On Codex: Blogspot Tyler Williams draws attention to the Arts and Faith forum topic:
Who is your favourite Film Jesus?
It looks like the list has been put together by Matt Page and it's splendidly comprehensive. Leaders so far are Jim Caviezel (not Cavaziel) and Robert Powell. I like Caviezel's portrayal, but I'm not a fan of Powell's. I'll have to sleep on this question to work out who my one vote should go to. I'm tempted to say Henry Ian Cusick, of the Gospel of John. There are elements in lots of them I like, e.g. parts of Willem Dafoe's Jesus in Last Temptation of Christ, but not all of it; and I like some of Jeremy Sisto's Jesus (1999) and Ted Neeley's (not Neely) Jesus Christ Superstar. Definite no's for me are Victor Garber (Godspell) and Max Von Sydow (Greatest Story).
Mark, thanks for mentioning this. Like you, I don't care for Powell's portrayal. For me, the top three portrayals of Jesus (and top three Jesus films, for that matter) are as follows:
ReplyDelete(1) Lothaire Bluteau -- Jesus of Montreal
(2) Jim Cavaziel -- Passion of the Christ
(3) Enrique Irazoqui -- Gospel According to Saint Matthew
I cast my vote for Jeremy Sisto's Jesus ... he was very human and vulnerable ... he danced and told bad jokes! :-) ... but still was divine enough to raise Lazarus, etc.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if most people really vote on their favorite Jesus or on the overall presentation of Jesus in the film (i.e., if you like the movie - you like the Jesus). Unconventional films and presentations might yeild the less popular Jesuses. Popular films yeild the most popular Jesuses.
ReplyDeleteSome of my favorites are the unconventional ones because they get me thinking.