reviewed and received, Godspell was compared unfavourably with the theatre experience. The movie could not compete with the immediacy of the theatre experience. As so much time has passed, Godspell is worth a look for its inventiveness in interpreting the Gospels, drawing on so many aspects of the American musical tradition as well as vaudeville (and its contemporary musical, Hair). The style is very much of its period - but can be now viewed as historical rather than dated.

By setting the musical in New York City with workers abandoning their jobs as Jesus' disciples did and following a Gospel road, Godspell situates its Jesus-figure in a contemporary world. Jesus is not alien to modern problems in a modern world. Of the performers, Victor Garber (Jesus) had a very successful stage career and appeared in several movies (First Wives Club); Lynne Thigpen had a long career as a character performer in a great number of movies.

1. Did you enjoy this film? Was it a joyful film? Why? Were the ideas effective: the use of the Gospel with the clown and joy overtones? Does this correspond to the basic ideas of the Christian message?

2. Was Godspell relevant and religious? Did it capture the spirit of Jesus Christ and its implications? Did it present these in a way that made sense of the message, communicated it well and related it to our modern needs? How? Where was the film most successful in being relevant and religious?

3. Comment on the style, the use of clowns representing people, representing Biblical characters and Biblical stories: the vaudeville routines - song and dance, revival meetings, minstrel shows, use of silent films etc.? Which did you like best? Why?

4. Comment on the use of New York as a background for the film? The use of a modern city with all its problems, the style of the city, the place where people need to be redeemed. The choosing of the Disciples from the city: a model, office workers, artists, labourers etc., ridding themselves of worldly possessions, putting on clothes of poverty etc.?

5. Did the people who were chosen have personalities of their own? What happened to them when they responded to the call? How were their lives transformed?

6. The nature of clowns' humour and simplicity: not being self-conscious; folly, fools for the sake of others, etc.? Why are they good images for Christ and Christians?

7. How effective was the use of New York localities? Times Square and its lights, the toy shop, Coney Island, the Lincoln Centre, Museum, sports park, Grant's tomb, tug boats, the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, the pool, etc.?

8. How funny was the film? Why?

9. Which features did you like best - the sermons, the parables? Why were the parables effective? Did they get across the meaning that Jesus gave them in their time? How?

10. Did the personality of Jesus come across? What image of Jesus did the film give? What image of Judas? Were the betrayal and the passion portrayed well? Movingly? How did the mood of the film change from humour to seriousness with the Passion of Christ?

11. Comment on each of the songs; via the music and song the message is principally communicated. Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord, Save the People, Day by Day, Learn your Lessons Well, Bless the Lord, It's All for the Best, All Good Gifts, You are the Light of the World, Turn Back -Oh Man, Alas for You, By My Side, On the Willows, and the Finale.

12. Did the film make Christianity credible?